![\"\"](\"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/oakland_athletics.png\")
By Tim Byrnes<\/p>\nBy Tim Byrnes<\/p>\n
This four-game series against the Anaheim Angels was a tale of two teams. Rookie starter Gage Jump continued an amazing start to his career, and the team managed a comeback for the ages, but then the next two games showed Athletics pitching as one of the most-unstable staff\u2019s in baseball.<\/p>\n
(Athletics: 5-0)
\n The Athletics sent eleven batters to the plate, to open the series, and \u201c61-Jump Street\u201d went seven innings of scoreless, one-hit baseball, for their fourth shutout of the season.<\/p>\n
Zack Gelof extended his hitting streak to 22-games by opening the game with a single, and Nick Kurtz doubled off the wall to get two aboard with nobody out.<\/p>\n
Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom went back-to-back home runs to put the A\u2019s up 4-0, and a Henry Bolte sac-fly scored the final run of the game, eight batters into the Thursday night game.<\/p>\n
Jump (3-1, 2.37) struck out seven, and his zero earned runs is the second time having done so, in just five career starts. He started the outing using a lot of fastballs, and moved to using his slider as his out-pitch the second time through the lineup. As he navigated the sixth and seventh, Jump went to a nasty curve to maintain surprise to the Angels hitters.<\/p>\n
Relievers Mason Barnett and Hogan Harris allowed two runners in both the eighth and ninth innings but sprinkled in four strikeouts to preserve the series opening win for the Athletics.<\/p>\n
(Athletics: 12-11)
\nNick Kurtz shook off four-consecutive strikeouts, and drew a walk with bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th-inning, and the A\u2019s scored eight straight runs to win 12-11.<\/p>\n
Lawrence Butler homered in the 3rd-inning to start the scoring off, and the A\u2019s added three more in the fourth to go up 4-0.<\/p>\n
Starter Jeffrey Springs cruised through the first three innings with little issue, but completely melted down in another \u201cINNING\u201d from hell in the fourth. The line: <walk, double, RBI-sac fly, HR, walk, walk, HR>, before Justin Sterner relieved Springs, and allowed another solo-home run for a 7-4 deficit.<\/p>\n
He stayed for the 5th-inning and gave up a 3-run bomb, and Jose Suarez allowed a solo-shot in the sixth to put the A\u2019s in an 11-4 hole before the momentum shifted back to the A\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Two-run home runs by Jacob Wilson and Jeff McNeil, and a clutch 2-out bottom of the 9th-inning shot by backup catcher Jonah Heim helped make up a seven-run deficit, before Kurtz’s dramatic finish.<\/p>\n
Reliever Scott Barlow had a 1-2-3, two strikeout 8th-inning, and Elvis Alvarado (3-1, 5.00) pitched the final two innings for the win.<\/p>\n
(Angels: 7-0)
\nThe bats went quiet for the Athletics Saturday, and JT Ginn struggled by getting behind (2-0) to eight Angels hitters in 5 1\/3 innings, in the 7-0 shutout loss. Five different Athletics had two strikeouts, and none had more than one-hit, for yet another laid-egg when the team could have taken the series. <\/p>\n
Scott Barlow allowed: <single, RBI-double, RBI-double> to increase the deficit to 6-0, and was unceremoniously DFA\u2019d after the game, while career minor-leaguer Geoff Hartlieb went the final three innings for the A\u2019s, allowing just a Denzer Guzman solo-shot for the final 7-0 score,<\/p>\n
(Angels: 9-7)
\nSimilar to the opener, the A\u2019s sent nine batters to the plate and scored four times in the first inning. Kurtz had an RBI-single in the 4th-inning that drove in Gelof, who increased his hitting streak to 25 games, tops in MLB. Kurtz later hit a 2-run homer in the seventh but it wasn\u2019t enough for the Athletics in the loss.<\/p>\n
Like in the Pirates finale where the relievers allowed six earned runs, Hogan Harris gave up a 3-run bomb to Guzman in the eighth and Elvis Alvarado lost the game allowing a 2-run home run to Zach Neto in the top of the ninth.<\/p>\n
Athletics starter Jack Perkins lasted just five innings with four earned runs but looked a lot better than in recent starts. Perkins struck out the side in the third and had eight total in the game to continue to improve his control.<\/p>\n
Next: @ Giants 6\/23 645pm pst Oracle Park, San Francisco Ca<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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