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.
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