The Athletics lost two of three at home vs. the Cleveland Guardians before traveling to Philadelphia and doing the same vs. the Phillies.
Results
FRI: CLE 8, ATH 5
Brent Rooker started the scoring in this series with a two-run home run in the bottom of the 1st inning. But, Cleveland quickly answered as their star rookie Chase DeLauter delivered a two-run double in the 2nd. After Zack Gelof put the A’s back in front, 4-2, in the 4th, the Guardians scored three runs in the 5th to jump back ahead and chase J. T. Ginn (4.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 4 K).
Justin Sterner allowed a solo home run to Rhys Hoskins in the 7th and walked Travis Bazzana before Brady Basso took over. The lefty reliever allowed back-to-back RBI doubles to Bo Naylor and Brayan Rocchio to make it 8-4. The Athletics loaded the bases in the bottom of the 7th as Jacob Wilson singled before Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz walked. Rooker singled home Wilson. But, Erik Sabrowski came in and struck out two before Steven Kwan made a great catch in center to end the threat. Cade Smith picked up the four-out save in the series opener.
SAT: CLE 14, ATH 6
The teams combined for 20 runs and 28 hits on Saturday afternoon at Sutter Health Park. For the second straight game, the A’s got a two-run home run in the 1st inning. This time, Shea Langeliers did the honors, the first of his two home runs on the day. Austin Hedges hit a solo HR in the 3rd before a Jeff McNeil RBI single pushed the lead back up to two. Jacob Lopez allowed four hits and four runs in the 5th to put Cleveland ahead, 5-3. Langeliers’ second HR was cancelled out by a David Fry solo shot.
A sacrifice fly from McNeil in the 6th made it a 6-5 ballgame. But, that was as close as it would get as the Guards scored three in the 7th. Luis Morales was back from Triple-A for Saturday’s game (optioned back down on Sunday) and got knocked around in two innings. In the 8th and 9th, he allowed four hits (including a home run), walked four batters, and gave up five earned runs.
SUN: ATH 7, CLE 1
The Athletics turned to former Cleveland pitcher Aaron Civale to help avoid the sweep. He delivered six innings of work, allowing just one run on six hits. Offensively, the long ball propelled the attack. Colby Thomas hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd inning. After Chase DeLauter hit a solo shot of his own in the top of the 5th, Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom went back-to-back to start the bottom of the frame. Brent Rooker added an RBI single to make it a three-run inning.
With the bases loaded in the 6th, Jeff McNeil hit a bases-clearing double to complete the scoring for the day. Justin Sterner, Mark Leiter Jr., and Joel Kuhnel combined for three hitless innings of relief to close out the series finale.
TUE: PHI 9, ATH 1
Luis Severino gave up a solo home run to Bryce Harper in the bottom of the 3rd inning in the series opener. It was one of seven hits that he allowed, but it was the lone run given up in his five innings of work. Scott Barlow worked a 1-2-3 6th. Then, things took a turn…
Mark Leiter Jr. proceeded to allow four earned runs and could not complete the 7th inning. Tyler Ferguson relieved him, allowed a two-run home run to Bryson Stott, then get Alec Bohm to ground out to end the frame. But, Ferguson’s night wasn’t over. Pitching the 8th, he allowed three more runs on three hits to make it 9-0. After getting nothing going against Cristopher Sanchez (8 IP, 3 H, 10 K), the A’s did get some traffic against closer Jhoan Duran in the 9th. Nick Kurtz singled before Colby Thomas hit into a fielder’s choice. Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom both drew walks to load the bases. Following a strikeout of Austin Wynns, Darell Hernaiz was walked to force a run home. But, Brett Harris was then punched out to end the blowout.
WED: PHI 6, ATH 3
The A’s had a 2-0 lead after the top of the 5th, courtesy of RBI singles from Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz off of Zack Wheeler. Felix Reyes’ RBI groundout briefly cut the lead in half before Tyler Soderstrom’s solo home run in 6th made it 3-1. Adolis Garcia answered with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the frame off of Jeffrey Springs (5.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 4 K).
