By Tim Byrnes
Drums Please!
Final Nick Kurtz tally for July:
34-for-89 (.410/.490/.988/1.478) with 13 doubles, a triple, and 11 home runs.
Kurtz also added 11 runs, 12 walks, and 27 Rbi’s for a masterful month.
Remember the name Didier Fuentes!
The A’s have lost All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson to the 10-day IL with a broken left forearm, after a miserable 10 game run had them looking for causes for a 4-for-38 slump (.105) by the A’s leading hitter.
On July 8th, Atlanta starter Didier Fuentes had just given up an inside-the-park home run to leadoff Lawrence Butler, and visibly irritated he hit Wilson with a 97 mph fastball with the next pitch.
Wilson was pulled immediately and missed the next three games while Fuentes was demoted to AAA.
Wilson struggled when he returned and saw his second best batting average in MLB of .335, drop to .312.
He was leading in the AL Rookie of the Year talk at the time and Fuentes may have cost him that possibility; teammate Nick Kurtz notwithstanding.
The A’s took two of three from Seattle with Manager Mark Kotsay running his team like Tony LaRussa of late.
His pitching staff decisions, choice of usage from the bench, and callups from the minors have been spot on since the Astros series.
Athletics Batting:
Miguel Andujar MUST be in the lineup EVERY game!
He is the second most consistent bat on the A’s behind Wilson and showed it with hits in every game, and two doubles, two home runs, and four Rbi’s for the series.
Andujar has hits in nine of his eleven games since the AS Break.
C Shea Langeliers had home runs in the last three games in Houston and continued his solid contact with his 16th double, and 18th home run in game two of the series.
While he is dialed in at the plate he continues to struggle with base runners, as the Mariners stole five bags making it 68 stolen bases in 80 attempts versus Langeliers’ arm.
All-Star DH Brent Rooker added home runs 22+23 with five rbi’s to he extended his hitting streak to five games.
With utility knife Max Schuemann on a 2-for-22 (.090) skid at the plate, Kotsay called up 3B/SS Darell Hernaiz to cover Wilson’s departure.
Hernaiz hit .429 against Seattle, with his first home run and stolen base of the year to earn his promotion.
Athletics Pitching:
Starting pitching continues to improve with JP Sears, Luis Severino, and Jeffrey Springs combining to allow only four earned runs over the three game set.
Starters have five wins in the last seven games with the Athletics going 6-1 versus AL West leading Houston and second place Seattle.
It has been ten games since an A’s starter gave up more than two earned runs which is the best stretch of the season.
The relievers also did their job, giving up only three runs in 11.2 innings and Kotsay has to be commended on how he is using his relief corp. of late.
Using Jack Perkins, Sean Newcomb, and Michael Kelly for longer middle relief (2+ innings) and the others for no more than one inning has translated into rested arms.
Upcoming Series:
The Arizona Diamondbacks (51-58) visit Sutter Health Park Friday and take on a streaking Athletics team (48-63) for a weekend series.
Probable Arizona starter RHP Merrill Kelly (9-6, 3.22) faces A’s LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6, 4.29) with Lopez coming off a two hit, scoreless outing.
Lopez is battling control issues with nine walks in his last three starts and hasn’t surpassed five innings pitched in over a month.
GameTime:
August 1, 2025 705pm
Sutter Health Park
West Sacramento, Ca
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