The Athletics finally broke through in Philadelphia with an offensive outburst Thursday night.
Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker homered in a four-run first inning, and J.T. Ginn delivered his best start of the season in a 12-1 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The win moved the A’s to 19-18 and helped them avoid a three-game sweep.
First swings set the tone
The Athletics wasted no time against Phillies starter Andrew Painter.
Nick Kurtz opened the game with a walk. Then Langeliers launched a two-run homer to left-center for his 11th homer of the season.
Soon after, Tyler Soderstrom worked a walk. Rooker followed with a two-run homer to left that pushed the lead to 4-0 before the Phillies recorded an out.
The Athletics struck again in the third inning.
Carlos Cortes lined an RBI single to center that scored Soderstrom. Then Jacob Wilson added a two-run homer to left to stretch the lead to 7-0.
Rooker reaches 500
Rooker added another milestone in the fourth inning.
His RBI single scored Langeliers and marked the 500th hit of his major league career. Rooker finished 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and a walk.
The offense kept rolling in the fifth.
Lawrence Butler walked and later scored on Zack Gelof’s RBI triple to left. Kurtz followed with an RBI single to make it 10-1.
Then Gelof capped the scoring in the seventh with a two-run homer to left-center. The third baseman finished 2-for-5 with a triple, a homer and three RBIs.
Ginn settles in
Ginn gave the Athletics exactly what they needed after a rough first two games of the series.
The right-hander worked eight innings and allowed one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out eight while earning his first win of the season.
Kyle Schwarber accounted for Philadelphia’s only run with a solo homer in the fourth inning. Otherwise, Ginn stayed in control and kept the Phillies from building any momentum.
Meanwhile, the Athletics defense turned two double plays behind him.
Numbers that mattered
The Athletics finished with 13 hits and went 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Langeliers went 2-for-5 with two RBIs, while Wilson drove in two runs with his third homer of the season. Cortes also collected two hits and an RBI.
Butler scored twice and doubled, while Soderstrom reached base three times and scored twice.
Brooks Kriske handled the ninth inning to close out the win.
Up next
The Athletics continue their six-game road trip Friday in Baltimore.
Jacob Lopez is scheduled to start against Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
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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.
