The Athletics took two out of three from the Los Angeles Angels. Then, they went on the road and swept the Minnesota Twins.
Results
FRI: ATH 10, LAA 3
For the first time this season, the Athletics beat the Angels. They tallied 14 hits, which included three home runs. To start the bottom of the 1st inning, Shea Langeliers went deep off of Yusei Kikuchi. After the Angels tied things up, Colby Thomas hit a 433-foot, three-run home run in the 3rd. A Zach Neto home run narrowed the lead to 4-3. A sacrifice fly from Darell Hernaiz and RBI singles from Tyler Soderstrom and Langeliers extended the lead. Nick Kurtz broke out of his mini slump with a three-run blast in the 8th. Jack Perkins went five innings and allowed all three runs. He struck out seven batters and walked three. The four relievers for the A’s (Michael Kelly, Justin Sterner, Elvis Alvarado, and Ben Bowden) allows zero hits in four innings and had six Ks combined.
SAT: ATH 7, LAA 2
Luis Morales’ second career MLB start saw him earn his first MLB win. The heralded prospect went five innings and allowed just one run on five hits. He struck out five batters and walked two. The Athletics never trailed as Colby Thomas hit a two-run home run in the 1st inning. That was the second consecutive game with a home run for the rookie outfielder. After Zach Neto cut the lead in half with an RBI single in the 2nd, the A’s scored five unanswered runs. That scoring included RBI singles from Darell Hernaiz, Brett Harris, and Brent Rooker, who also added a solo HR. Sean Newcomb allowed one run as he picked up the five-out save.
SUN: LAA 11, ATH 5 (10 innings)
The series finale was action-packed on Sunday. Jo Adell opened the scoring with a three-run home run in the 1st inning. The A’s battled back as Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers home runs in the 3rd tied the game up after a Tyler Soderstrom RBI single in the 1st. The Angels went back ahead in the 5th before the A’s tied things up again in the 6th. Lawrence Butler hit a solo home run before a Luis Urias RBI single brought the score even at 5-5, That’s how things remained until the 10th. Michael Kelly and Ben Bowden were tagged with five runs in the lone extra inning. The A’s went down in order in the bottom of the inning to end their chances of a sweep.
TUE: ATH 6, MIN 3
Matt Wallner opened with the scoring with an RBI double off of Jacob Lopez is the 2nd inning. Shea Langeliers answered with a two-run home run in the 3rd to put the Athletics ahead. They would add on in the 4th as Brett Harris had a sacrifice fly before an RBI single from Luis Urias and an RBI double from Nick Kurtz. For the second consecutive game, Kurtz was the leadoff hitter. He reached base in all five plate appearances with three hits and two walks. The Twins got solo HRs from Brooks Lee and Ryan Jeffers to narrow the lead to 5-3. But, Harris picked up another RBI with a single in the 6th, and Justin Sterner and Hogan Harris pitched three scoreless innings to close it out.
WED: ATH 4, MIN 2
Darell Hernaiz and Tyler Soderstrom provided the early offense for the A’s. Soderstrom scored on a sacrifice fly by Hernaiz in the 2nd inning. Then, in the 4th inning, the left fielder took Bailey Ober deep to double the lead. The Twins finally got on the board against J. T. Ginn in the 5th as Trevor Larnach knocked in James Outman with an RBI single. Brooks Lee followed that with an RBI double to tie the game. Neither team could capitalize on their chances and the game went into extra innings tied at two. Shea Langeliers lead off the 10th and hit a 96 MPH fastball 401 ft. for a two-run, go-ahead homer. Tyler Ferguson allowed zero hits (one walk) in the bottom of the inning to earn the save.
THU: ATH 8, MIN 3
The Athletics jumped all over Jose Urena in the 2nd inning. They tallied five hits (plus two walks and a hit by pitch) and exploded for six runs in the frame. Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker had RBI doubles and Darell Hernaiz and Carlos Cortes added RBI singles. The Twins answered with two runs in the 4th to make it 6-2. Nick Kurtz blasted a 425 ft. solo shot in the 6th and Max Schuemann picked up an RBI single in 7th. Minnesota got a run in the 9th, but Osvaldo Bido notched his first career save with three innings to close out the sweep.
What Else?
- That series with Minnesota wrapped up the seven matchups between the teams this season. The sweep allowed the A’s to take the 2025 series by a 4-3 margin after the Twins won the first three games.
- If Tyler Soderstrom gets a hit tonight (after going 4/4 yesterday), his hitting streak will reach 20 games. He has a 1.151 OPS in August thus far and will try to match or exceed his absurd 1.295 OPS from March. Meanwhile, Shea Langeliers has a league-leading ten home runs this month. Soderstrom and Langeliers rank 6th and 7th across all qualified MLB players in August OPS.
- Not to be overlooked in the A’s hot lineup, rookie Colby Thomas is flashing some of the offensive juice he was displaying in Triple-A. In 12 games this month, he has three home runs and 11 RBIs, carrying a .958 OPS.
- It was a mixed bag of outcomes for rehab assignments with the Aviators last weekend. Denzel Clarke returned to action on Friday, but he didn’t complete the game as he felt discomfort. He hasn’t played since. Jacob Wilson was back on Saturday and went 2/4 in an injury-free outing. Wilson proceeded to play Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with the Aviators, too.
- The A’s DFA’d Gio Urshela to make room on the 40-man roster for waiver claim Jared Shuster. Brett Harris took Urshela’a spot on the 26-man active roster. Shuster, a 27-year-old LHP, was a first-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2020. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox as a part of the deal to send Aaron Bummer to Atlanta. He’s spent time between the MLB squad and Triple-A Charlotte before being DFA’d on 8/13. This season, he’s worked exclusively out of the bullpen in AAA and was optioned to Las Vegas after being acquired. His debut with the Aviators left much to be desired. He entered in the 7th inning of a tie game on Tuesday. He proceeded to allow four earned runs as he walked three batters and allowed one hit and couldn’t finish the inning.
System Spotlight
Leo De Vries: On Friday, the 18-year-old shortstop hit two home runs and tallied five RBIs for High-A Lansing. On Tuesday, MLB Pipeline’s #3 overall prospect debuted in Double-A, becoming the youngest player at that level. On the season, he’s slashing .245/.349/.767 and has been excellent since arriving in the Mason Miller trade.
Stevie Emanuels: The 26-year-old has been the star of the Midland bullpen in August. In seven games (9.2 innings), he has allowed zero runs and just one hit with nine Ks. His ERA on the season is 2.84 across 40 games. He has 56 Ks in 44.1 innings and has not allowed a single home run.
Gavin Turley: Drafted in the fourth round out of Oregon State, Turley is getting his feet wet professionally with Stockton. In 15 games, he has two home runs, four doubles, and a .706 OPS.
What’s Next?
The Athletics travel to the Pacific Northwest tonight to start a weekend set against Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners. Then, they’re back to Sutter Health Park to host the Detroit Tigers.
(Top photo of Tyler Soderstrom, courtesy: Athletics)
