Home runs fly at Sutter Health Park as heat, wind help A’s beat Yankees
Shea Langeliers wasn’t sure the ball he hit in the seventh inning would go far enough.
“I knew I hit it pretty well, I knew I hit it pretty high,” the Athletics catcher said. “My first instinct was sac fly, and then it seemed like it just kept carrying.”
The ball ended up clearing the fence at Sutter Health Park as Yankee center fielder Trent Grisham ran out of room and his back hit the wall. What Langeliers thought might be a flyout hit slightly off the end of his bat instead sailed for a three-run home run that went 418 feet, giving the A’s a 7-6 lead after they squandered a 4-1 advantage an inning prior.
“It was a tough day out there. Tough wind, high sky,” Grisham told reporters postgame. “It was tough conditions.”
The A’s held on to an 11-7 victory over the New York Yankees in the second game of their three-game series with Langeliers as the late-game catalyst. It was the first afternoon game since the team moved to West Sacramento in which temperatures were hotter than 90 degrees — conditions that are expected to be common for the rest of the season.
The playing conditions have been a mixed bag so far, through 20 MLB games at Sutter Health Park. But Saturday’s game could offer a preview of a hitter’s paradise, particularly if the prevailing wind continues to push balls out towards center field and right field.
“I would say that would be the expectation, that it’s going to carry pretty well as it keeps heating up,” Langeliers said. “We’ve played 20 games at home now, and it hasn’t been that hot yet. So I guess we’ll just see how it goes.”
Langeliers had a double in the eighth inning that also flew over Grisham’s head, giving the A’s two insurance runs. It appeared to be another case in which the ball flew further than Grisham expected.
The first run the A’s scored also appeared to be aided by the wind. Second baseman Luis Urías hit a home run down the right field line that took nearly all of the paid crowd of 12,113 by surprise when it cleared the fence, ending up in the A’s bullpen.
“The ball seemed to carry a little bit better today,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “And again, we’re still in this tryout phase of learning about the ballpark, learning about the weather, learning about how it’s going to play.”
The A’s have said the heat will factor into their planning and preparations for future games as the season wears on. Luckily, there won’t be triple-digit temperatures any time soon.
The team reported a temperature of 88 degrees at first pitch just after 1 p.m. The National Weather Service reported temperatures in Sacramento soared to 94 degrees before the game ended.
Things are expected to cool down for the final game of the series on Sunday when the high is expected to be in the mid-70s for Mother’s Day.
Whether the offenses will cool down is yet to be seen. Each team hit three home runs Saturday following four — all by the Yankees — on Friday night. Saturday’s 18 combined runs were the second-most for an A’s home game since their 18-3 home-opening loss to the Chicago Cubs on March 31.
A’s bounce back from ‘anger’ of Friday loss
Langeliers led the A’s with four hits and five RBIs. Brent Rooker hit a three-run home run in the third inning, and Tyler Soderstrom added two hits, two runs and drove in two. The A’s first five hitters in the lineup combined for 11 hits.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak and was much needed after the A’s got drubbed 10-2 in the series opener Friday night.
“Last night, after the game, there was more emotion and anger in the group than I’ve seen all year,” Kotsay said. “And obviously that kind of filtered over into today. They showed what they’re made of and the grit they have, the belief they have in themselves.”
The A’s got a strong start from starting pitcher JP Sears and did well against Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón, who joined the team on a six-year, $162 million contract in before the 2023 campaign.
Sears got a no-decision after allowing one run in five innings. It was his fifth consecutive outing allowing two runs or fewer. Rodón struck out a season-high 10 hitters while allowing four runs over six innings.
The A’s overcame another multi-home run game from a Yankees hitter following Jasson Dominguez hitting three on Friday.
Aaron Judge hit his league-leading 13th and 14th home runs. The first came in the fourth inning when he deposited a fastball from JP Sears 399 feet away in the right-center field bullpen. His second of the game came leading off the sixth inning when he hit a fastball from Justin Sterner high off the batter’s eye in center field. It was the first run Sterner allowed in 19 appearances this season, and the homer went 433 feet.
Fortunately for the A’s, both of Judge’s home runs were solo shots.
Kotsay brought closer Mason Miller into the game in the eighth inning with one out after Tyler Ferguson was tagged with an error on double-play ball that would have gotten the A’s out of the inning. Miller hadn’t thrown since Monday.
The decision paid off as Miller struck out back-to-back hitters to end the inning before allowing one run and finishing off the win in the ninth.
Home field advantage?
The A’s, losers of three straight, came into the game with baseball’s lowest home winning percentage and highest winning percentage on the road.
They have a minus-43 run differential at home, compared to plus-11 in away games.
The A’s will send their ace Luis Severino (1-3, 3.62 ERA) to the mound against his former team on Sunday as the Athletics seek a series win. The Yankees have not announced their starter.
This story was originally published May 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM.
