A's Rookies Lead the Way to Snap 11-Game Losing Streak

The Athletics snapped their 11-game losing streak in come-from-behind fashion, and it took three of their recent call-ups to seal the team's first win in nearly two weeks.

The A's jumped on familiar foe Jesús Luzardo in the first, with Jacob Wilson leading off the frame with a solo home run. Brent Rooker and Miguel Andujar followed with singles, and with two down, former first rounder Logan Davidson--making his first MLB start--smacked a double off the wall in left-center that gave the A's an early 3-0 cushion.

Luzardo would settle in after getting jumped in the first, and the Philadelphia Phillies would hang single runs on Gunnar Hoglund in the second, third, and fifth, tying the game while working the young right-hander's pitch count.

In the sixth, Hogan Harris took over for the A's, and he worked 1-2-3 sixth and seventh innings to calm things down and keep the Phillies off the board.

Manager Mark Kotsay spoke highly of his reliever after the game, saying that they may not have been in a position to win without Harris taking the ball for 2.2 innings of work. "We needed that. It was a huge performance. It gave us an opportunity to rest a couple of guys."

In the bottom of the seventh, the A's has Wilson and Rooker on first and second, and with two outs, Andujar took a pitch that he felt was outside, and Kotsay began shouting from the dugout. He was ejected immediately, but still came out to chat with home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz. Then, he made the long, slow walk down the left field line and to the A's clubhouse.

After a brief delay, Luzardo struck out Andujar, with the second pitch also being call a strike despite it being out of the zone. With the count at 0-2, Andujar swung at the third pitch, which was also high. He also argued, and he was similarly thrown out.

The umpire tossed Kotsay and Andujar after making these calls. pic.twitter.com/auXWF0M0ne
— Jason Burke (@ByJasonB) May 25, 2025

The Phillies were the team to immediately respond to the ejections, with Trea Turner hitting a one-out solo home run in the top of the eighth inning to give his team a 4-3 lead. It was hit just 91.8 miles per hour.

Just like that, the Phillies lead it. Trea Turner's second homer of the series was hit at just 91.8 mph, but it cleared the wall in left field for a go-ahead homer here in the eighth. pic.twitter.com/4iWj26GV3p
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) May 25, 2025

The feeling was always that this streak had to end on a come-from-behind win, so in essence, the A's had the Phillies right where they wanted them.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Logan Davidson worked a four-pitch walk off reliever Matt Strahm, putting him at first with one away. The next batter, Lawrence Butler, tripled him home to tie the game. Willie MacIver, making his MLB debut, started the game 0-for-3, but when the A's needed a go-ahead knock, he provided.

He took a cutter down the middle the other way, dropping it into right-center, and bringing in Butler to take the lead. His first big-league hit was a go-ahead RBI single that would end up winning the game. Yet, he wasn't done with his dream debut in front of a couple dozen family and friends from Pleasant Hill, California.

Closer Mason Miller came on in the top of the ninth, and with two down he gave up a single to Alec Bohm to put the tying run on. Philadelphia immediately went to the bench, bringing in Johan Rojas to pinch-run for Bohm. Rojas ranks in the 99th percentile in sprint speed, so he was brought in to do one thing, which was get into scoring position.

On the first pitch of the at-bat with Brandon Marsh, MacIver was expecting Rojas to run, and he did. MIller delivered "the perfect pitch to throw on" and the rookie catcher unloaded a strike down to second base, where shortstop Jacob Wilson applied the tag. Rojas was called out on the field, but the play went to review.

MacIver said after the game that he was trying to focus just in case they called him safe, like "what do we do here? Let's lock in" When the A's were huddled at the mound during the review process, Wilson came up and said, "I got him."

WILLIE SHOWED OUT pic.twitter.com/BFmw4GNFA4
— Athletics (@Athletics) May 25, 2025

He was correct. The call was confirmed, and the A's losing streak was officially snapped in quite exciting fashion. It took two first big-league hits, two ejections, Mason Miller returning to form, and the game ending on an attempted stolen base against the team with the best record in baseball.

Today, the A's went 1-0.