Nick Kurtz Hits Walk-Off Moonshot to Stun First-Place Houston Astros
The A's have taken the series opener against the Houston Astros by a score of 3-1, thanks to a walk-off home run by A's rookie first baseman, Nick Kurtz. Kurtz was also responsible for the A's win on Sunday, hitting a go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth in Kansas City. With the win, the team has now won four games in a row.
Mitch Spence would get the start for the A's on Monday, and he would follow up the last couple of great outings by A's starters with a solid start of his own. Spence was good for five innings and only allowed one bad pitch, which came to Astros' slugger Jose Altuve for a first-inning home run.
The next time Altuve stepped to the plate, Mitch Spence would controversially throw a 94 mile per hour pitch high and in. This prompted the umpire crew to issue warnings to both benches. This would be the first of many heated moments between the players and umpires in the game.
The Astros had 26-year-old Ryan Gusto take the mound to start the opener in West Sacramento with Lance McCullers Jr. getting placed on the IL. The right-hander would put together a good start in his first time facing the A's, as he would finish with a line of five innings pitched, three hits allowed, one earned run, while punching out eight Athletics hitters.
In the top of the fifth inning, A's former first-rounder and current third baseman, Max Muncy, would make a tremendous jump-throw across the diamond to put away Jose Altuve to end the inning. The young third baseman had quite the night at the hot corner, and this play was very impressive to watch from such a guy starting to come into his own at the big-league level.
MAX MUNCY WANTS IN ON THE ELECTRIC PLAY OF THE WEEK HONORS! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/sEMX8TOpPT
— Uprooted (@uprootedoakland) June 17, 2025
The A's would take the energy from that play in the top of the fifth into the bottom half, as outfielder JJ Bleday would go deep to tie the game at 1-1. This home run would be Bleday's eighth home run on the season.
JJ Bleday ties the game with his 8th home run of the season!
— A's Cast (@athleticscast24) June 17, 2025
🎙️ : @KenKorachRadio pic.twitter.com/qs3Bhv5dcz
Following the good start from Mitch Spence, the A's would turn to J.T. Ginn out of the bullpen in the sixth, as he was just activated from the injured list ahead of the game. Ginn would have an excellent outing, as the young right-hander would toss three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit, and had a whopping five strikeouts.
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For the top of the ninth inning, the A's would turn to their star closer, Mason Miller, who would put Houston down in order, while punching out two hitters in the process. He needed just ten pitches in the ninth, and would have likely been able to continue in this one, had the game reached extras.
In the bottom of the inning, Brent Rooker would start the inning with a walk, not even offering at some close sliders from Bryan Abreu. This brought up Nick Kurtz, with the rookie third baseman coming off a go-ahead home run against the Kansas City Royals. Abreu fooled Kurtz on the 2-0 pitch with a slider, but with a 2-1 count, Nick Kurtz was ready for the next one, a hanger that he sent 447 feet--past the berm in right field--for a walk-off home run.
NICK KURTZ GOES 447 FEET FOR THE #WALKOFF WIN! 💪 pic.twitter.com/J1HvGSMpEO
— MLB (@MLB) June 17, 2025
Tomorrow, the A's will have southpaw JP Sears taking the mound. The left-hander is coming off a great start in Los Angeles, where he posted 5 1/3 innings and recorded nine punch outs, and allowed two runs on four hits. It looks as though he'll be opposed by former Athletic Jason Alexander, who was recalled from Triple-A on Monday.
Giants, Devers Will be in Sacramento Shortly. Giants, Devers Will be in Sacramento Shortly. dark. Next
I grew up playing baseball, and also enjoyed watching and writing about my favorite team, the A’s. Being a diehard A’s fan from New Jersey is certainly not common, but I love the team and all of the current and former players so much. I currently attend school at Penn State Scranton where I get the opportunity to play college baseball.