Tag: Sacramento A’s

In spite of getting shelled Sacramento A’s position player Jhonny Pereda (64) is all smiles after striking out Los Angeles Dodgers two way star Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the eighth inning who had two home runs earlier in the night at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Fri May 15, 2025 (AP News photo)

Dodgers Obliterate A’s with 19-2 Rout Behind Ohtani’s Power Surge

By Mauricio Segura

On a night when the Sacramento Athletics were hoping to build on recent momentum, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers delivered a thunderous reality check at Chavez Ravine. The green and gold were overwhelmed in every phase of the game, falling 19-2 in a blowout that saw the Dodgers pile on 11 extra-base hits and three home runs, two off the bat of Ohtani alone.

The A’s struck first, scratching out a run in the top of the first thanks to a Shea Langeliers RBI double. But the early lead lasted only moments. In the bottom half of the inning, Freddie Freeman tied it with a single before Max Muncy launched a two-run homer, putting the Dodgers up 3-1 before the seats were even warm.

That was just the beginning of the storm.

A’s starter Osvaldo Bido, who had previously held the Dodgers in check across two career starts, couldn’t escape the third inning in this one. By the time he was lifted, he had allowed six runs and was tagged with the loss. The bullpen offered little relief. Jason Alexander, Mitch Spence, and Jhonny Pereda all took turns trying to plug the leaks, but the Dodgers simply couldn’t be slowed.

Ohtani, who had been 0-for-4 in his career against Bido, erupted for five RBIs on the night. His first home run came in the third, a three-run Space-X type Launch to left center. He followed it up two innings later with another, bringing his season total to 15. Not to be outdone, Andy Pages added his eighth homer, another three-run shot in the third that pushed the lead to 13-2.

By the time the dust settled, the Dodgers had scored in every inning but the fifth and seventh. Every starter reached base. Hyeseong Kim had four hits, including a ground-rule double. Mookie Betts swiped his fourth bag of the year and crossed the plate three times.

For the Athletics, there were few bright spots beyond Langeliers, who went 2-for-4 to extend his hit streak. Max Schuemann added his first home run of the season in the second inning, a solo shot that briefly narrowed the deficit to one.

The loss drops the A’s to 22-22 on the season, right back to .500. They’ve now surrendered 39 runs over their last five games, continuing a troubling trend for a pitching staff that owns the sixth-highest ERA in the majors. On the flip side, their 14-9 road record still ranks among the best, but that stat took a serious dent Thursday night.

Next up for the green and gold is a weekend “I-80 Series” against the San Francisco Giants. JP Sears will take the mound Friday against Logan Webb, hoping to stabilize a rotation that has struggled to get through six innings consistently.

But for now, it’s hard to ignore the wreckage left behind in Tinseltown, a night where Ohtani shined, the bats erupted, and the Athletics had no answer.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani (17) rounds the bases and heads home past the Sacramento A’s Miguel Andujar (22) as Ohtani scores with Enrique Hernandez on a Mookie Betts double in the bottom of the eighth inning at Dodgers Stadium on Wed May 14, 2025 (AP News photo)

A Late Collapse Dooms A’s 9-3 in Spirited Battle at Chavez Ravine

By Mauricio Segura

By the time the lights dimmed at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night, the Sacramento Athletics had watched a legitimate effort come undone in one fateful inning. The green and gold traded punches with one of the National League’s top teams for seven innings, only to fall 9-3 to the Los Angeles Dodgers after a brutal five-run bottom of the eighth.

The night started with fireworks, literal and figurative, as Shohei Ohtani launched Gunnar Hoglund’s second pitch of the game into the right-field stands. It was Ohtani’s 13th home run of the season and an immediate reminder of the power the Dodgers bring to the plate.

But Hoglund, making just his third career start, composed himself quickly. The 24-year-old right-hander didn’t rattle. After giving up another solo shot to Andy Pages in the second, he settled in, showing why the A’s brought him up from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier this month. He struck out two and allowed just three earned runs in five-and-a-third innings, solid work considering the opposition.

Meanwhile, the A’s bats showed the same fervor everyone is getting used to. Tyler Soderstrom cracked his tenth home run of the year, a two-run blast in the third that knotted the game at 2-2. An inning later, Miguel Andujar gave the A’s their only lead of the night with an RBI double, scoring Shea Langeliers.

Langeliers, now riding a four-game hit streak, continued to solidify his spot behind the plate and on the lineup card. He reached base twice, stole a base, and caught Max Muncy napping with a slick fielding play in the fourth.

Hyeseong Kim, who entered the night without a major league homer, tied the game at three with a solo shot in the fifth. The two clubs remained deadlocked until the sixth, when pinch-hitter Miguel Rojas doubled off Michel Otañez to score Michael Conforto and give the Dodgers a 4-3 edge.

That lead held as Sacramento squandered a scoring chance in the eighth. Soderstrom’s double put the tying run in scoring position with one out, but Brent Rooker and Langeliers couldn’t bring him home. That proved costly.

