A’s lose eight straight despite 2 HRs from Kurtz

Nick Kurtz slugged two solo homers and Lawrence Butler smacked a three-run blast for the A's, who saw their season-worst losing streak reach eight games after a 10-5 loss to the Angels on Wednesday.

BY FIELD LEVEL MEDIA

May 22, 2025, 9:25 AM Updated: 9:48 am

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Logan O’Hoppe homered twice, drove in three runs, and scored three times while leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 10-5 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday night at West Sacramento, Calif.

Zach Neto hit a two-run homer and Jo Adell also went deep as the Angels defeated the Athletics for the third straight night and stretched their season-best winning streak to six.

Jorge Soler and Taylor Ward each had three hits, while nine of Los Angeles’ 14 hits went for extra bases.

Nick Kurtz slugged two solo homers and Lawrence Butler smacked a three-run blast for the Athletics, who saw their season-worst losing streak reach eight games. Tyler Soderstrom and Max Schuemann each had three hits for the Athletics, who have lost 12 of their past 14 games.

450FT BOMB pic.twitter.com/T7foFomiJF

— Athletics (@Athletics) May 22, 2025

SO NICE HE DID IT TWICE pic.twitter.com/BzkZs34loK

— Athletics (@Athletics) May 22, 2025

Athletics standout Jacob Wilson (left forearm contusion) didn’t play one night after being hit by a pitch.

The Athletics’ JT Sears (4-4) served up four homers while allowing six runs and eight hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked none.

Hector Neris (2-1) entered with two on and no outs in the seventh and Los Angeles ahead by one, and he retired three consecutive batters.

Soler led off the second with a single before O’Hoppe crushed a first-pitch changeup from Sears for a 470-foot, two-run shot to left.

The Athletics had two on and one out in the bottom of the inning when Butler sent a changeup over the fence in center to give the A’s a 3-2 lead.

In the top of third, Tim Anderson led off with a double and Neto drilled a two-run homer to put Los Angeles back on top.

O’Hoppe and Adell opened the fourth with consecutive homers to give the Angels a 6-3 lead. O’Hoppe sent the ball 431 feet to left for his third career multi-homer game. Adell’s blast went over the fence in left-center.

Kurtz jumped on Jack Kochanowicz’s first pitch of the fifth and sent it 435 feet over the center field fence.

Kurtz was at it again when he led off the seventh with a homer to center off Shaun Anderson. The 431-foot blast was his third in two nights, and it pulled the Athletics within 6-5.

The Angels got insurance in their last two at-bats. Ward tripled in the eighth and scored on Soler’s double inside the third base line. Later in the inning, O’Hoppe scored on a wild pitch by Matt Krook to make it 8-5.

In the top of the ninth, Ward had an RBI single and scored on Soler’s double.

Kochanowicz allowed four runs (three earned) and six hits over four-plus innings for Los Angeles. He struck out six and walked five.

–Field Level Media

More A’s coverage on Sactown Sports

Eric Martins, third base coach for the Athletics, joined The Allen Stiles Show on Tuesday to discuss the state of the team amid a losing streak, the rise of shortstop Jacob Wilson, who he compares to around the MLB, and more.

Stiles asked Martins just how good Wilson could be and what it would take for him to reach the upper echelon of his position among the likes of Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr and Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz.

“Wilson is like a Dansby Swanson,” Martins said. “No disrespect to Jacob, but he’s not (an) elite athlete like Bobby Witt Jr. or Elly De La Cruz. But you look at Danbsy Swanson, he’s a technician. He’s in the right spot each time. He’s won a Gold Glove. He makes the plays he needs to.”

“(Wilson) is playing a solid shortstop. He’s making plays. He’s very instinctual. He’s in the spots that we need him to be and he’s turning into a leader in the infield out there, which we need at our shortstop.”

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