The Athletics won the first game of their series against the Los Angeles Angels and the last game of their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But, they dropped all four games in between. Also, they received the news that they will be without Brent Rooker for the rest of the season.
Results
FRI: ATH 9, LAA 3
The Athletics did not have a baserunner through their first four innings of the series opener. Donovan Walton hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 4th inning to put the Angels up 1-0. Then, in the top of the 5th, it all unraveled for Angels starter Walbert Urena.
His perfect start to the game ended with a leadoff walk of Tyler Soderstrom. Jonah Heim grounded into a fielder’s choice before Lawrence Butler drew a walk. Max Muncy’s infield single was the first of six consecutive singles by Athletics’ hitters. Jeff McNeil, Alika Williams, Henry Bolte, Nick Kurtz, and Shea Langeliers all picked up RBIs with their base knocks. To add to the disastrous inning, Josh Lowe had a throwing error and Urena had a disengagement violation and a wild pitch. By the end of the frame, Brent Suter had replaced Urena and it was 7-1 in favor of the A’s. Jo Adell hit a two-run HR in the 5th. The scoring closed out in the 7th as Kurtz picked up another RBI single and Heim hit an RBI ground-rule double.
SAT: LAA 5, ATH 2
Jonah Heim hit a solo home run in the 2nd inning to put the A’s ahead. The Angels answered back in the 4th as Jo Adell’s two-run triple put the hosts in the lead. Those two runs were the only ones allowed by Saturday’s starter, Jack Perkins. He went five innings, struck out five, allows four hits, and the two earned runs. Colby Thomas tied things up with an RBI single in the 6th.
Denzer Guzman put the Halos back in front with an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th. The Athletics loaded the bases in the 8th with one out. But Carlos Cortes struck out and Max Muncy lined out to end the threat. Oswald Peraza and Logan O’Hoppe added RBI hits in the bottom of the frame.
SUN: LAA 4, ATH 1
Aaron Civale allowed two singles with a walk in between to load the bases in the 2nd inning. Josh Lowe stepped up and hit his first career grand slam to put the Angels up 4-0 early in the series finale. That was more than enough offense as the A’s struggled to get things going against starter Sam Aldegheri.
Joey Meneses prevented the visitors from being shut out as he provided a sacrifice fly in the 5th. Elvis Alvarado and Jose Suarez pitched three no-hit innings in relief to keep it close, but the Athletics dropped the Sunday matinee and the series.
MON: LAD 9, ATH 4
The Dodgers got the scoring going in the 2nd inning as Max Muncy and Dalton Rushing each picked up RBI singles. But, the Athletics battled back in the bottom of the frame. Colby Thomas hit a solo home run. Then, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer picked up his first career hit and first career RBI with a single in his first MLB at-bat. Henry Bolte grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Alika Williams scored to make it 3-2 in favor of the A’s.
But, the Dodgers would show why they have won back-to-back titles. In the 4th, Muncy hit a solo home run to tie the game and Andy Pages’ two-run HR put LA ahead. After a scoreless 5th, Gage Jump returned for the 6th and gave up a single, walked Rushing, and then Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run blast to make it 8-3 and end Jump’s outing. His final line: 4.2 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 5 K. Freddie Freeman added an RBI single in the 8th and Kuroda-Grauer scored on a wild pitch in the 9th.
TUE: LAD 9, ATH 3
The Dodgers wasted no time jumping all over Jeffrey Springs. Mookie Betts picked up an RBI single and Teoscar Hernandez hit a sacrifice fly in the 1st inning to make it 2-0. Jonah Heim responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame. Tommy Edman extended LA’s lead with a three-run home run in the 3rd. Miguel Rojas added a solo shot in the 6th to make it 6-1.
Geoff Hartlieb entered in the 7th to handle mop-up duty. He allowed RBI singles to Edman and Dalton Rushing, plus a sacrifice fly by Rojas. Colby Thomas wrapped up the scoring with a two-run HR in the bottom of the 7th. LA starter Justin Wrobleski went seven innings, allowing the three earned runs, and striking out 11.
