The Athletics and Giants opened their three-game series on a beautiful Friday night in front of a strong crowd at Sutter Health Park. The A’s prevailed 5-2 thanks to another solid start from starting pitcher Aaron Civale, first baseman Nick Kurtz’s latest game-changing blast and a makeshift bullpen that bent but did not break.
A’s Waste Early Scoring Chance
Civale tossed a scoreless first, retiring the first three Giants hitters in order. Giants’ pitcher, Tyler Mahle, matched his counterpart. A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom hit a two-out double before Mahle struck out designated hitter Brent Rooker to complete a clean first inning of work.
A’s Take 1-0 Lead!
In the bottom of the second, Athletics’ third baseman Zack Gelof walked With two outs, shortstop Darell Hernaiz blooped a single to right field, moving Gelof from first base to third. Jeff McNeil roped his ninth double of the season to the right field fence. Gelof easily scored; however the Giants worked a defensive relay to perfection to throw out Hernaiz at home plate. With Kurtz on deck, the A’s maybe should have put the stop sign on there to give their slugging first baseman a chance with two on and two outs.
Civale responded with a seven-pitch shutdown inning, quickly turning things back over to his offense.
Giants Tie the Game
Giants’ second baseman Luis Arraez led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to right field, his first of the season and as a Giant. With two outs, San Francisco’s left fielder Heliot Ramos and shortstop Willy Adames got back-to-back hits off of Civale. The A’s pitcher escaped that jam by getting the Giants’ designated hitter Bryce Eldridge to hit a sharp line out to McNeil at second.
Bolte: Good and Bad
In the bottom of the fourth, A’s center fielder Henry Bolte lined a single to center. He has now recorded a hit in his first three MLB games. Bolte was thrown out attempting to steal second to end that frame.
Giants Jump in Front
In the fifth, the Giants took their first lead of the game. Center fielder Harrison Bader hit his third home run of the season, a solo blast to left field. After allowing two singles, Civale wiggled out of that tough situation by retiring Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers to keep his team’s deficit at one.
Churn More Butter!
A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to right. He advanced to second on Hernaiz’s sacrifice bunt. McNeil singled to left just in front of the diving Ramos, advancing Butler to third with only one out. That brought up Kurtz, who extended his on-base streak to 38 games in a big way. The “Big Amish” put his team back in front with a three-run home run to left center, his eighth of the season and third in as many games.
A’s Add Another Run
The A’s were not done against Mahle. Shea Langeliers and Rooker blooped singles to right field. With two outs, Bolte lined an RBI single to left field, scoring Langeliers for the A’s fourth run of the inning.
Bolte continues to impress since his promotion, contributing on offense and defense. That was Mahle’s last inning of his outing, which quickly devolved as he failed to protect his team’s lead.
A’s Bullpen Shuts the Door
A’s right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel replaced Civale in the sixth. Civale had another solid outing, aside from the two mistake pitches that resulted in home runs. Despite only striking out two and giving up a fair amount of hard contact, he was able to limit the damage and keep his team in the ballgame. Kuhnel pitched a scoreless inning, getting the next two hitters out after Adames had doubled with one out.
Left-handed reliever Jose Suarez made his A’s debut in the seventh inning. He did not take long to put himself in a tough situation as Bader singled and then Arraez doubled. Somehow Suarez escaped that situation by striking out Chapman and getting Devers to groundout to first baseman Kurtz. Those two Giants continue to struggle, which is particularly problematic given both players’ high salaries. The Giants finished the game 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and ten left on base, a sign they had plenty of chances to score, but failed to capitalize.
Right-hander Luis Medina pitched a much less stressful scoreless eighth inning for the Athletics, continuing his stellar recent work in relief. He has gradually worked his way into higher-leverage opportunities and now sports a 1.62 ERA in his first season post Tommy John surgery.
Last but not least, left-hander Hogan Harris came in for the ninth inning save opportunity. Unlike yesterday, the A’s held on for the victory. Harris got two quick outs, gave up Arraez’s fourth hit of the game and then rebounded to retire Matt Chapman to secure the Athletics 5-2 victory and collect his third save of the season.
Things got rocky late for the A’s bullpen, but they were able to protect the lead, securing Civale’s fifth win of 2026 and getting this rivalry series off to the right start.
Preview
Tomorrow, these two teams will duke it out in the middle game of this three-game set. Right-hander Luis Severino is scheduled to pitch for the hosts. Through nine starts, the 32-year-old is 2-4 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He has pitched well in his last two outings, only to get tagged with the loss in each game. Hope he has another strong performance tomorrow as the A’s seek to win the series. The Giants will counter with young right-hander Trevor McDonald, who enters his third start with a 1-0 record and a 2.92 ERA, It should be another exciting matchup tomorrow evening.
Read the full article here