The Athletics found a new way to make the same week hurt.
Gage Jump gave them five scoreless innings Wednesday night, but the A’s could not turn another strong start into a win. Instead, the bullpen gave up two ninth-inning homers in a 2-1 walk-off loss to the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
The loss was the Athletics’ fourth straight and dropped them to 38-42. They also fell four games under the break-even mark and sit 2.5 games behind Seattle in a crowded AL West chase.
Jump gives them enough
Jump did more than enough to give the A’s a chance.
The rookie left-hander struck out nine over five scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, walked one and threw 66 of his 97 pitches for strikes.
Jump opened with a statement inning, striking out Matt Chapman, Bryce Eldridge and Casey Schmitt in order. Then he worked around Jung Hoo Lee’s second-inning double by striking out Victor Bericoto.
After that, Jump kept San Francisco quiet. He left after five innings with the game still scoreless.
The missed chances
The problem was the offense could not back him up.
The A’s finished with three hits and went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. They also lost a chance in the fifth after Jacob Wilson singled and Joey Meneses walked.
Lawrence Butler hit a sharp liner to second baseman Casey Schmitt. However, the play turned into an inning-ending double play when Wilson was thrown out at home after Schmitt’s throwing error.
Henry Bolte doubled in the sixth, but Nick Kurtz flied out to strand him.
Muncy breaks through
The A’s finally found a run in the eighth.
Max Muncy turned on a pitch from Dylan Smith and sent it to center field for his fifth homer of the season. The two-out swing gave the Athletics a 1-0 lead and briefly changed the feel of the night.
Meanwhile, the bullpen kept the lead alive at first. Justin Sterner worked a clean sixth, Hogan Harris handled the seventh and Luis Medina escaped trouble in the eighth after two walks.
Medina struck out Eldridge and Schmitt to strand two runners and keep the A’s ahead.
Ninth-inning collapse
Then the game flipped in the ninth.
Elvis Alvarado entered with a 1-0 lead and immediately gave up a game-tying homer to Rafael Devers. The A’s still had a chance to extend the game, but San Francisco had one more swing coming.
With two outs, Bericoto hit a 445-foot homer to center field to end it.
Alvarado took the loss and his first blown save. He allowed two runs on two hits over two-thirds of an inning.
Numbers that mattered
San Francisco finished with two runs, six hits and one error. The Athletics had one run, three hits and no errors.
Muncy drove in the only A’s run. Bolte doubled, walked and stole his ninth base of the season.
For the Giants, Devers and Bericoto supplied all the scoring. Both homers came in the ninth, and both came off Alvarado.
In the end, the A’s wasted another strong start. One night it has been the pitching. The next night, it has been the offense.
On Wednesday, both problems met in the middle.
Up next
The Athletics will try to avoid a sweep Thursday afternoon at Oracle Park. First pitch is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. PDT.
Jeffrey Springs gets the ball for the A’s. The left-hander enters at 3-7 with a 5.55 ERA and 72 strikeouts.
Springs has struggled over his last seven starts, going 0-4 with a 7.49 ERA across 33 2/3 innings.
Across from him, San Francisco turns to right-hander Landen Roupp. He enters at 5-7 with a 4.15 ERA and 89 strikeouts.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, 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.
