The Athletics needed a win badly, and they got one with the kind of effort that at least stops the bleeding for now. After the sweep by the Royals and a quiet Game 1 against the Astros, Game 2 turned into the response they were looking for, helped in no small part by having their best pitcher on the mound.
That pitcher was Jacob Lopez, and he looked every bit like the guy carrying the staff right now. He worked 6.0 innings, gave up three hits and one run, and struck out nine in the win. He did it on just 91 pitches, which left the door open for even more if the game had played out a little differently.
Lopez has been far and away the Athletics’ best starter since the break. His numbers tell the story: a 2.33 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts, which lead the team. It’s the kind of run that has been hard to miss, especially for a rotation that has needed stability badly.
Offensively, Lawrence Butler continues to look like a different hitter since the break. He’s hit six homers while batting .270 with an .830 OPS in that span, a sharp change from before the break, when he had five home runs, a .196 average, and a .592 OPS. With so much of the lineup sidelined, the A’s need players like Butler to keep climbing if there’s going to be any sort of turnaround.
Jeff McNeil has already done his part, and Henry Bolte and Zack Gelof have chipped in as well. Butler is the next name that has to keep moving in the right direction, even if the bigger picture may already be too late. Still, the way he’s trending points to the possibility of a massive 2027 season.
On the back end, Elvis Alvarado keeps giving the Athletics reasons to believe. After another efficient save, his recent stretch now sits at a 1.38 ERA over his last 15 games, with 13.0 innings pitched, eight hits allowed, and 15 strikeouts. The stuff is loud enough that this doesn’t look like a fluke; it looks like a pitcher whose 100 mph fastball and off-speed arsenal are starting to line up exactly as they should.
For one night, at least, the Athletics finally got one.
In Other News...
Jacob Lopez Gave The As Something They Desperately Needed
Jacob Lopez gave Oakland exactly the kind of start it had been searching for, working six innings and piling up nine strikeouts while keeping the Astros quiet enough for the As to stay within striking distance. The outing helped steady a club that had been slipping, and it came with enough swing-and-miss to suggest there was real life behind the result, not just a good day at the office.
The offense finished the job late, with Donovan Walton and Jonah Heim helping spark a three-run eighth inning that flipped a 3-1 deficit and pushed the As to a 4-3 win. It snapped a five-game losing streak and, more importantly, gave Oakland a reminder that it can still win a tight game when the pitching holds and the lineup finds one decisive burst. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Final Month Suddenly Matters For A Few Future Core Pieces
With the final month arriving and a playoff push all but off the table, the Athletics are suddenly in evaluation mode, and a few young pieces are getting a chance to matter beyond the standings. Alika Williams has been part of that shuffle in the infield, while Lawrence Butler has started to show the kind of bounce-back the club wants to see after his injury. For a team sitting at 50-80 with 32 games left, these are the kinds of late-season looks that can shape what the roster starts to resemble next year and into 2027.
The bullpen picture is starting to carry some of the same future-facing stakes, too, with Elvis Alvarado drawing more attention as the season winds down. Oakland is trying to sort out which arms can be trusted to hold down meaningful innings when the games matter again, and Alvarados recent run has put him squarely in that conversation. The last stretch may not change where the Athletics finish, but it could say plenty about which names belong in the core picture when the organization turns the page. [Read more 🡒]
As Prospect Report Has One Pitching Bright Spot And One Growing Concern
The As farm system got a clean pitching line in Lansing on a night when weather cut the game short, and Jorge Marcheco was the reason. The left-hander worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings to lead Lansing to a shutout win over Peoria, giving Oaklands minor league depth at least one encouraging box score to point to while the rest of the affiliates continued through a busy slate.
Elsewhere, the results were less tidy, with Las Vegas falling to Albuquerque, Midland losing to Corpus Christi and Stockton dropping its game against Fresno. Those lines matter because the organization is still sorting through who is trending up and who needs to steady things, and the contrast between Marchecos outing and some of the other pitching performances is starting to feel like the sort of weekly split that can shape how the As evaluate the next wave. [Read more 🡒]