​SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — The Athletics dropped their first game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, 9-4 at Sutter Health Park, extending their losing streak to three and leaving them with a losing record for June. With a 40-45 record, Oakland sits three games back and in fourth place in the AL West, still chasing the league-leading Dodgers.
Rookie left-hander Gage Jump started for the A’s, hoping to build on his early success as he faced the Dodgers, who entered with the sport’s best record. After a scoreless second inning, Los Angeles finally pushed across two runs on four singles. Oakland answered in the bottom half against Dodgers starter Eric Lauer, beginning with Colby Thomas’s solo homer, his third of the season, set to boost the lineup with Tyler Soderstrom out of the lineup.
The A’s continued the rally as singles from Max Muncy (Oakland) and Alika Williams brought up rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, who was making his big-league debut. In his first major-league plate appearance, Kuroda-Grauer delivered a long-awaited hit to drive in a run and tie the game at 2-2, marking his first at-bat, first hit, and first RBI in the big leagues. Henry Bolte followed, and although he didn’t record a hit, his speed helped prevent a double play, allowing another run to score and put Oakland ahead momentarily.
Jump settled in for a scoreless third, but the Dodgers’ powerful lineup answered in the next frame with a pair of homers—a solo shot and a two-run blast—reclaiming the lead that would hold for the rest of the night. Jump lasted into the fifth, finishing after 4 2/3 innings on 91 pitches, with 11 hits, five earned runs, no walks, five strikeouts, and two homers allowed. It was not the most efficient or effective outing for the young starter.