It took until the fifth contest of a six-game homestand for the Athletics to hold a lead, and the end result was the elimination of their four-game losing streak.
The Athletics will look to defeat the New York Yankees for the second straight day and win the three-game series when the set on Sunday afternoon at West Sacramento, Calif.
The 6-4 setback halted the Yankees’ five-game winning streak.
The Athletics were outscored 30-6 over the first four games of the homestand, getting swept in a three-game set by the Seattle Mariners before falling 8-2 on Friday night to the Yankees.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay bemoaned his club’s deficits in the early innings, but that was a non-issue Saturday. Shea Langeliers belted a two-run homer in the first inning and the Athletics never trailed.
“We talked about not having a lead in the last four games,” Kotsay said afterward. “We got out to a lead and our success lies in that area. Our offense gives us the lead and then we can add on.”
Tyler Soderstrom homered in the sixth inning to give the Athletics a 3-1 lead. In the seventh, Nick Kurtz drilled a two-run blast to give the A’s a four-run cushion.
Soderstrom was 3-for-3 with a walk and Kurtz was 3-for-4 and scored twice.
“Tyler, Lang and Kurtz doing the damage,” Kotsay said of the club’s standout trio. “We talked about our offense being successful when we hit the ball over the fence and we hit three of them.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone went out to the mound to chat with Ryan Weathers in the seventh inning before Kurtz came to the plate with two outs. Weathers indicated he was fine and Boone stuck with him to have the lefty-on-lefty matchup.
It didn’t work as Kurtz hammered the first pitch over the fence in center.
“I don’t question leaving him in for Kurtz,” Boone said. “I’m going to take my left-on-left shot.”
The Yankees outscored their opponents 36-6 during the five-game winning streak but they couldn’t come up with a clutch hit on Saturday. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and scored one run on an A’s error and three on walks.
New York drew five walks in the ninth and the game ended when Jazz Chisholm Jr. bounced out to first with the bases loaded.
“Just great at-bats by them to give us a chance there, not only to get the tying run to the plate but then to have the go-ahead run on base at the end,” Boone said.
Right-hander Will Warren (6-1, 3.55 ERA) will start for the Yankees on Sunday.
Warren, 26, received a no-decision against the A’s in New York’s 3-2 home loss on April 8. He gave up two runs and five hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Overall, Warren is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three career starts against the Athletics. Kurtz is 3-for-7 against Warren while Soderstrom is hitless in six at-bats.
Warren received a no-decision against the Kansas City Royals last Monday when he gave up two runs and three hits over six innings in the Yankees’ 4-3 win.
Left-hander Jacob Lopez (4-2, 5.73) will take the mound for the Athletics.
In his most recent outing, Lopez picked up the victory in relief when the A’s beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on May 24. He followed an opener and gave up one run and six hits over 4 2/3 innings.
The 28-year-old has served up 11 homers in just 48 2/3 innings this season.
Lopez pitched one scoreless inning of relief against the Yankees in 2024 when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
–Field Level Media
