The Athletics managed to finish off the Angels in convincing fashion on Wednesday evening. They beat their division rivals 7-3 to clinch their 63rd win of the year. That means no matter what happens over the final four games, the A’s will avoid 100 losses this season. Plus, with tonight’s win and the overall series sweep, the Athletics are looking extremely likely to finish ahead of the Angels in both the division and the league. We’re not the worst!
Springs solid in final start of season
Taking to
the hill one last time for the 2026 season (and possibly his last time in an A’s uniform), veteran Jeffrey Springs was looking to end his tough season on a high note. He’s about to head to free agency so he came into this one looking to prove something to potential suitors this winter.
We got vintage Springs early on in this one. Through the first three frames he was in control, allowing just a pair of singles, one of which he picked off and the other he wiped out thanks to a double play. The lefty also collected a couple of punch outs. He was on early.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning did Los Angeles finally start to connect on him. First it was future Hall of Famer Mike Trout launching a one-out solo home run, and he was immediately followed by another long ball, this one off the bat of Vaughn Grissom to make it back-to-back homers. Springs would get out of the frame and start the fifth but a one-out hit by pitch was enough for manager Mark Kotsay to come out and get his starter, ending his night and his season.
- Jeffrey Springs: 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 84 pitches
That’s it for Springs this season, and possibly in an Athletics uniform. He’s made it known his pitching style isn’t conducive to Sutter Health Park and with the A’s in Sacramento for one more season his tenure with us is likely over. He’ll end his season with a 6.18 ERA in 29 starts. Not great numbers heading into free agency but someone may look at his past results and think they can fix him next season. It just likely won’t be the A’s.
Offense shows up against top rookie
The bat meanwhile had a bit of a tall task before themselves tonight. The Angels were sending their top starting pitcher, rookie right-hander Walbert Urena, to the mound for tonight’s series finale. Urena has faced the A’s three times this season; two of his starts were gems, while his third and most recent was a disaster (7 ER). Which Urena would show up tonight against the A’s?
It looked like the more recent one. The A’s jumped all over the rookie in the first inning. Henry Bolte started things off with a leadoff single and quickly moved to second. That put him in scoring position for Lawrence Butler, who came through with a single of his own to drive in Bolte and give the A’s the first lead of the night after just two batters:
Next up was Langeliers, but he grounded into a double play, seemingly ending the rally. With two outs Jeff McNeil worked a walk and Zack Gelof was plunked, suddenly putting two on for Donovan Walton. All the A’s needed was a single for an extra run but he took advantage of a hanger from Urena, launching a massive three-run shot to make it 4-0 A’s:
The inning would end but the A’s offense wasn’t done there. Shortstop Alika Williams led off the second with a single and stole second, setting up Bolte for an RBI opportunity of his own, one he would not waste:
That was Bolte’s second hit of what would end up being a four-hit night for the rookie. He’s now slashing .279/.362/.407 with 11 home runs and 21 stolen bases while playing solid center field defense as a rookie. What more could you want from him, A’s fans?
Angels claw back
Down 5-0 Los Angeles got those two home runs off Springs, then brought home the last batter that Springs faced around in the fifth to make it 5-3, with that run charged to Springs. This was suddenly a game again, and with at least four more innings to go. The A’s could not let this one slip away, not after giving themselves a five-run head start.
A’s add on, and hold on
Looking to put some distance back between the two teams the lineup got back to work. With Urena now out of the game the A’s had to get a couple runs off the Angels’ bullpen if they wanted some insurance. They got that when Langeliers connected on his 100th career double, a two-out, two-run base knock to make it 7-3 A’s:
It’s fantastic to see such a big part of the team hitting so well and not looking like he’s missed a beat. Health is the most important thing, but he’s now hitting .300 since his return. Still no long ball but the Houston series awaits!
While the A’s have had bullpen issues all year long, those troubles did not rear their ugly head tonight. Righty Geoff Hartlieb took over for Springs and got five outs tonight. Fellow right-hander Luis Medina handled a clean seventh, lefty Hogan Harris had an uneventful ninth, and Elvis Alvarado finished things off with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Series sweep! Even if it is just a two-game set. The A’s have clinched a non-100-loss season and are looking good for fourth place in the AL West. The offense did its job and then some against a tough opponent on the mound, and while Springs wasn’t his sharpest he did enough for the A’s and the bullpen to finish this one off.
The A’s have just one series left before the offseason arrives. They’ll welcome the division-rival Houston Astros to Sacramento for four games against the contenders, who have yet to officially punch their ticket to October. That means we’ll be getting their best foot forward these next few games, possibly all the way through Sunday. Neither team has announced their starter for the series opener so stay tuned to find out the pitching matchup.
