After dropping two of three in Houston, the Athletics combined with the Milwaukee Brewers for an offensive explosion in Las Vegas.
Results
FRI: HOU 5, ATH 1
The Astros did not take long to get the scoring started in this series. With two runners on and one out in the 1st inning, Isaac Paredes hit a three-run home run off of Jack Perkins. The A’s loaded the bases in the following inning, but they came up empty. Christian Walker’s triple in the 3rd plated Yordan Alvarez. Paredes hit a sacrifice fly to score Walker and make it 5-0. Perkins lasted just four innings for the A’s (4 IP, 5 ER, 6 K).
Brent Rooker hit a solo home run in the 6th inning to get the Athletics on the board. The one-out rally seemed to build as Tyler Soderstrom walked before Henry Bolte doubled. But, Zack Gelof struck out and Jeff McNeil lined out to end the inning. A Nick Kurtz walk in the 8th was the only Athletics’ baserunner the rest of the game. On the positive side, Mason Barnett relieved Perkins and pitched four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out seven.
SAT: HOU 13, ATH 2
Starting pitcher Kade Morris made his MLB debut on Saturday. Simply put, it did not go well. He allowed one run in the 1st inning on a sacrifice fly. Things really unraveled in the 2nd as he gave up a solo home run to Lamonte Wade Jr. to start the inning and a grand slam to Yordan Alvarez. The A’s battled back in the 3rd as Tyler Soderstrom picked up an RBI single and Zack Gelof was walked with the bases loaded to make it 6-2. But, Morris gave up three hits, including a Jose Altuve solo blast in the bottom of the 3rd.
After Morris allowed two singles to start the 5th, Jose Suarez replaced him and struggled mightily. In that inning alone, he gave up three doubles, one single, and walked a batter. That ran the score up to 13-2 and left Morris final tally as 4 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, and 4 K.
SUN: ATH 5, HOU 0
With a sweep of the A’s on the line, rookie Gage Jump stepped up to prevent his club from dropping all three games in Houston. The highly-touted LHP went 6.1 innings, allowing just three hits, and striking out three. Justin Sterner, Mark Leiter Jr., and Hogan Harris allowed just one combined hit in relief of Jump.
Offensively, Nick Kurtz hit a two-run HR in the 3rd inning. Brent Rooker added an RBI double in the frame. Zack Gelof scored on an error in the 4th to make it 4-0. Rooker capped off the scoring with a solo home run in the 5th.
MON: MIL 15, ATH 14 (12 innings)
Vegas baseball fans did not miss out on any offense as the A’s and Brewers opened their series at Las Vegas Ballpark. After a Jake Bauers’ RBI single in the top of the 1st inning, Shea Langeliers tied things up with a solo HR in the bottom of the frame. Alika Williams’ RBI double in the 2nd put the A’s ahead. The 3rd inning saw the score go from 2-1 to 8-4. Most of that offensive explosion was powered by home runs from Brice Turang, Andrew Vaughn, Tyler Soderstrom, and Zack Gelof. Max Muncy also pitched in a two-run RBI single.
Vaughn doubled home a run in the 5th and Nick Kurtz hit a solo shot in the 6th. Bauers’ two-run HR in the 7th cut the lead to 9-7 before Soderstrom hit another HR in the bottom of the inning. Luis Rengifo scored on a wild pitch in the 8th from Mark Leiter Jr. Vaughn tied the game in the 9th with his 3rd and 4th RBI as he doubled off of Hogan Harris. Jackson Chourio had a sacrifice fly in the 10th before William Contreras hit a three-run shot to make it 14-10. But, the A’s answered with a Langeliers’ RBI single, a Kurtz two-run HR, and the game-tying solo HR from Jonah Heim. Christian Yelich stole third base in the 12th and scored on a fielder’s choice. Chad Patrick closed things out for the Brewers with a scoreless inning.
TUE: ATH 7, MIL 5
The home runs continued to fly out of Las Vegas Ballpark in the second game of the series. Jackson Chourio and Nick Kurtz each hit home runs in the 1st inning. Henry Bolte’s first career home run (a two-run, 446 foot shot) put the A’s ahead 3-2 in the 2nd. Sal Frelick tied things up with an RBI single in the 4th.
Tyler Soderstrom hit a two-run HR and Jonah Heim added a solo HR in the bottom of the 5th to make it 6-3. J. T. Ginn’s evening ended in the 6th as two more runs scored (RBI groundout and RBI single). Elvis Alvarado relieved him and struck out Chourio to end the threat. Zack Gelof’s solo HR in the 6th was the final tally of the game. Mason Barnett pitched two hitless innings to close things out, striking out four and recording his first career save.
