MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Byrnes

Athletics Notes: The A’s concluded a fine 4-2 road trip on a bad note, getting pounded by the Seattle Mariners 11-4. In the finale Seattle’s Cal Raleigh put the Athletics on the wrong side of history when he hit home runs 48 and 49 on the year, to set an MLB record for the most home runs by a catcher, in a season. The teams split the first two games of the series with two fine pitching duels, while the A’s struggled at the plate the entire series.

Athletics Batting: The return of shortstop Jacob Wilson from a wrist injury was one of the few bright spots for the A’s in Seattle. At the end of July, he was hit on the left arm by Atlanta pitcher Didier Fuentes, in retaliation for an inside-the-park home run by leadoff hitter Lawrence Butler. With the intestinal fortitude afforded him by his father Jack, a former MLB shortstop himself, he played another ten games before an MRI showed he had a broken forearm the entire time. Wilson was the talk of the league at the time, a rookie of the year front-runner, and was the AL All-Star starting shortstop.

He was batting an impressive .335, good for second in baseball behind Yankees’ superstar Aaron Judge, when he was struck and by the time he went on the IL his batting average had dipped to .312. The beaning of Wilson will likely cost him the Rookie of the Year Award, to his teammate Nick Kurtz, but he has returned and returned hot. Wilson hit his 18th double, his 11th home run, and had at least one hit in every game, batting .417. No other Athletics player had more than two hits in the series, with the top of the lineup: -Kurtz (0-for-10)-Langeliers (1-for-13)-Rooker (2-for-9)-Soderstrom (1-for-11) batting an abysmal .093 average.

As a foursome they struck out a combined 18 times, and even former leadoff hitter CF Lawrence Butler had four more strikeouts among his 0-for-8 series. It’s still puzzling why the A’s traded 3B/LF Miguel Andujar to Cincinnati before the trade deadline. Batting nearly .300 at the time, he was traded for a High-A pitching prospect that the team won’t likely see until after they reach Las Vegas in 2028. His hitting approach is exactly what the A’s need, in series where they struggle at the plate. Oddly Gio Urshela (.238) who took over for Andujar, was designated for assignment and quickly released. Luis Urias (.230) and rookie Brian Harris (.222) have shared the duties and have fared even worse while Andujar is hitting .358 for the Reds. With a young, top five offense, the A’s can concentrate on pitching prospects for the next couple of drafts so this trade seemed unnecessary. “Swing and a miss Athletics!”

Athletics Pitching: A’s Rookie Luis Morales retired the first 13 he faced in the series opener but Mariners starter Bryan Woo allowed only one hit in seven innings for a 2-1 Seattle win. Jeffrey Springs returned the favor by allowing just one run on two hits, in an A’s 2-1 victory the next day. The wheels fell off for Jacob Lopez in the finale, as he gave up nine runs on six hits and six walks, lasting just six outs. Struggling with control, it was obvious something was off in his delivery but in typical Kotsay fashion, Lopez was left to crash and burn. This may haunt the team as Lopez had forearm issues after being pulled. Jack Perkins was placed on the 15-day IL just four days earlier, when they ignored shoulder issues in his last start and in both cases, Osvaldo Bido was available and rested. He is a former starter working long relief and leaving him in the bullpen seems irresponsible in hindsight.

Upcoming Series: The A’s (60-72) will spend the rest of August at home and will start the homestand against the Detroit Tigers (78-54). The runaway AL Central leaders send All-Star starter LHP Tarik Skubal (11-3, 2.32) to face Athletics RHP JT Ginn (2-5, 4.95). Game Time: August 25, 2025 7:05 PM Sutter Health Park West Sacramento, Ca.