Las Vegas A's

Cubs walk off A’s 7-6 after 4-run ninth ruins sweep

A 4-run ninth wiped out the A’s sweep chance Thursday at Wrigley Field, turning a five-run lead into a 7-6 loss to the Cubs. Shea Langeliers hit two homers, and Oakland went deep four times, but the bullpen could not finish.

by
Mark Hebert
June 5, 2026

Joel Kuhnel walks to the dugout during a ninth-inning pitching change against the Chicago Cubs.

Jun 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Joel Kuhnel (47) walks to the dugout during a pitching change in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Athletics had the sweep lined up. Then the ninth inning erased it.

The A’s hit four home runs and built a five-run lead, but the Cubs rallied for four runs in the ninth to beat the Athletics 7-6 on Thursday at Wrigley Field. As a result, the A’s dropped to 30-32 and settled for two wins in the three-game series.

Ginn gives them plenty

J.T. Ginn gave the A’s another strong start.

He allowed one run on two hits over six innings. He walked one, struck out eight and kept Chicago quiet until Pete Crow-Armstrong’s solo homer in the sixth.

Four swings, six runs

Shea Langeliers started the power show with a solo homer in the fourth. Then Henry Bolte doubled in Alika Williams in the sixth.

Langeliers followed with his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to center. Next, Tyler Soderstrom and Jonah Heim went back-to-back in the seventh to make it 6-1.

Heim joins the partyyyy 🥳 pic.twitter.com/Y60IJQYpso

— Athletics (@Athletics) June 5, 2026

Bullpen can’t finish

Chicago cut it to 6-3 in the seventh on Ian Happ’s two-run homer off Scott Barlow.

Mark Leiter Jr. worked a clean eighth, but the ninth fell apart. Joel Kuhnel allowed five hits and four runs in 2/3 of an inning.

Then Luis Medina entered and allowed back-to-back RBI singles to Dansby Swanson and Crow-Armstrong. Medina was charged with the blown save.

Numbers that mattered

Langeliers went 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs. Bolte went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Heim and Soderstrom each homered.

Still, the A’s managed only seven hits and went 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position.

Up next

The A’s head to Houston for the next stop on the road trip.

Jack Perkins is scheduled to start Friday against the Astros at Daikin Park. Houston is set to counter with Peter Lambert.

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.