MidValleySports.Com

 
By Tim Byrnes

A’s batters made a decision to see some pitches for a  change, and the transformation was immediate!

The A’s drew 16 walks in the series against the Angels and scored 30 runs to take 2-of-3 games.

Eight players scored runs, and the team had eight free passes in the game to take the opener 10-4.

The team built on the double digit run output, drawing another six walks, and absolutely destroying LA 17-4 saturday, while the finale was a close 4-3 loss to the Angels.

Runs were plenty while the odd lineup choices continue to hamper Kotsay and baffle the fanbase.

Athletics Batting:
With 27 runs in the first two games, nearly the entire squad had solid output, offensively.

Leading the way for the A’s was OF JJ Bleday, who batted .500, hit a home run in each game, and had a team-leading six rbi’s in those first two games.

With four home runs in his last four games, Bleday should have been starting in the finale but Manager Mark Kotsay sat him again.

In The Cardinals, series Bleday had a two-homer game and followed it by going 1-for-3 with a double but was sat in the finale.

Its obvious, Bleday is streaking right now, yet continues to share at-bats in series finales as Kotsay continues to tinker with the lineup.

Left fielder Tyler Soderstrom continued to anchor the team, going 5-for-11, with a little bit of everything thrown in.

Sodie, as he is called, hit his 29th double, 24th home run, drove in five runs, and added a walk, hbp, and a stolen base.
Word is he even parked cars.

Nick Kurtz is a power hitting first baseman, and with a four-homer game he should be batting 3rd or cleanup.

Kotsay has been batting him leadoff, and while he had four walks to lead the team, he also led in strikeouts with six.

He scored five runs but only one rbi to shine a light on an issue.
In spite of hitting his 29th home run, he has few rbi opportunities batting leadoff, and with Jacob Wilson batting .315 with considerable less power, the two A’s players need to swap spots in the lineup.

Athletics Pitching:
Rookie Mason Barnett (1-1) made his second start of his career and talk about “two sides of a coin.”

Barnett walked five in the game, and gave up four runs in the first to start the series on a scary note.

Barnett then struck out five of the next six, allowed only one more hit over the next four innings to take the win.

JT Ginn followed that with a five hit, one-run outing to win the blowout while Luis Severino struggled with control, hitting three of the five Angels who were struck in the finale.

“She did what?”

I would be remiss, not mentioning ” Phillies Karen”, who decided to channel an inner demon, and take a home run ball from a child.

Phillies Harrison Bader’s home run was retrieved by a dad for his sons birthday, only to be confronted by a Phillies fan demanding the ball.

Not to freak out all of his kids, the father gave the ball up to the unstable woman.

She went on to confront multiple people in the crowd, who in spite of a history of booing Santa Claus, was having none of it.
She was screamed out of the stadium.

General Rule: If your an adult and you get a ball, look at it with the goofy grin everyone gets when they get a ball.

Then find a kid and make their childhood!

Bader met with the family, and signed a bat, while the home team Marlins created a care package and presented it to the boy.

Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World, bought the family World Series tix and an RV to make a bad situation, a better one.

Upcoming Series:
The A’s (66-78) return home to face the Boston Red Sox (79-65), in what will be six meetings over the next 11 days.

Red Sox all-star LHP Garrett Crochet (14-5, 2.67) is a tough matchup for rookie upstart RHP Luis Morales (3-0, 1.59).

GameTime:
Sept 8th, 2025 705pm
Sutter Health Park
West Sacramento, Ca