Mid-August brought Major League intensity to Sutter Health Park as the A’s squared off with the Anaheim Angels from August 15 to 17, 2025. Over three games, both teams showcased offense, resilience, and late-game drama. Ultimately, the Angels escaped with a series win, but not without delivering fireworks that remind fans why this rivalry remains compelling.
The A’s opened the series with authority, burying the Angels under a 10-3 route. Rookie pitcher Jack Perkins delivered a breakout performance, five innings of solid work, seven strikeouts, and only three earned runs, earning his second win of the season.
The A’s offense was relentless from the jump. Shea Langeliers led the charge with an early solo homer and added an RBI single. In the third, Colby Thomas launched a three-run shot that stretched the lead. Nick Kurtz later capped off the scoring with a towering three-run blast in the eighth. Thomas and Kurtz each finished with three hits and three RBIs.
The Angels were largely silent, managing only a solo homer and a handful of late scraps. Mike Trout came in with 398 homeruns and was looking for numbers 399 and 400 but was unable to connect. The A’s explosive display snapped an eight-game losing string against Anaheim and set a fiery tone for the weekend.
In game 2, the A’s powered past the Angels with a decisive 7-2 victory. The A’s struck early with a three-run rally in the second inning, highlighted by clutch RBI hits from Colby Thomas and Lawrence Butler, before Shea Langeliers added insurance with a towering two-run homer in the fifth.
Former Oregon Ducks pitcher Tyler Anderson got the start for the Angels. In an unfortunate losing effort that lasted four innings for him, he logged three hits, four earned runs, one strikeout, and five walks.
For the A’s, rookie starter Joey Estes delivered a composed outing, scattering five hits over six innings while limiting the Angels to just two runs, and the bullpen kept the door firmly shut the rest of the way. It was a complete and balanced performance that featured timely hitting, steady pitching, and crisp defense, and on a warm August night, that gave the home crowd plenty to cheer for.
The weekend finale brought high drama as the Angels edged out the A’s in a wild 11-5 extra-inning win. Jo Adell was the hero, launching a three-run homer in the first to set the tone. He later delivered an RBI single to ignite a six-run explosion in the 10th inning that broke the game open.
Kenley Jansen held his ground with a scoreless ninth, moving past Craig Kimbrel for the fourth-most strikeouts by a reliever in MLB history. In that decisive 10th, Mike Trout advanced on a passed ball but was still unable to log a homerun in his chase for 400, then Taylor Ward and Adell delivered the knockout blows. A flood of Angels offensive plays followed: Christian Moore added big hits, Luis Rengifo ripped a two-run triple, Bryce Teodosio drew in a run with a sacrifice fly, and Zach Neto sealed the deal with a deep homer.
The A’s had answers of their own, notably a back-to-back with Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers homering in the third, and Lawrence Butler powering one to cut the gap midgame. They even tied it in the sixth via Butler’s homer and a two-out RBI single from Luis Urías. But the Angels’ depth and late-inning fireworks proved too much, allowing them to avoid a full sweep while still losing the series.
Next up for the A’s at home, a three-game series versus the Detroit Tigers that begins August 25. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM Pacific time.
Ahsan Awan has been covering sports for two decades and has been covering professional baseball since 2005. All images taken by Robert Longan, Jason Reed, and Ahsan Awan for American Presswire and ©2025 Robert Longan and Jason Reed for their specific unique images for American Presswire and subject to unlimited use under license unless otherwise noted. Robert Longan can be found on X as @robbielphoto and on Instagram as @lngn_media. Jason reed can be found on X as @fieldofdd and on Instagram as @fieldofdaydreams. Ahsan Awan can be found on X as @quackarazzi and on Instagram as @quackarazzi. American Presswire can be found on X as @ampresswire and on Instagram as @ampresswire.