May 15, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Athletics second baseman Jacob Wilson (5) looks on from the dugout in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit:

The A’s came out strong and made a statement in Los Angeles in the first game of the series, something that they have been able to do against many of their highly-favored opponents such as the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, etc.

On paper, the Athletics aren’t intimidating or flashy, and don’t have as many recognizable names and faces as those in the opposing dugout. The A’s seem take advantage of this “underdog” mentality, and it worked perfectly for them in the first of three in the series.

In their offensive display, seven players had multi-hit games, including Miguel Andujar going 3-for-5 with a home run, and Nick Kurtz going 2-for-5 with a home run (his first Major League home run) to extend the A’s lead 9-1 in the 8th inning

The real star of the show in L.A. was none other than Jacob Wilson, who went 4-for-5 with two home runs. He showed “every bit of what he’s capable of doing,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay after the game, calling it “his best game in an A’s uniform.”

The shortstop received high praise not only from his manager, but from the national media as well. Growing up in Thousand Oaks, this was a special game for him, in which he shone brightly under the brightest of lights. It was a true Hollywood story of sorts for the two young players Kurtz and Wilson.

Jeffrey Springs was stellar in Game 1 against the Dodgers, not intimidated by the hitters coming up to the plate or at least he didn’t look it. He went seven innings with one earned run allowed, two walks, and four strikeouts. Springs and the bullpen were able to hold “the big three” of Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman hitless, something that seemed insurmountable coming into the series.

The A’s are a funny team to figure out in that, things change drastically from one game to the next and can often look like two completely different teams. In the second game of the series, Gunnar Hoglund went up against Yoshinobu Yamamoto for Los Angeles. The A’s got a home run from Tyler Soderstrom, but their bullpen faltered late and could not hold back the Dodgers offense.

Four Dodgers hit home runs in the second game, which didn’t bode well for the A’s bullpen, foreshadowing what was to come in the finale: lots of hits and home runs for the Dogders.

Tyler Ferguson pitched one inning and gave up five earned runs after starter Gunnar Hoglund went 5.1 innings giving up four earned runs. Consistency will be key going forward as the A’s figure out how to win series and shut down their opponents’ offense. As J.T. Ginn is nearing a return soon, we may see a new look from the bullpen and pitching staff in the coming days.

In the final game, Max Schuemann hit his first home run of the season for the A’s, to put them within a run at 3-2 in the top of the second. That wouldn’t last long, though, as the Dodgers responded with their second three spot of the game in the bottom of the inning, making it 6-2. Starter Osvaldo Bido and reliever Jason Alexander gave up a combined 15 runs in the first four innings.

To put the icing on the cake for L.A., Ohtani homered twice on his bobblehead night. You must check out this video of fans lining up hours before first pitch, in Disneyland-esque fashion.

The A’s will make the trip back to Northern California to face the Giants in San Francisco. JP Sears will take the ball against the ace for the orange and black, Logan Webb. A Rocklin native, Webb will relish the opportunity to pitch against the A’s, who he grew up rooting for, so it’s sure to be a highly-anticipated matchup. First pitch is set for Friday night at 7:15 PDT.