The House Always Wins Media Network | A’s Baseball Podcasts

The A’s looked dead in the water early. Down 3-0, getting carved up by Milwaukee pitching, and watching the Brewers stack pressure inning after inning, this felt like one of those nights where you tip your cap and move on. Then the sixth inning cracked the door open. Nick Kurtz got things moving, Tyler Soderstrom chipped in, and Jacob Wilson finally put the A’s on the board with a solo blast. Suddenly, the building had life. And then came the seventh inning — the inning that turned this thing from “solid effort” to “statement win.” Denzel Clarke? Nope. Lawrence Butler said move over. First, Darell Hernaiz Cortes launched a ridiculous 461-foot missile to cut it to one. Then Zack Gelof doubled, and Lawrence Butler absolutely detonated a 463-foot two-run moonshot to dead center that felt like it needed FAA clearance. The A’s didn’t just take the lead — they ripped momentum out of Milwaukee’s hands and never gave it back.

But the story doesn’t stop there, because this bullpen suddenly looks like it’s cooking with gas. Luis Medina settled things down, Scott Barlow navigated traffic, Hogan Harris helped escape trouble in the eighth, and then came the ninth-inning question everyone’s asking: Did the A’s just find their closer? Eduardo Alvarado walked out and slammed the door with authority — striking out Christian Yelich, getting Jackson Chourio to roll over, and punching out Brice Turang to finish a statement series win over one of the National League’s best teams. The Brewers came in leading the division. The A’s sent them home wondering what just hit them. Tonight on LAST CALL, we’re breaking down Butler’s superstar moment, the bullpen suddenly looking dangerous, and whether the back end of this pitching staff may have quietly found its identity.

After getting punched in the mouth early thanks to a two-run bomb from Jackson Chourio, the A’s answered like a team that had absolutely no interest in reliving the heartbreak of Game 1. Nick Kurtz wasted no time introducing himself to the party with a first-inning homer, but the real fireworks started in the second when Denzel Clarke—sorry, Colby Thomas and company handed the baton to Henry Bolte, who launched a 446-foot moonshot that looked less like a baseball and more like air traffic. Then came the fifth inning avalanche: Tyler Soderstrom crushed a two-run bomb, Austin Heim joined the home run parade, and suddenly the A’s had flipped the game into a Vegas-style power show. Four home runs. Loud contact. Young talent everywhere. This lineup didn’t just score runs—they made noise.

On the mound, J.T. Ginn bent early but refused to break, settling in after Milwaukee’s first-inning haymaker and punching out key hitters when the game tightened. Yes, there was a little sixth-inning weirdness thanks to an error that made things unnecessarily dramatic—because apparently A’s baseball enjoys keeping blood pressure elevated for entertainment purposes—but the bullpen slammed the door. Elvis Alvarado and Mason Barnett combined to completely suffocate Milwaukee late, striking out hitters like they had dinner reservations to get to. The result? A massive 7-5 bounce-back win, a series reset, and another reminder that when this young core starts launching baseballs, things get loud in a hurry.

The Athletics arrived in Las Vegas for a night that was supposed to feel historic. The first game at the site of their future home became a showcase for everything exciting about this young lineup. Shea Langeliers homered in the first, Tyler Soderstrom launched two massive home runs, Nick Kurtz delivered multiple clutch hits and homers, and the A's exploded for six runs in the third inning to seize control. They built leads of 8-4, 9-5, 10-7, and even stormed back from a four-run deficit in the tenth inning to tie the game at 14-14. The offense delivered enough fireworks to win two baseball games.

Instead, this became one of the most exhausting and devastating losses imaginable. Defensive mistakes, wild pitches, missed opportunities, and a bullpen that could not record the final outs turned a celebration into a gut punch. Milwaukee erased multiple deficits, tied the game in the ninth, reclaimed the lead in extra innings, and ultimately escaped with a 15-14 victory after twelve brutal innings. For A's fans, this wasn't just another loss in the standings—it was the kind of loss that sticks with you, replays in your head, and leaves you staring at the ceiling wondering how a game that felt won so many times ended in heartbreak.

History is coming to the desert, and *Budget Baseball* is bringing you front-row coverage. Tonight at **6:00 PM LIVE on YouTube**, Sammy and Quinlan take you inside one of the most unique nights in A’s history as the team takes the field at **Aviators Ballpark in Las Vegas**—a glimpse into the future before the franchise officially calls Vegas home in 2028. The atmosphere promises to feel different, louder, and maybe just a little emotional as A’s fans and curious baseball diehards pack the future home turf for a night that feels bigger than just another game in June.

But the challenge on the field? That’s where things get nasty. The A’s square off against the **NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers** and arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now, **Kyle Harrison**, owner of a ridiculous **1.57 ERA** and a reputation for making hitters look like they forgot to charge their bats overnight. Sammy and Quinlan won’t be tackling this blockbuster alone. With special nights come special guests, and **StraightAs himself, Sam**, host of *Where Stats Meet Instincts*, joins the show to break down matchups, keys to victory, what the Vegas environment could mean for the team, and whether the A’s can pull off a statement win under the brightest lights of the season.

The Stockton Ports packed their bags, headed to Ontario, and walked away with an even split against the Low-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers — but the real headline? Eighteen-year-old phenom Breyson Guedez absolutely turned the series into his personal highlight reel. The Venezuelan sensation torched pitching to the tune of a jaw-dropping 13-for-24 across six games, flashing the kind of bat speed and feel for contact that makes scouts start leaning forward in their seats. If there was any doubt this kid belonged, consider it erased. Meanwhile, smooth-fielding Dominican shortstop Edgar Montero finally showed signs of offensive life, putting together quality at-bats and giving fans a glimpse of the player the organization believes can become an everyday contributor.

