![\"SACRAMENTO,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2279000149-GI.JPG\" "\\"Nick")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Nick Kurtz of the Athletics hits a two-run home run against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park on Saturday in West Sacramento.<\/p>\n
Thearon W. Henderson<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Four games into a weeklong West Sacramento home stand, the Athletics hadn\u2019t led a game at any point.<\/p>\n
During the rough stretch<\/a> for starting pitching and clutch hitting, in particular, the A\u2019s in each of those four contests had scored just one run in the first three innings and had fallen behind by at least three runs by that point in the game.<\/p>\n On Saturday, though, that trend of slow starts came to an end.<\/p>\n Starter J.T. Ginn got Sacramento-born New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge<\/a> to ground into a double play to end the top of the first inning clean before A\u2019s catcher Shea Langeliers launched a two-run, 420-foot, moonshot home run to dead center in the bottom half of the frame to start the game off hot.<\/p>\n Though a five-walk, three-run ninth inning came close to a catastrophic choke of that hot start, the two first-inning runs would prove to be decisive as the A\u2019s (28-30) beat the Yankees (35-23), 6-4, at Sutter Health Park, snapping a four-game losing streak and tying the series with a Sunday matin\u00e9e still to come.<\/p>\n \u201cOur success lies in that area \u2014 when the offense can get us a lead and obviously add on, and we did both of those things tonight,\u201d A\u2019s manager Mark Kotsay said postgame. \u201cThat helped there, at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the win, the second-place A\u2019s still trail in the contested American League West race to the Seattle Mariners, who pushed above .500 at 30-29 with a win Saturday night.<\/p>\n Bullpen nearly blows game<\/p>\n Despite Ginn\u2019s strong start, there was a moment in the contentious top of the ninth inning that the Yankees appeared to have the A\u2019s on the ropes, with \u201clet\u2019s go Yankees\u201d chants overpowering any home-team cheering at the sold-out Sutter Health Park.<\/p>\n Reliever Jack Perkins<\/a> had struck out both Paul Goldschmidt and Anthony Volpe, but his second walk of the inning, which loaded the bases, led to Kotsay bringing in Scott Barlow to get out of the jam. On three straight 3-2 counts, Barlow walked the meat of the Yankees order, all for RBIs with the bases loaded, to bring up Jazz Chisholm with the game now well within reach.<\/p>\n Though Chisholm grounded out to first to end the drama, Kotsay was not happy with his bullpen\u2019s ninth-inning performance, which included five walks, four of them in a row with two outs.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a lack of command. When you have a five-run lead, you\u2019d like to see your staff go out and attack the zone, get beat with hits,\u201d Kotsay said. \u201cTonight we were pretty close from giving a game away that we had in our hands.\u201d<\/p>\n Kotsay thinks Ginn could be a \u2018front-line guy\u2019<\/p>\n While starting pitching has been a concern as of late for the A\u2019s, especially with both Luis Severino<\/a> and Aaron Civale hitting the 15-day injured list this week, Ginn has largely been a pillar of consistency, as he proved again Saturday.<\/p>\n The lone run Ginn surrendered in his six innings of work was unearned, coming after a Henry Bolte fielding error allowed a runner to advance to third and second baseman Alika Williams whiffing on a throw to second on a stolen base attempt allowed a run to score.<\/p>\n Faced with a runner on third and one out, Ginn worked out of the jam after surrendering a walk with a key strikeout of Yankees slugger Ryan McMahon followed by a flyout by Austin Wells.<\/p>\n Kotsay said Ginn\u2019s performance was especially important given that the Yankees stacked their lineup with six left-handed hitters, including both McMahon and Wells, which the right-hander has struggled with in the past.<\/p>\n \u201cSix innings tonight against that lineup for J.T. is another great step in the right direction,\u201d Kotsay said. \u201cMy hope right now is that J.T. stays healthy and continues to just make this progression towards being a frontline guy.\u201d<\/p>\n After starting the season in Triple-A, Saturday\u2019s start was Ginn\u2019s fifth in a row where he surrendered fewer than two earned runs \u2014 including a near no-hitter<\/a> earlier this month \u2014 lowering his season ERA to 2.87, by far the best in the A\u2019s rotation.<\/p>\n In particular, Ginn succeeded in forcing weak contact, getting eight outs on the ground in his six innings of work. He also fanned four Yankees, while walking three and surrendering four hits to earn the win.<\/p>\n \u201cFinding a more consistent pitch mix, especially against left-handed hitters \u2026 has been huge for me,\u201d Ginn said of his recent success. \u201c(I\u2019ve) really expanded my arsenal against them.\u201d<\/p>\n Soderstrom hitting his stride<\/p>\n Beyond Ginn, the A\u2019s offense \u2014 most notably three of its most-potent sluggers in Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, all of whom homered Saturday \u2014 continued applying pressure on the Yankees\u2019 arms late into the game, helping build a lead that could sustain the ninth-inning dramatics.<\/p>\n After the Mariners completed their sweep of the A\u2019s<\/a> on Wednesday, Kotsay said a long-ball drought was a key part of the team\u2019s slump.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about our offense being successful when we hit the ball over the fence,\u201d Kotsay said. \u201cWe got three able to (tonight).\u201d<\/p>\n Kurtz had three hits, adding singles in the first and fifth innings to his seventh-inning, two-run home run. Soderstrom went 3-for-3 with a walk, including the homer and a double in the bottom of the eighth to help the team score an insurance run.<\/p>\n Soderstrom, the 24-year-old outfielder who in the offseason signed a seven-year, $86 million deal<\/a> \u2014 the largest in franchise history \u2014 had struggled for much of the young 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n Overall, Soderstrom was slashing .212\/.300\/.399 with six home runs heading into Saturday\u2019s game. But the star outfielder has gotten a hit in 10 of his last 11 games, with a .981 on-base plus slugging percentage in that stretch. His season batting average also rose above .200 during that stretch.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of those guys that obviously wasn\u2019t happy with where he\u2019s at,\u201d Kotsay said. \u201cAnd he hasn\u2019t stopped working.\u201d<\/p>\n Soderstrom said after the game that he hasn\u2019t changed anything mechanically during his recent hot streak, but has continued to trust his process, knowing results would follow.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt pretty solid for a while, just didn\u2019t really get much show for it,\u201d Soderstrom said. \u201cI\u2019ve been in this situation before. You\u2019ve just got to battle, and it\u2019s been going good.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob Lopez will take the mound at 1:05 p.m. Sunday for the A\u2019s series finale against the Yankees at Sutter Health Park.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n![\"Shea](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2278991924-GI.JPG\" "\\"2278991924-GI.JPG\\"")
Shea Langeliers of the Athletics hits a two-run home run against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on Saturday in West Sacramento. Thearon W. Henderson Getty Images <\/p>\n![\"SACRAMENTO,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2278998523-GI.JPG\" "\\"2278998523-GI.JPG\\"")
Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics is congratulated by teammates after hitting a solo home run against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the six inning at Sutter Health Park on Saturday in West Sacramento. Thearon W. Henderson Getty Images <\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SAC_SAC_48_HA_SeanCampbell_052725.JPG\")