The Athletics needed a clean turn after a rough week, and J.T. Ginn gave them one.
Ginn became the first A’s starter to earn a win since May 15, and the Athletics snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Yankees on Saturday at Sutter Health Park. The A’s improved to 28-30 and stayed 1.5 games behind Seattle in the AL West.
Power sets the tone
Nick Kurtz singled in the first, and Shea Langeliers followed with a two-run homer to center. It was Langeliers’ 14th homer of the season.
The Yankees scored an unearned run in the fourth after two A’s errors. However, Ginn limited the damage and kept New York from tying it.
The fourth also had an odd ABS delay. Langeliers challenged a 2-0 pitch that he thought missed low. The stadium replay did not appear, and after a delay, plate umpire Adam Beck announced a strike. The MLB.com zone showed the pitch 0.8 inches low, but Langeliers still worked a walk.
Ginn delivers
Ginn gave the Athletics exactly what they needed.
He allowed one unearned run on four hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out four while improving to 3-3.
The A’s gave him more room in the sixth when Tyler Soderstrom homered to center. Then Kurtz broke it open in the seventh with a two-run homer, his 10th of the season.
The start carried extra weight after the Athletics placed Luis Severino on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a right shoulder strain. The club also recalled reliever Michael Kelly from Triple-A.
With Severino and Aaron Civale both sidelined by shoulder issues, Mark Kotsay said the A’s are weighing options such as Kade Morris or Joey Estes to help cover the rotation.
Defensive lift
The A’s also got key defensive work behind Ginn.
Zack Gelof, Alika Williams and Kurtz turned an inning-ending double play on Aaron Judge in the first. Then Hogan Harris stranded two runners in the seventh by striking out Ben Rice.
Justin Sterner followed with a clean eighth.
Ninth gets messy
Zack Gelof added an RBI single in the eighth, giving the A’s a 6-1 lead.
Then the ninth got ugly. Jack Perkins opened the inning with a strikeout, but two walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs.
Scott Barlow entered and walked Ben Rice, Judge and Cody Bellinger in order, cutting the lead to 6-4. Still, Barlow got Jazz Chisholm Jr. to ground out and earned his second save.
Numbers that mattered
Soderstrom went 3-for-3 with a homer, a double, a walk and an RBI. Kurtz went 3-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs.
Langeliers drove in two with his first-inning homer. Gelof added two hits and an RBI.
The A’s hit three homers and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Up next
The series finale is Sunday at Sutter Health Park.
Jacob Lopez is scheduled to start for the A’s. He enters 4-2 with a 5.73 ERA and 35 strikeouts. New York is set to counter with Will Warren, who is 6-1 with a 3.55 ERA and 65 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.