WED: ATH 4, MIL 3
The Brewers got off to a nice start against Jack Perkins in the series finale. Andrew Vaughn singled home Christian Yelich to open the scoring in the 1st inning. Gary Sanchez followed that up with a solo home run in the 2nd. Jackson Chourio added his own solo shot in the 3rd. Perkins lasted four innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking three, and striking out four.
Alika Williams hit his first MLB home run in the 6th to get the A’s on the board. Chad Patrick relieved Brandon Sproat to begin the 7th inning and the Athletics gave him a very unfriendly welcome. Carlos Cortes started the inning with a solo home run. Zack Gelof doubled in the next at-bat. Then, Lawrence Butler took Patrick 463 feet to center for a go-ahead, two-run home run. Jeff McNeil turned a nice double play in the 8th to keep the A’s ahead, and Elvis Alvarado struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 9th inning to record the save.
What Else?
- Despite his heroic home run on Wednesday, Lawrence Butler has been brutal this season. That was just his fourth HR of the campaign and he only has three doubles to go along with it. The lack of power and extra-base hits would be slightly more acceptable if he were getting on base at a high clip. But, his OBP this season is .251 and an eye-catching .152 in his last 15 games. Some of his metrics have been on a steady decline since his best year in 2024. His barrel percentage went from 75th percentile in 2024 to 52nd in 2025 to 29th in 2026. Also, his average exit velo percentiles went from 80th in ‘24 to 61st in ‘25 to 56th in ‘26. His xSLG (expected slugging percentage) was .473 in 2024, the 86th percentile. Now, it’s down to an alarming .367 in the 27th percentile. He’s only 25 years old and has some previous success to refer to as he looks to get back on track. Plus, he did also have patellar tendon surgery in the offseason, which limited his Spring Training reps. But, his production dipping in the second half last year and plummeting to start this season is concerning for a player signed to a hefty extension.
- The Athletics’ rotation is in a very interesting spot. With Luis Severino on the shelf for awhile, Aaron Civale working his way back, and Jacob Lopez optioned to Triple-A, they are left with Jeffrey Springs, J. T. Ginn, Jack Perkins, and Gage Jump. The veteran Springs has a 5.45 ERA in his last seven starts. Ginn has been better than expected. Perkins hasn’t shown any signs that he can be a Major League starting pitcher at this time and has a 6.25 ERA this season between working as a starter and reliever this season. After a decently rocky debut, the highly-regarded Jump has allowed just one run across 13.1 innings in his last two starts. Joey Estes was called up to replace Kade Morris and figures to fit into the bullpen as a long man, but he’s struggled for the Aviators this season and shouldn’t be expected to break into the rotation.
- Voting is now open for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia next month. Shea Langeliers is a deserving candidate to start at catcher for the American League. Nick Kurtz will likely lose out to Ben Rice at first base, but he should make his way to the game (and maybe the Home Run Derby?) in his home state. Another interesting candidate is Carlos Cortes. When you sort the ballot by OPS, he lands third among AL outfielders.
System Spotlight
Wei-En Lin (Triple-A): The 20-year-old LHP (MLB Pipeline’s #4 prospect for the A’s) had an impressive start to the season in Double-A. In ten starts, he registered a 1.93 ERA and had 53 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. With that success and the recent call-ups from Las Vegas to the big league rotation, Lin was promoted to Triple-A. His debut with the Aviators didn’t last a whole inning as he allowed five earned runs on three hits and three walks, only recording two outs.
Devin Taylor (Double-A): Drafted in the second round last year, the former Indiana Hoosier outfielder was playing well enough for Lansing to get called up to Midland this week. His OPS was .861 this season in High-A and he had already hit two home runs in June. The 22-year-old also notched seven steals and is listed as the Athletics’ 8th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Jared Davis (Rookie-ACL): Davis has started his professional career showcasing his ability and versatility. Through 18 games, the 2025 17th-round-pick has already seen time at 2B, 3B, and RF. Meanwhile, he has a .468 OBP and four steals.
What’s Next?
The Athletics will continue their stay in Las Vegas for a series against the Colorado Rockies. Then, they head back to Sutter Health Park to host the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Angels.
(Featured photo of Las Vegas Ballpark, credit: Raul Jusinto, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
