SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 24: Jacob Lopez #57 of the Athletics pitches against the San Diego Padres during the second inning at Petco Park on May 24, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The A’s lost the first two games of their weekend series against the Padres but managed to salvage the finale. They beat the Padres in the finale thanks to some early scoring and quality pitching all around, maintaining their AL West lead and heading home back to Sacramento on a winning note.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to get started in this one against San Diego ace Michael King. Leadoff man Carlos Cortes took the sixth pitch of the game and whacked it out to right-center field and over the wall for a solo home run to give the A’s the quick 1-0 lead just one batter into the game:

Carlos Cortes crushes a leadoff homer 💥 pic.twitter.com/jXHWLiMbwc
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 24, 2026

The Swingin’ A’s kept it up in the next frame when Zack Gelof worked a one-out walk and rookie center fielder Henry Bolte brought him home with a two-out RBI double:

Bolte brings in Gelof 💪 pic.twitter.com/XLpW2ANT6p
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 24, 2026

Think the A’s were done there? Think again! Today’s starting shortstop Alika Williams, who only just arrived in a minor trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates last week, kept the line going as he snuck an RBI single through the left side to bring home Bolte and make it a 3-0 Athletics lead:

Alika Williams grabs his first hit and RBI as an Athletic 🙌 pic.twitter.com/MfrRGXIMCT
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 24, 2026

And he did it in front of his hometown crowd in San Diego! He surely had some friends and family in the stands for today’s contest, which marked his first start for the Athletics.

Another positive from the early innings was Nick Kurtz. Looking to extend his on-base streak, he got that out of the way in his second at-bat with a single, pushing him ahead of franchise great Rickey Henderson and putting him in a tie for second-most in franchise history:

Nick Kurtz's on-base streak reaches 47 games 👏 pic.twitter.com/Z6cUUs4cKi
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 24, 2026

That ties him with Jimmie Foxx for second-most in franchise history but that’s not the goal at this point. Only Mark McGuire stands ahead of him at this point with his 62-game on-base streak back in ‘95-’96. Only 15 to go until he ties him and it’s becoming a real possibility. How we feeling about his chances at this point, A’s fans?

The A’s got one more in the fourth thanks to some help from King. A double and two walks loaded the bases for the Athletics and a wild pitch brought home the team’s fourth run of the day. Another walk reloaded the bases and chased King from this contest. The Green & Gold couldn’t cash in more than the one run but at least the Padres’ starter was out of the game.

Meanwhile on the pitching side of things it was right-hander Luis Medina getting the start this afternoon, his first in a big league game since 2024. He’s been having a solid season in the bullpen up to today and evidently the team wanted to get him the ball to kick things off this afternoon.

Medina did his job but apparently he was only ever destined to be in there for a short stint. After just four outs manager Mark Kotsay elected to turn to lefty Jacob Lopez, ending Medina’s first start in two years after just 18 pitches.

Lopez seemed to thrive following an opener this afternoon. The left-hander pitched 4 2/3 innings this afternoon while only allowing one run via a Manny Machado sacrifice fly in the sixth. He also got some help from the defense behind him today as well:

teamwork !!! pic.twitter.com/5Zp2aOv7Nk
— Athletics (@Athletics) May 24, 2026

The lefty ended his day after finishing the sixth, making way for the bullpen to maintain the three-run lead.

Jacob Lopez: 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 91 pitches

Does this outing earn Lopez another start/bulk appearance? Fellow lefty Gage Jump is on a roll and looking good in Triple-A but today may have pushed that decision down the road a bit. Should the team deiced to stick with Lopez one way or another, he’d be lined up to pitch next against the Yankees this coming weekend.

The A’s, always looking to pad their lead, added one on in the top of the ninth off a Sodey single, bringing home another run and pushing it to a 5-2 A’s lead:

Sodey adds some insurance in the ninth 💰 pic.twitter.com/il5VAYYqfB
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) May 24, 2026

Right-hander Justin Sterner replaced Lopez to start the seventh. He allowed a solo homer to Ty France but nothing else. Mark Leiter Jr. handled the eighth and had a scoreless outing, setting up Hogan Harris for the save. Back-to-back walks put the tying run up to the plate in the ninth, making Kotsay turn to Scott Barlow to get the final two outs against a pinch-hitting Nick Castellanos and Fernando Tatis Jr. Barlow struck Castellanos out then got Tatis to fly out, securing his first save of the season and the Athletics’ 27th win of the year.

A solid day from the bats all around as they collected 10 total hits plus seven walks. Six of the nine starters collected hits and two of the three drew walks (only Langeliers went 0-for today). The combination of Medina opening and Lopez acting as the bulk pitcher worked to perfection as the two combined for six innings of one-run ball. Sterner allowed that home run but it didn’t end up hurting as Leiter Jr. and Harris finished things off. A’s win, remain in first place, and return home on a winning note.

No off day tomorrow as the A’s head back to Sacramento. They’ll welcome the division-rival Mariners to town for three games that’ll be crucial for the Athletics to win. Right-hander Aaron Civale will kick things off for the A’s while the M’s will send Luis Castillo to the bump for the assignment. Gotta win these upcoming games against one of the biggest contenders for the AL West.

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