With the A’s up 3-2, Jack Perkins entered and worked a 1-2-3 7th inning. But, the 8th was a different story for the young righty. He walked Kyle Schwarber and a throwing error by Jeff McNeil wiped out a fielder’s choice involving Bryce Harper. Garcia singled to load the bases with no outs. Edmundo Sosa plated Schwarber and Harper on an RBI single to put Philly ahead. After J. T. Realmuto was retired, Hogan Harris replaced Perkins. He proceeded to give up an RBI single to Brandon Marsh and an RBI groundout to Justin Crawford to complete the scoring in a four-run 8th. Brad Keller had some traffic in the 9th, but he closed it out with no damage done.
THU: ATH 12, PHI 1
After the pitching and offense struggled for most of the first two games, they both excelled in the series finale. On the mound, J. T. Ginn got the start and went eight strong innings. He allowed just one run on four hits and struck out eight. Brooks Kristie worked a scoreless 9th inning.
Offensively, the A’s scored early and often. Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker both hit two-run home runs in the 1st. Carlos Cortes had an RBI single in the 3rd before Jacob Wilson hit a two-run HR to make it 7-0. Rooker added an RBI single in the 4th, followed up by a Kyle Schwarber solo Homer in the bottom of the frame. Zack Gelof had an RBI triple in the 5th and a two-run HR in the 7th. Nick Kurtz pitched in an RBI single in between those two.
What Else?
- The A’s brought Jonah Heim back to the franchise, acquiring him after he was DFA’d by the Atlanta Braves. He will serve as Shea Langeliers’ backup and his track record indicates he should be a notable upgrade over Austin Wynns, who was DFA’d, in that role. Heim played in 13 games for Oakland in 2020 after being called up, then was traded with Khris Davis to Texas for Elvis Andrus.
- Zack Gelof has had a nice start to the month of May. He has six hits in his 17-at bats this month and only two of them were singles (1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR). With Max Muncy and Denzel Clarke still on the shelf, Gelof can earn some consistent run if he keeps swinging a hot bat.
- There was a game of musical chairs for one bullpen spot this week for the A’s. Luis Morales replaced Brady Basso, who was optioned to Triple-A. Morales himself was optioned on Sunday after a disastrous outing vs. Cleveland (2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 5 ER) on Saturday. Tyler Ferguson took his spot, but he was DFA’d after allowing four runs in less than two innings on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Brooks Kriske took over the roster spot that Ferguson had vacated. The 32-year-old journeyman has pitched sparingly in the majors since 2020 with the Yankees, Orioles, Royals, Cubs, and Twins.
- Progress is being made on the future home of Athletics’ baseball here in Vegas. Here is the latest and greatest, courtesy of the Ballpark Construction Cam this morning.
System Spotlight
Henry Bolte (Triple-A): The MLB Pipeline #5 prospect for the A’s is off to an electric start to his 2026 campaign. After reaching AAA last season, he’s slashing .306/.383/.521 in 34 games for Las Vegas. He’s also stolen 16 bases and has been caught just once. On Wednesday, the 22-year-old outfielder hit his 8th home run and it traveled 479 ft., the longest across all of MLB and MiLB this season (per MLB.com).
Nathan Dettmer (High-A): A strong start to the season earned the 24-year-old RHP a promotion from Low-A to High-A this week. In six games (five starts) for Stockton, Dettmer pitched to a 2.96 ERA with 26 Ks in 27.1 innings. He’s allowed just one home run and has only walked batters in half of his outings.
Samuel Gonzalez (Rookie/ACL): Last season, Gonzalez hit one home run across 50 games in the Dominican Summer League. He’s already matched that total in three games in the Arizona Complex League. The 19-year-old has also doubled and stolen two bases.
What’s Next?
The Athletics will play a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards before returning home to face the St. Louis Cardinals.
(Zack Gelof headshot, courtesy: Athletics)
