LAS VEGAS -- Nearly halfway through the 2026 season, the Athletics have managed to stay afloat without ever really feeling like they’ve been playing their best.
Based on what we’ve seen in this Las Vegas Series, the A’s might finally be hitting their stride.
Overcoming a one-run deficit in the sixth inning with a three-run rally highlighted by Tyler Soderstrom's pinch-hit go-ahead double, the A’s notched their fourth straight win with a 7-5 victory over the Rockies on Saturday night at Las Vegas Ballpark, setting up a chance for a sweep on Sunday.
Saturday’s victory pushed the A’s back to .500 (35-35) for the first time since May 25, and inched them closer to the top of the AL West, now just one game back of first-place Seattle. If there’s ever going to be a time for the A’s to go on a long run of sustained success, this upcoming stretch might be their best shot to do some real damage. Including Sunday’s game against the Rockies, 11 of the A’s next 14 games will come against teams with losing records near the bottom of their respective divisions.
At the start of this special six-game homestand near the site of the team’s new ballpark set to open in 2028, manager Mark Kotsay noted that playing this week at Las Vegas Ballpark, where the ball flies and high-scoring affairs tend to be the norm, was an opportunity for the offense to gain some confidence.
You could certainly feel momentum building with this group of A’s hitters. They’ve scored 38 runs through the first five games of this homestand and have launched 18 home runs, with Zack Gelof’s booming go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth on Saturday adding to that total.
Sure, the A’s lineup has its stars in Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz, and both helped spark an early lead in the first by hitting their way on base before Jacob Wilson’s two-run single drove them in. This offense is truly at its best, though, when there are contributions all around, which we saw on Saturday from Soderstrom and Carlos Cortes coming off the bench to Alika Williams notching a three-hit night with an RBI from the nine-hole.
“The offense as a whole, this is how you want things to kind of go,” Kotsay said. “You want to be able to get guys opportunities and get them involved in the mix. Then, obviously, the production from guys we count on, and then also some guys who just haven’t been able to get it going. What comes first? Success or confidence? I think they go hand in hand. But right now, the confidence is really high. … We’re taking great at-bats and getting big hits.”
No A’s hitter might be taking better at-bats than Gelof right now. He pushed his MLB-leading and ongoing career-best hitting streak to 17 games with two hits. Over that stretch, he’s batting .343 (23-for-67) with eight extra-base hits.
“I’ve been feeling pretty good,” Gelof said. “I was sick for a little bit [on the last road trip] in Chicago and Houston. I’ve been getting over that, which is nice. I’m feeling stronger. But I’m just trying to put together good at-bats every day and help the team win.”
Gelof’s night was a prime example of the culture Kotsay has created during his tenure of a willingness to do whatever it takes. After starting the game in right field, Gelof later moved to third base as part of a defensive switch in the seventh. That move proved pivotal in the top of the eighth, as Gelof made an impressive swipe tag on a throw from Langeliers to nab Jake McCarthy trying to steal third. The play ended the inning and kept the A’s lead at two runs.
“I called [Gelof] last night and told him he was going to play right field,” Kotsay said. “You don’t get guys with that makeup that just say, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ There’s a lot of guys in that room that have that makeup, and that culture is starting to spread.”
Gelof is one of several A’s hitters swinging it well this week. Combine that with a resurgent bullpen seemingly now led by Elvis Alvarado -- who notched his second save on Saturday and has tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts since getting recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last week -- and this return to .500 could be the start of an A’s run we’ve all been waiting for.