And then there’s Jared Sprague-Lott, the 2024 ninth-round pick out of Arkansas, who quietly turned in one of the loudest offensive performances of the trip. The bat came alive in a big way, adding even more intrigue to a Stockton roster loaded with young storylines. Plus, Japanese two-way prospect Shotaro Morii took the mound again, and we’ll break down exactly what we saw from one of the most fascinating developmental projects in the system. All that and much more with the Voice of the Stockton Ports, Tim Fitzgerald, LIVE today at 4:30 on YouTube for a brand-new edition of Port Report.

The Lansing Lugnuts packed an entire season’s worth of emotions into six games against Great Lakes, and this week on Lugnuts Weekly, Booney sits down with the Voice of the Lugnuts, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, to unpack a series that had everything: dominant pitching, offensive frustration, defensive miscues, and one emphatic response. The week opened with frustration as Lansing was shut down in a lightning-fast pitchers’ duel despite Steven Echavarria’s strong outing, before heartbreak followed in a winnable game where the bullpen let a late lead slip away. But then came one of the brightest performances of the season: Zane Taylor’s electric 7 2/3 innings of dominance, striking out nine and reminding everyone exactly why the A’s organization is excited about the young right-hander.

The conversation also dives into the offensive inconsistencies that haunted Lansing throughout the week, the rise of Devin Taylor as one of the club’s most reliable bats, Ali Camarillo continuing to spark rallies, and how the Lugnuts responded after getting steamrolled in a 16-6 beatdown by immediately punching back with a 20-hit avalanche on Sunday. Was this week a warning sign, a growth moment, or proof this young roster refuses to quit? Jesse joins the show to separate signal from noise and explain why the final score rarely tells the whole story in minor league baseball.

The A’s didn’t just win this game — they controlled it from the moment the lineup woke up in the third inning. Nick Kurtz opened the scoring with a laser home run, Brent Rooker added power of his own, and the offense consistently punished mistakes while building a steady 5–0 lead. Even when the bats cooled late, the damage had already been done, and the A’s never let Houston back into the fight.

But this was never just about offense. Gage Jump set the tone early, working through traffic without breaking, while the bullpen turned the final four innings into a closed door. Justin Sterner, Mark Leiter Jr., Steven Okert, Nate Pearson, Bryan Abreu, and Hogan Harris combined to suffocate any Astros hope. This was a full staff effort — clean, sharp, and unapologetically dominant on the road.

The newest episode of Habit Hunter dives headfirst into one of the most frustrating — and revealing — stretches of the season for the A’s. Hobbs breaks down the ugly Houston series, the warning signs surrounding a battered pitching staff, and whether management pushed young arms like Jack Perkins and Cade Morris into impossible situations. From Perkins’ uneven debut to Morris being thrown into the fire during his major league debut, this episode pulls no punches about the reality of a rotation held together with optimism, caffeine, and crossed fingers.

But it’s not all doom and gloom in A’s land. Hobbs spotlights the emergence of “61 Jump Street” and the calming presence of Gage Jump after a much-needed bounce-back performance helped stop the bleeding. There’s lineup talk, frustration with inconsistent bats, questions about player usage, praise for rising contributors like Henry Bolte and Shea Langeliers, and optimism surrounding Jacob Wilson’s rehab progress. If you want honest analysis, hard truths, and the kind of passionate A’s conversation that sounds like therapy after a rough series, this one is for you.

The A’s walked into Houston hoping for a spark and instead got caught in an Astros avalanche. Kade Morris made his Major League debut and showed flashes early, but the Astros lineup wasted no time making life uncomfortable. A solo shot from Lamont Wade Jr. cracked the door open, then Yordan Alvarez slammed it off the hinges with a grand slam that turned Minute Maid into a launching pad. By the time the dust settled, Morris’ debut line read like a “welcome to the majors” survival story: 4 innings, 9 earned runs, 90 pitches, and plenty to learn from. But was this about Morris struggling, or the A’s defense and sequencing putting him in impossible spots?

The offense had a few moments — Tyler Soderstrom delivered an RBI knock, Zack Gelof forced in a run, and Shea Langeliers kept grinding at the plate — but this game belonged to Houston from the middle innings on. The bullpen stabilized things late, Elvis Alvarado quietly gave the A’s two scoreless innings, and there are still real takeaways buried underneath the ugly scoreline. Plus, old friend Aaron Cameron joins the show LIVE to break down the Morris debut, the missed opportunities, what this loss actually means moving forward, and whether A’s fans should be worried… or just annoyed.

The A’s ran into a familiar baseball villain in Houston: missed opportunities and an offense that forgot to clock in until it was already too late. A three-run blast by Isaac Paredes in the first inning immediately put the Astros in control, and Houston never really looked back. Jack Perkins showed flashes—especially with six strikeouts and moments where his stuff looked nasty—but the damage came early, and against a veteran Astros club, early mistakes feel like spotting a shark blood in the water. Brent Rooker tried to inject life into the game with a sixth-inning solo homer, but one swing wasn’t enough to wake up an offense that stranded chances and repeatedly came up empty with runners aboard.

Tonight felt like a game the A’s let slip away before the middle innings even arrived. Bolte continued to show fight with a pair of hits, Tyler Soderstrom found ways to get on base, and Nick Kurtz worked quality at-bats with multiple walks, but the knockout punch never came. Houston’s bullpen slammed the door, Josh Hader finished the ninth with a trio of strikeouts, and the A’s boarded the postgame flight with more frustration than fireworks. On tonight’s LAST CALL: A’s POSTGAME LIVE, we break down the missed chances, whether Jack Perkins deserved a better fate, why this lineup suddenly looked allergic to clutch hitting, and where the A’s go from here after a frustrating night in Houston