A's power surge in Vegas hits historic levels with 5-HR night

LAS VEGAS -- The Athletics learned that the ball flies at Las Vegas Ballpark unlike anywhere else, leading to a power display in their games. The A’s bounced back from a wild extra-inning loss by bashing five home runs in a 7-5 victory against the Brewers on Tuesday night. This came one night after hitting seven home runs in the opener of the Las Vegas Series.

With a total of 12 home runs across the first two of six games at Las Vegas Ballpark, the A’s matched their franchise record for most homers over a two-game span. The last time the A's homered 12 times over two games was from June 25-27, 1996. Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom each slugged homers again after having two-homer games on Monday. Kurtz's solo shot in the first was his 15th of the year, while Soderstrom hit a two-run blast in the fifth for his 11th of the season.

“It’s really a battle of who can string together big innings and get more zeros,” Kurtz said. “That’s the name of the game this week. You put the ball in the air, there’s a good chance it could go.” Casey Heim and Zack Gelof also contributed solo homers, with Henry Bolte hitting his first Major League home run—a two-run shot—deep beyond the right-center pool, a moment he had anticipated since his call-up on May 12.

As for pitching, J.T. Ginn started for the A’s, carrying a 1.49 ERA into the game over his last six starts. He limited the Brewers to five runs across 5 2/3 innings, a performance he considered solid given the park's conditions. “You want to keep doing the same things that you’ve been doing when you’ve been having success... but it is a different ballpark...,” Ginn noted.

The A’s bullpen, featuring Elvis Alvarado and Mason Barnett, provided support by combining for 3 1/3 perfect innings with eight strikeouts following Ginn. Manager Mark Kotsay praised Alvarado's electric performance, stating it was the best he's pitched during his tenure with the team. “We went with the fresh arms tonight out of the bullpen, and they stepped up and got it done.”