The bottom of the eighth was a disaster. Tyler Ferguson entered with one out and one on. After an intentional walk to Ohtani, Mookie Betts roped a two-run double. Max Muncy capped the rally with a three-run homer off Ferguson, and just like that, the Dodgers had turned a one-run game into a blowout.

Sacramento went quietly in the ninth against Ben Casparius, who secured the win and dropped the Athletics to 22-21 on the season.

There were bright spots amid the loss. The A’s remain one of baseball’s most effective road teams, and Soderstrom continues to thrive under the lights, now hitting .317 with 19 RBIs away from home. Hoglund showed enough to earn another look in the rotation, and Langeliers continues to trend upward both at the plate and behind it.

Still, the loss was a reminder that against a lineup like the Dodgers, no lead, or tie, is ever safe.

The Athletics conclude this three game series Thursday night at Dodgers Stadium. Starting pitcher for Sacramento RHP Osvaldo Bido (2-3 ERA 4.75) for Los Angeles RHP Matt Sauer (1-0 ERA 1.54) first pitch 7:10pm PDT.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

Sacramento A’s Jacob Wilson is congratulated by teammates in the A’s dugout after hitting a three run home run in the top of the third inning at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles on Tue May 13, 2025 (AP News photo)

It’s Lights, Camera, Homeruns! as the A’s long-ball it past the Dodgers 11-1

By Mauricio Segura

If there were any lingering doubts about Jacob Wilson’s emergence as one of baseball’s most polished young hitters, Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium just turned them into dust. The rookie shortstop didn’t just flex his power, he launched it, twice, driving in four runs and leading the Athletics to a dominant 11-1 victory over the Dodgers that snapped L.A.’s home streak against the green and gold.

Wilson’s two-run homer in the third broke a scoreless tie and his second blast in the fifth put the A’s up by three. With those swings, he became the first Athletics rookie this season to record a multi-homer game and brought his season total to five. He also added a single and a walk, reaching base three times and lifting his batting average higher than the already impressive .348 he carried into the game, the third-best in the majors.

The victory was a full-team masterpiece, and a resounding response from a club that had dropped four of its last five. Oakland’s former tenants, now known simply as the Athletics, improved to 21-20 and reaffirmed why they own the best road winning percentage in baseball.

But the night’s momentum really began with Jeffrey Springs. The left-hander, who’s made a habit this year of stumbling early before settling down, flipped the script. Springs held a potent Dodgers lineup to one run across six innings, scattering seven hits and walking two. He earned his fourth win and lowered his ERA to 4.55. Most impressive? He neutralized Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman in the heart of the order, getting key outs in every frame.

The Dodgers briefly answered back after Wilson’s first homer with a run in the third, courtesy of a Betts grounder that scored Chris Taylor on an error. But that would be all the offense they could muster against Springs and a bullpen that combined for three scoreless innings from Grant Holman and Justin Sterner.

In the fifth, Wilson homered again, this time dead center, after a Luis Urías single. Later in the same inning, Lawrence Butler delivered a two-run double that widened the gap to 6-1. Butler, who entered the game hitting just .173 over his last 17 games, added a second double in the seventh, his ninth of the season, and now ranks among the league’s top 10 in that category.

Nick Kurtz, the A’s first-round pick in 2024 and now starting regularly at first base, added to the fireworks with a solo shot in the eighth, his first career home run. His reaction was subdued, but the A’s dugout didn’t hold back. In a franchise rich with slugger history, Kurtz’s power potential is already drawing quiet comparisons to the likes of Jack Cust and Khris Davis.

And in the ninth, just for good measure, Miguel Andujar and JJ Bleday launched back-to-back solo homers off Dodgers infielder-turned-pitcher Miguel Rojas. It was Bleday’s sixth of the year and Andujar’s third. With 11 runs on 17 hits, every A’s starter reached base.

The win was also a dose of revenge. The A’s came into the night having lost five of their last six meetings with the Dodgers, including a three-game sweep at Chavez Ravine last season. But on this night, it was Los Angeles who looked overmatched.

Wilson, now with 56 hits in 42 games, continues to lead all American League rookies in nearly every offensive category, hits, batting average, doubles, and RBI. He also leads the league in fewest strikeouts per plate appearance, a rare feat in Tuesday’s swing-for-the-fences climate. When he’s locked in like this, he feels less like a rookie and more like a cornerstone.

The A’s are now 14-10 in night games and 13-7 on the road, best in the majors. They’ve scored 76 of their 180 runs via the long ball, good for eighth most in the league. And with the offense humming and the bullpen rebounding, the green and gold have quietly become one of baseball’s more dangerous road teams.

Next up? Right-hander Gunnar Hoglund faces off against Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Wednesday night. If Wilson stays hot, and the A’s can get another quality start, the Dodgers may be looking at their first home series loss to this franchise in years.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.