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.
