If you were curious to what the “2026 A’s experience” was going to be like, you should’ve attended these past three games in West Sac like I did. Over the course of a 72-hour period, they blew out a division rival, got blown out by a division rival, went eleven innings deep against a division rival, and ended it all with a walk off home run and a 12-10 victory.
That’s A’s baseball for you.
Well, that’s at least the tune of this current team. We’re more likely to witness Tyler Soderstrom put up 3 RBIs
and 3 errors in the same game than have a goose egg hung up by the relief unit. But hey, as long as they win like they did today I’ll remain in the camp of positivity. Everyone knows a great playoff team operates from a place where putting up ten plus runs to win is a necessity.
It almost felt like two different ball games today.
The first half was a bit slow out of the gate. The A’s would get a two-out hit that teased us a little, making us think a rally was just right around the corner before failing to deliver. The second half of the game was anxiety ridden. No lead was safe. Home runs were being hit at almost an inning-by-inning clip.
The A’s might’ve been the last team to score today, but it was the Astros who struck first. After striking out Nick Allen to begin the top of the fifth, Jacob Lopez ran into that Houston heat. First, it was a Jose Altuve single to kick things off. Then a Yordan Alvarez homer to break the silence. By the end of the inning, another run would be tacked onto the damage, thanks to a Cam Smith RBI single. Tyler Soderstrom’s blunder out in left was quickly erased by him throwing out Cam Smith at second to end the inning, but that doesn’t erase the fact that he completely misplayed it in the first place.
If these first nine games were the extent of your Soderstrom intake, you’d be shocked to find out he has a gold glove nomination under his belt. Other than his bat, his throwing arm is really what’s keeping him out there. In the tenth inning he almost saved the day by throwing out Nick Allen at home. It was just a tad late, but an impressive dot nonetheless. Maybe we let him throw a couple of innings next week – – just for the plot. Could be the best way to keep him in the lineup whilst employing a competent route runner out in left.
All shade aside, the kid can rake. After Carlos Cortes’ RBI double put the A’s on the board, Soderstrom would get a hold of one that looked to be a grand slam off the bat. While falling short of being the second A’s grand slam of the season, it still succeeded in getting the job done. Astros centerfielder, Jake Meyers’ mediocre Josh Hamilton impression helped clear the bases, giving the A’s a 4-3 lead. Brent Rooker’s sacrifice fly added another run to the damage. A five run inning put the ball back in the A’s court for a hot minute albeit short lived.
Christian Walker smoked one off of J.T. Ginn. to tie it up in the seventh.
Brent Rooker, dissatisfied with his previous sacrificial fly ball efforts, decided then that a home run was what the doctor ordered. With Tyler Soderstrom on base, he smoked a 96 mph AJ Blubaugh fastball for a line drive home run that left the yard in a hurry. Any woes from the previous inning were short lived as now it was a 7-5 lead…then a 9-5 lead thanks to a Jeff McNeil blooper and Carlos Cortes’ second hit of the day.
But as we learned in Toronto, no lead is safe with this bullpen. Up by four going into the 8th, A’s hitters would watch on as Houston just dismantled Scott Barlow. Despite Mark Leiter Jr. being the one to give up the two runs that tied the game, Barlow looks to be responsible for all the damage.
So it’s tied up going into the bottom of the 9th and after a Jeff McNeil walk and an infield single by Denzel Clarke, the A’s are seemingly right there, just two bases away from ending it and with the heart of the lineup about to come up.
Everyone in the stadium was convinced it would be Astro-killer Nick Kurtz to send the fans home happy, but he’d strike out swinging on a full count. Then, Shea Langeliers looked have made it happen with a hit up the middle but Jose Altuve said no way. Not only did Altuve make a nice diving stop, but he was quick to light up Jeff McNeil at the plate to send the game into extra innings.
Which brings us back to Soderstrom almost throwing out Nick Allen at home.
Hogan Harris’ day would be over after giving up the RBI single to Carlos Correa and in his place would be Elvis Alvarado. He’d blow one by Cam Smith and then get Yainer Diaz to pop up to end the threat.
Look, I know he’s no Mason Miller but what’s the case against Elvis Alvarado being our closer? There’s an obvious stage presence that he’s in possession of, that a guy like Hogan Harris or Scott Barlow just doesn’t have. Also, making the dude with the fastest heater, your closer is just pre-saber metrics baseball 101.
Just ask Lou Brown.
Anyway, the Astros had a 10-9 lead going into bottom of the 10th when Brent Rooker came up to the plate.
Queue “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks and…
So despite all the hussing and fussing, the A’s head to New York having taken down the Astros in a high octane series. The dog in this team is obvious, I guess it’s really just a matter of getting all the moving places to line up across a 162 game stretch.
Their little road trip to the Big Apple will be a telling experience. They’ve already shown they can turn West Sac into a disco. But do they have what it takes to put a muzzle over NYC?
