Shea Langeliers nearly spoiled Toronto’s celebration by himself.
The Athletics catcher homered twice Friday night, including a game-tying shot in the ninth, but the Blue Jays still walked off with a 3-2 win at Rogers Centre. Andrés Giménez delivered the final blow with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth after Ernie Clement’s double moved the winning run into scoring position.
Langeliers accounted for all of the A’s offense. He went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs and scored both runs in a game the Athletics otherwise struggled to solve Kevin Gausman and Toronto’s bullpen.
That made the finish sting more.
Before the game, manager Mark Kotsay said the A’s would get a look at what they are chasing when they watched Toronto celebrate its 2025 American League title. For most of the night, the Athletics looked ready for that kind of stage.
Severino keeps it tight
Luis Severino gave the A’s exactly the kind of Opening Day start they needed. He worked 5.0 innings, allowed three hits, gave up two runs, walked three and struck out three.
For four innings, Severino and Gausman traded control of the game.
Then Langeliers broke the scoreless tie in the fourth. He lined a solo homer to left for the first A’s run of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Toronto answered in the fifth. Clement doubled, then Giménez ripped a two-run triple to left to put the Blue Jays ahead 2-1. That was the only real damage against Severino, who kept the A’s within one and turned the game over to the bullpen.
Next, Scott Barlow covered 1.2 scoreless innings. Hogan Harris got the final out of the seventh and then a clean eighth. That work gave the A’s a chance to steal the opener late.
One swing gave them life
That chance came from Langeliers again.
With one out in the ninth, he drove Jeff Hoffman’s pitch to center for his second solo homer of the night and a 2-2 tie. In a lineup that managed only three hits and struck out 16 times, Langeliers was the only Athletic who consistently broke through.
Gausman dominated the rest of the order. He allowed one hit in 6.0 innings and struck out 11. Then Toronto’s bullpen kept the pressure on until Langeliers finally broke through against Hoffman.
Still, the tie did not last.
Justin Sterner retired the first two hitters in the ninth before Kazuma Okamoto singled. Clement followed with his second double of the game, and Giménez grounded a single to right to bring home the winning run.
The bigger picture
The Athletics did a lot right in a tough opener. They turned a double play behind Severino. They got 3.0 strong innings from Barlow and Harris. And they pushed the defending AL champs to the final swing in a charged stadium after Toronto’s pregame banner ceremony.
But the offense around Langeliers never got going.
Nick Kurtz went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first Opening Day. Brent Rooker finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Jacob Wilson went 0-for-4, and the A’s finished 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position while leaving only three men on base because so few reached.
So, the result was close. The margin for error was not.
Langeliers gave the A’s all they could ask for. In the end, Toronto had the last answer.
Up next
The Athletics continue their season-opening series in Toronto on Saturday at 9:07 a.m. PT. Left-hander Jeffrey Springs is scheduled to start for the A’s against Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
