The Athletics could not turn traffic into runs Saturday night.
Nick Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 46 games, tying A’s legend and Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, but the A’s were shut out 2-0 by the Padres at Petco Park. The loss dropped the Athletics to 26-26 and back to .500.
Ginn’s wild night
J.T. Ginn did not allow a hit, but he could not stay in the game.
Ginn walked six, hit a batter and was pulled after 2 1/3 innings. He struck out four, but the Padres scored twice against him without recording a hit.
San Diego took the lead in the second after Jackson Merrill walked, stole second and scored when Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Then, in the third, Nick Castellanos walked and scored on Ty France’s groundout after Merrill doubled off José Suarez.
Chances disappear
The A’s opened the game with back-to-back singles from Carlos Cortes and Kurtz. However, Lucas Giolito stranded both runners.
The best chance came in the fourth. Brent Rooker walked, Tyler Soderstrom walked and Henry Bolte walked to load the bases with one out. But Jeff McNeil grounded into a double play, and the inning ended.
Because of that, the A’s scoring drought reached 14 innings.
Numbers that mattered
Kurtz went 2-for-4 and pushed his on-base streak to 46 games. Cortes, Shea Langeliers and Darell Hernaiz had the other hits.
However, the A’s went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base. They also hit into three double plays.
The Padres managed only two hits, but their bullpen finished the shutout. Mason Miller struck out two in the ninth for his 16th save.
Up next
The series finale is Sunday at Petco Park.
Luis Medina is scheduled to start for the A’s. He enters 1-1 with a 2.41 ERA and 18 strikeouts. San Diego is set to counter with Michael King, who is 4-2 with a 2.31 ERA and 59 strikeouts.
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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.
