Soderstrom, Kurtz and Wynns homer as the A's beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3
Jeffrey Springs (8-6) pitched 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball in the win. Mason Miller handled the ninth for his 19th save.
The A's won for the third time in four games. They are 41-57 at the All-Star break in their first year in Sacramento.
Davis Schneider and Addison Barger homered for AL East-leading Toronto, who finished with four hits and three errors. The Blue Jays (55-41) dropped to 13-4 in their last 17 games.
The A's jumped in front in the second. With Gio Urshela aboard after a leadoff single, Wynns hit a one-out drive to left off José Berríos for his sixth homer.
Kurtz hit a leadoff double in the third and scored on Soderstrom's 18th homer, a 410-foot drive to center on a 1-2 sinker. Soderstrom hit a total of 12 homers in his first two years in the majors.
The Blue Jays got one back when Schneider hit a solo shot in the fifth. But Kurtz went deep in the bottom half after All-Star Jacob Wilson reached on a throwing error on reliever Tommy Nance.
Wilson and Kurtz are two of the leading contenders for AL Rookie of the Year at the break. Wilson is hitting .332 with nine homers and 42 RBIs, and Kurtz is batting .257 with 17 homers and 44 RBIs.
Berríos (5-4) permitted four runs and five hits in three innings. He went 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA in his previous four starts.
Barger chased Springs with a two-run shot in the seventh for his 13th homer.
Key moment
Bo Bichette hit a one-out single for Toronto in the ninth. But Vladimir Guerrero Jr. bounced into a game-ending double play.
Key stat
The A's are 20-31 at home this year.
Up next
The Blue Jays host the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. The Athletics are at Cleveland on Friday night.
___
AP MLB:
https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
22 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Ohtani hits 40th homer and Snell overpowers Blue Jays as Dodgers romp to 9-1 rout
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th home run, Blake Snell struck out 10 batters in five shutout innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Toronto Blue Jays 9-1 on Saturday night. Max Muncy opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth, and Ohtani connected for a solo shot to center field off starter Chris Bassitt (11-6) in the fifth. It's the third year in a row and fourth time overall the two-way superstar from Japan has reached 40 homers; the previous three came during MVP seasons.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Blake Snell turns in a performance befitting his Snellzilla nickname in Dodgers' blowout win
It took until August, but the starting rotation the Dodgers envisioned in spring training is intact and delivering. Vowing not to revisit the predicament they found themselves in last postseason, when only two true starters and a stacked bullpen somehow patched together enough innings to win a World Series, the Dodgers added two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell to a rotation that already boasted four potential aces and several other candidates coming off injuries or ascending from the minor leagues. Snell complained of shoulder inflammation April 2 after his second start and took his sweet time recovering — four months, to be precise. But if his performance against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium is a fair indication, the wait was worthwhile. Snell struck out 10 in five scoreless innings of a 9-1 Dodgers victory, living up to the Snellzilla nickname he stole from his older brother as a brash 11-year-old and still uses as his Instagram handle. In two starts since coming off the injured list, the left-hander has 18 strikeouts in 10 innings. The Dodgers offense was fueled by the long ball early on, with Max Muncy belting a two-run, opposite-field home run in the fourth inning and Shohei Ohtani absolutely crushing his 40th homer of the season 417 feet to dead center in the fifth with nobody on base. A six-run rally an inning later put the game away. Two hit batters and two walks set the table, and Dalton Rushing and Mookie Betts each delivered two-run singles with none out. Andy Pages drove in the last two with a two-out double, his second hit of the inning. The win was the second in a row against Toronto (68-50), which remain in first place in the American League East. The series concludes Sunday with another formidable starter — Tyler Glasnow — taking the mound for the Dodgers (68-49). Glasnow took a similar if less pronounced path than Snell this season, going on the injured list before the end of April and not returning until July 9. He has given up only one run in four of his five starts since returning and most recently went seven strong innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. It's clear that Snell and Glasnow are healthy, their arms as fresh and live as would be expected coming out of spring training. The same is true of Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw, two future Hall of Famers whose recoveries from injuries also were methodical and unhurried. Both are pitching well. And so is Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the only starter whose health hasn't cost him time off. He's made 22 starts, going 10-7 with a 2.51 earned-run average and leads National League starters with eight scoreless outings. The Dodgers employ a sixth starter to give Ohani and Yamamoto five to seven days off between starts. The job belonged to Dustin May until he was traded to the Red Sox at the deadline, creating an opportunity for Emmet Sheehan, who was impressive over 60 innings as a rookie in 2023, but had Tommy John surgery in May 2024. He's pitched well, posting a 3.00 ERA over 30 innings, giving the Dodgers a luxury they haven't enjoyed in recent memory: trotting out a starting pitcher every night that can prevent runs through the middle innings. That leaves the bullpen to finish the job, and injuries and inconsistency continue to riddle the relief corps. Roberts said help is on the way, with several key relievers on the mend. If they return as effective as the starters, pitching could be a Dodgers strength entering the postseason.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Caitlin Clark-less Fever topple Sky who were without Angel Reese
INDIANAPOLIS — Kelsey Mitchell scored 26 points and Lexie Hull scored 17 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Chicago Sky 92-70 on Saturday. Sophie Cunningham scored 10 of her 16 points before halftime and Aliyah Boston scored 15 points for Indiana (18-14). Hull was inserted into the starting lineup after the Fever ruled Friday that Sydney Colson would miss the remainder of the season due to a torn left ACL while fellow guard Aari McDonald was also ruled out for the rest of the season with a broken bone in her right foot. 3 Lexie Hull celebrates during the Fever's 92-70 home win over the Sky on Aug. 9, 2025. Getty Images Indiana was again without guard Caitlin Clark who hasn't played since July 15 when she aggravated a previous groin injury during a game against Connecticut. There is no timetable for Clark's return to action. 3 Kelsey Mitchell shoots over Michaela Onyenwere during the first half of the Fever's home win over the Sky. Getty Images For its part, the Sky didn't have the services of Angel Reese due to a back injury. She's missed five straight games and there is no set timetable for her return. She's only played twice since the All-Star break. 3 Caitlin Clark cheers the Fever on from the bench. NBAE via Getty Images The Fever built a 48-37 halftime lead shooting 17 for 33 (51.5%) and finished 33 for 70 (47.1%) overall. Hull shot 4 for 6 from 3-point range and Mitchell 4 for 8 from distance. Rachel Banham scored 11 points and reserve Maddy Westbeld scored 10 for Chicago (8-23). Indiana started the third quarter with an 8-0 run and cruised from there. Mitchell's shot with 2.9 seconds left in the quarter gave Indiana its first 20-point lead.