WED: ATH 7, LAD 1
Jonah Heim got the party started in the series finale with a solo home run in the 2nd inning. Freddie Freeman’s solo shot in the 3rd was the only blemish for J. T. Ginn. The A’s starter went six innings and allowed just two more hits and struck out four. Lawrence Butler had an RBI groundout in the 4th to retake the lead and Henry Bolte added an RBI single in the frame.
A three-run 5th helped open the game up a bit. Shea Langeliers hit home run #20 before Colby Thomas hit an RBI double and Heim hit an RBI single. Alika Williams added a solo home run in the 8th for good measure. Luis Medina and Hogan Harris pitched the final three innings and allowed one hit a bit and combined for seven strikeouts. Shohei Ohtani went 0/5 on the day with two strikeouts.
What Else?
- Brent Rooker has been out of the lineup since early June with a knee issue. As it turns out, he will be out much longer than expected. The star DH will undergo surgery to repair a cartilage tear in his left knee and is on the shelf for the remainder of the season. While the Athletics’ offense remains a potent one, you can’t simply find players with as much consistent slugging as Rooker has provided for years. That empty DH spot will allow players like Carlos Cortes and Colby Thomas to get consistent at-bats and also for Shea Langeliers to get some days off of catching while keeping his bat in the lineup.
- Monday saw some roster restructuring for the Athletics. With Jacob Wilson (thumb) and Tyler Soderstrom (hip) landing on the 10-day IL, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Darell Hernaiz were called up from Triple-A. Hernaiz is a familiar face, but this is Kurdish-Grauer’s first taste of the show. He has a career .309 batting average in over 200 MiLB games and added more slugging this season. Michael Kelly was DFA’d and replaced by Kade Morris.
- On Tuesday, the league announced the latest update on the 2026 All Star Game voting. Shea Langeliers was the only Athletic to make the finalists. Going against Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk, Langeliers was at 66% of the vote as of Tuesday’s update. There’s still no definitive word yet on if Nick Kurtz (Langeliers is not interested) will participate in the Home Run Derby. Leo De Vries and Jamie Arnold will represent the organization in the Futures Game during All Star festivities.
- The MLB Draft also is a part of the All Star Game universe as it is set to take place on Saturday and Sunday (7/11-12). The Athletics hold the 8th overall pick and there seems to be a consensus about who they might target. MLB.com, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN all predict the A’s will draft Univerisity of Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick.
- Now that we’re into the first few days of July, it’s the perfect time to look back on how June went for the Athletics. They went 12-15 last month. The stats are a bit misleading overall because the offensive extravaganza of a Las Vegas Series 2026 took place in June. Offensively, their .757 OPS was 13th in MLB and they hit the second-most home runs (46). Their 6.20 ERA was the worst in baseball and they allowed the most home runs and second-most hits.
- Double-A outfielder Ryan Lasko had a brutal collision with a teammate trying to catch a fly ball earlier this week. Unfortunately, Lasko had to be carted off and required surgery for fractured vertebra. Mark Kotsay explained that the swelling around his spine is preventing him from feeling his lower half at this time, but that there is nothing definitive regarding the long-term outlook yet.
System Spotlight
Wei-En Lin (AAA): Unfortunately, this spotlight is not due to further excellence on the mound from the young lefty. After being called up to Triple-A Las Vegas on 6/5, the 20-year-old allowed eight earned runs in less than two innings across two outings. The rough start to his AAA campaign was likely related to elbow issues as the MLB top 100 prospect is set to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Donny Troconis (Low-A): The 20-year-old Venezuelan entered June with a 9.30 ERA. With four outings last month, he was able to drop that down to 7.15 for the season. He threw 15.1 innings and struck out 19 batters, logging a 2.93 ERA in June. Last season, he posted a 1.24 ERA with Stockton.
Casey Yamauchi (AAA): After starting the season with Lansing, Yamauchi was promoted to Midland in early June. He played 11 games at Double-A before being bumped up to Triple-A Las Vegas on 6/25. Across all three levels, he has a .813 OPS this season and has 17 extra-base hits. The 25-year-old has played primarily 2B in his career, but he’s also seen some time at 3B and LF. His versatility and contact skills at the plate provide nice depth for the A’s.
What’s Next?
The Athletics will welcome one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Miami Marlins, to Sacramento for a weekend series. Then, they’re off to Motor City to take on the Detroit Tigers.
(Top photo of Brent Rooker, courtesy: Athletics)
