The Athletics won a series against Baltimore before dropping two of three against the Cardinals. That 3-3 week allows the A’s to stay atop the AL West as the only team in the division with a winning record.
Results
FRI: ATH 4, BAL 3
Pete Alonso opened the scoring this series with a solo home run in the 4th inning. In the 5th, the A’s answered back with the biggest inning of the game. Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, and Zack Gelof all singled to start the frame, with Gelof’s plating Wilson to tie things up at one. After Jeff McNeil grounded out, Nick Kurtz smoked a groundball past first base and scored two on an RBI triple.
Adley Rutschman answered with a solo shot in the 6th. That marked the end of the line for Jacob Lopez (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 K). Wilson tacked on an RBI single to put the Athletics up 4-2 before a 9th inning Samuel Basallo single rounded out the scoring. Five relievers pitched out of the bullpen for the A’s (Sterner, Barlow, Kuhnel, Perkins, and Harris) and allowed just one hit over 3.2 innings.
SAT: ATH 6, BAL 2
The A’s wasted no time getting after O’s starter Shane Baz. Nick Kurtz doubled to start the game and Shea Langeliers singled him home to put the visitors up early. Brent Rooker blew the game open with a three-run home run in the 3rd inning. Langeliers’ sacrifice fly in the 5th put the A’s up 5-0.
Opposite Baz, Aaron Civale had another great outing on the mound. He threw five scoreless innings, including escaping a bases-loaded, no outs jam in the bottom of the 5th. Mark Leiter Jr. continued to struggle as he allowed three hits and two runs in the 8th. Colby Thomas’ RBI single in the 9th closed out the scoring.
SUN: BAL 2, ATH 1
A Carlos Cortes sacrifice fly in the 2nd inning got the scoring going in the series finale. The Orioles tied it up an inning later. Gunnar Henderson hit a groundball to first and Luis Severino was slow getting over to cover and Nick Kurtz lost the foot race vs. Henderson to the bag. In the 5th inning, Jacob Wilson departed the game after diving to make a stop up the middle. Later in that inning, Tyler Soderstrom made a leaping catch to end a bases-loaded jam.
Dylan Beavers slapped an opposite-field RBI single in the 6th to put Baltimore ahead, 2-1. In the 7th, Carlos Cortes singled, then stole second. On a base hit from Zack Gelof, he tried to score from second with two outs. But, Leody Taveras threw him out at the plate to preserve the lead. Anthony Nunez and Rico Garcia pitched hitless innings to avoid the sweep for the Orioles.
TUE: STL 6, ATH 4
The 1st inning was not kind to Jeffrey Springs and the Athletics in the series opener. Here is how that inning went for the Cardinals offense: Walk, single, RBI single, strikeout, popout, two-run RBI double, RBI single, flyout. The A’s were down 4-0 before they even got a chance to bat.
Their response came in the bottom of the 2nd with two outs. Darell Hernaiz and Jeff McNeil singled before Nick Kurtz plated Hernaiz with a single of his own. Shea Langeliers knocked both runners home with an RBI double to cut the lead to 4-3. But, facing Joel Kuhnel out of the bullpen, JJ Wetherholt hit a two-run HR to push the lead back to three. Langeliers hit a solo shot in the 8th, but that was as close as the Athletics would get.
WED: ATH 6, STL 2
Henry Bolte made his MLB debut on Wednesday and picked up his first MLB hit in his first at-bat in the 2nd inning. But, it was the Cardinals that would get on the board first. J. T. Ginn allowed three consecutive singles in the 4th and Nathan Church’s scored Nolan Gorman to make it 1-0. Due to a throwing error by Colby Thomas allowing Gorman to get to third base, that run was unearned for Ginn and he would not allow another to score (6 IP, 1 R, 9 H, 3 K).
The Athletics answered in a big way in the 5th. Singles by Darell Hernaiz and Michael Stefanic and a walk to Shea Langeliers loaded the bases. Nick Kurtz cleared them with his third career grand slam to make it 4-1. After Ivan Herrera hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 7th, Bolte answered with one of his own in the bottom of the frame for his first career RBI. Zack Gelof added a solo HR in the 8th. Jack Perkins allowed some traffic in the 9th, but he did not allow any runs to score and sealed up the victory.
