Yet another Kurtz homer plus Springs’ stellar outing power A’s past Guardians
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- Jeffrey Springs pitched into the eighth inning, leading A's to 5-1 victory.
- Rookie Nick Kurtz homered again for his 10th home run, one shy of the MLB rookie lead.
- Lawrence Butler contributed three hits to the team's 11 total.
Standing on the mound after 99 pitches Friday night at Sutter Health Park, A’s starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs was still looking unstoppable after holding the opposition scoreless for seven innings.
His changeup that frequently drops more than a foot had just made Cleveland Guardians right fielder Jonathan Rodriguez look silly, and he went right back to it.
While this one was hit 97 mph, one of the league’s premier defenders, Denzel Clarke, had no problem tracking it down in center field for the 22nd out.
Down in the count 2-0 to the next batter, second baseman Angel Martinez, Springs returned to the changeup.
Unfortunately for the starter, his 103rd pitch didn’t go as well as his 100th, and the 97 mph shot went over the wall in center.
While the home run was the end of Springs’ day, it was his stellar performance on the mound coupled with yet another home run from A’s rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz — his fifth in the last six games — that led the home team to a 5-1 victory.
“Tonight’s outing was one of the best outings he’s had this year. He came out and just started attacking,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Springs. “To go back out in the eighth, obviously a little tired, but be able to just get us that extra effort … we pushed him tonight and he knows his limit now, which is great.”
Springs won pitching duel
Starting pitchers getting deep into games has become less common in the game of baseball — less than 0.6% of starters went all the way in 2024. But Friday’s game saw both go into at least the seventh inning.
While Guardians ace Tyler Bibee, who tallied 10 strikeouts in eight innings of work, was the one to go from start to finish, it was Springs that won the duel. Bibee ended up with a complete-game loss.
“I’m a pitcher, so I like pitchers’ duels, but I like being on the winning side of it,” Springs said. “Credit to our hitters, they did a great job against a really good arm over there.”
Springs entered the game with a 4.52 ERA on 15 outings, 13 of them starts, and had given up at least three earned in four of his last five outings.
The A’s starter said his changeup — a pitch that has been a focus of his since spring training — mixed with his fastball contributed to his success. Springs had two strikeouts each with the changeup and fastball, and added one with his slider.
“It’s been hit or miss the last few months, to be honest, and I feel like I found something within the grip that I can execute consistently,” Springs said of his changeup. “Hopefully, I can take this and run with it.”
Offense played well despite strikeouts
Seven of the A’s starting position players notched hits off Bibee, including three hits off the bat of Lawrence Butler, but 10 strikeouts — seven looking — kept the game close.
“We had a good team approach against him. A lot of good at bats, a lot of hard hit balls,” Butler said. “We didn’t try to expand or do too much. But I feel like we had a pretty good approach, and we executed it.”
Both outfielder Tyler Soderstrom and second baseman Luis Urias contributed two hits to the team’s 11 total and were key parts of second- and eighth-inning rallies that tallied one run a piece.
While Kurtz’s first inning home run was partially overshadowed by game’s end, it continued the rookie’s power streak. His 10 homers this season trail only Miami Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez, who hit his MLB rookie-leading 11th dinger of the season on Friday.
While Ramirez, who has played 49 games this season, is having a solid campaign, a low .234 batting average have made him a below average hitter overall. The A’s phenom has reached double-digit long balls in just 37 games, while holding a solid .820 on-base plus slugging percentage.
When asked what he thinks of when he hears the name Nick Kurtz, Kotsay’s answer was simple: “Homers.”
“I don’t know how much more I can add on to what he is doing,” Kotsay said after giving his one-word answer. “He comes ready to play everyday.”
‘All signs are good’ for Gelof’s return
Zack Gelof, who was the presumed opening day starter at second base before a right hand injury during Spring Training, has walked three times in six plate appearances this week in a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.
Kotsay said “all signs are good” for Gelof’s recovery, but he did not have a timetable for his return.
The second baseman, who made a strong impression as a rookie in 2023 with an .840 OPS in 69 games struggled through last season, slashing .211/.270/.362 with the league’s fifth-highest strikeout total at 188.
Luis Urías has gotten a majority of the starts at second base as of late, holding a .747 OPS with seven home runs in 60 games in his first year with the A’s.
This story was originally published June 20, 2025 at 11:16 PM.
