Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!
As I’d hoped, the A’s brought plenty of offense in their final series of 2025 against the Angels over the weekend, averaging more than 10 runs per game. Somewhat surprisingly, this wasn’t enough to sweep the series as the A’s dropped yesterday’s game in its late innings.
A sweep of the Angels would have been especially nice, as it would have left the teams in a tie for fourth place in the AL West instead of the A’s remaining at the bottom of the heap. But the A’s are
probably happy enough with the series win—and the padded batting stats.
Another positive takeaway from the weekend that may have been obscured by all that offense is that the A’s beleaguered back end starters both got much needed wins in Anaheim. Mason Barnett persevered after a tough first inning to notch his first ever MLB win on Friday, while on Saturday, J.T. Ginn won his first start since July 27 following a winless August. One common feature of Ginn’s wins? No walks issued in either appearance.
Barnett looked atrocious at the outset of Friday’s game, hitting Angels shortstop Zach Neto to lead things off and walking three in the first frame in the process of digging the A’s a four-run hole. I was calling out for Mason to be immediately airlifted back to Vegas after that disastrous beginning, but the 24-year-old trade acquisition from 2024 recovered nicely, following up with eight strikeouts through the four scoreless innings that followed. That should earn him another start this week.
The A’s have seen the emergence of some promising pitching depth this season, and if young arms like Barnett and Ginn can find their bearings, the team has a shot of rolling out a rotation in 2026 that is solid front-to-back.
The A’s are back in West Sacramento today to take on the Red Sox, who will also be hosting the green and gold at Fenway later this month. Have a terrific week, AN.
A’s Coverage:
- A’s drop series finale 4-3 to the Angels
- Weird A’s-Dominant Series Continues With 17-4 Drubbing
- 3rd Inning Touchdown Propels A’s To 10-4 Win Over Angels
- The Overlooked Piece of A’s Blowout Win over LA Angels
- De Vries slugs first Double-A homer during four-hit night
- Watch Dallas Braden’s pumped reaction to catching foul ball in Athletics-Angels
- Latest Athletics injuries and transactions
MLB News & Interest:
- Here’s why Pages couldn’t have saved Yamamoto’s no-hitter
- Sproat takes no-hitter into 6th inning in MLB debut
- Trea Turner To Undergo MRI Due To Hamstring Strain
- More milestones for J-Ram! 3B passes Thome for 2nd-most RBIs in Cleveland history
- Sunday Notes: Bubba Chandler Is Done Playing Catch With Paul Skenes
- Gray’s no-no bid helps lead Cards to series win over Giants
- The Red Sox Are Stretched Thin by the Loss of Roman Anthony
- Davey Johnson Passes Away
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Hope O’Hoppe sustained no significant injury.
Dallas finally gets one.