THU: STL 5, ATH 4
Nick Kurtz led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a 442-foot home run. That narrow margin would survive until the 5th. Victor Scott II hit a solo home run to tie things up before Jordan Walker hit a solo shot of his own in the 6th. Nolan Gorman added an RBI single to increase the lead to 3-1. That chased Jacob Lopez with no outs yet recorded in the inning (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K).
The A’s battled back in the 7th as Zack Gelof hit a solo HR and Shea Langeliers plated two with an RBI single. With the hosts up 4-3 entering the 9th, Jack Perkins could not protect the lead. He allowed a single before retiring back-to-back hitters. Then, he hit JJ Wetherholt and allowed the game-tying RBI single to Ivan Herrera. Walker doubled in the next at-bat, giving the Cardinals the lead. Kurtz was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the 9th, but Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, and Brent Rooker went down in order.
What Else?
- Last season, J. T. Ginn finished with a 5.08 ERA as he split time between the bullpen and rotation. In his seven starts since moving into the rotation this season, he is showing some signs of being a capable MLB starter. He has a 2.72 ERA as a starter in 36.1 innings, which is weighed down by a clunker vs. CLE (4.1 IP, 5 ER). Every pitch in his arsenal has an improved run value from 2025, including his changeup going from -5 to +1, and he’s added a four-seam fastball to his mix. Time will tell if these changes will be continue to bear fruit, but for now, he’s a valuable member of the rotation.
- With his leadoff HR yesterday, Nick Kurtz has reached base in 37 consecutive games. Per Sarah Langs, that moved him beyond Nick Swisher up to 4th amongst A’s on-base streaks in the last 40 years. Next up? A pair of Jason Giambi 39-game runs (‘97 & ‘98) and the Big Mac, Mark McGwire, with a 48-game streak in 1996.
- Included in the roster moves this week was the call-up of highly-regarded outfield prospect Henry Bolte. MLB Pipeline’s #5 prospect, Bolte already has three hits in six at-bats, a steal, and an RBI. He should see consistent run in centerfield. Michael Stefanic was called up alongside Bolte as they replaced Brett Harris (optioned to AAA) and Jacob Wilson (10-day IL). Mason Barnett was called up to take the place of Brooks Kriske, who landed on the injured list. A pair of players was designated for assignment as Eduarniel Nunez and Junior Perez were removed from the 40-man roster. Perez’s move was in collaboration with the A’s acquiring LHP Jose Suarez for cash from the Seattle Mariners. The 28-year-old will head to the bullpen with the big league club.
- Regarding Wilson’s trip to the injured list, it was officially listed as a left shoulder subluxation with no timetable to return. It will likely be a steady dose of Darell Hernaiz at shortstop in his absence.
System Spotlight
Rodney Green Jr. (High-A): On Tuesday, Green Jr. hit a 490 ft. (or 489 ft. depending on your source) home run off of an apartment outside of Jackson Field. After registering an OPS of .654 between Stockton and Lansing last season, he’s up to .822 in 35 games this season.
Myles Naylor (High-A): A teammate of Green Jr. in Lansing, the youngest Naylor brother is starting to put things together. The 39th overall pick in 2023, he struggled in his first three seasons as a professional, striking out a ton and carrying a batting average below .200 in both 2024 and 2025 with Stockton. He spent the first 22 games of his 2026 back in Stockton, but this season, he had an .847 OPS with three home runs in Low-A. The 21-year-old was promoted on 5/11 and has three RBIs in his first three games.
Amilcar Medina (Rookie-ACL): The 21-year-old reliever has started his Arizona Complex League career off about as well as you could ask. In four games (three innings), he has allowed zero hits. While he has walked three batters, he also has three strikeouts.
What’s Next?
The Athletics will welcome the San Francisco Giants to town for MLB’s Rivalry Weekend. Then, they travel down to SoCal to face the Los Angeles Angels.
(J. T. Ginn headshot, courtesy: Athletics)
