A premature ending due to injury dampened what was a promising 2025 rookie campaign for Jacob Lopez. One year later, the Athletics left-hander finished his season on his terms, and he finished it strong. Making his final start of 2026, Lopez produced arguably his best outing of the year in Friday’s 6-5 A’s victory over the Astros at Sutter Health Park, limiting Houston to one run on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts across six innings. Lopez was well on his way to closing his season with a bang over the second half. Recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on July 7, the 28-year-old posted a 2.82 ERA and held opponents to a .615 OPS in his first 11 games (10 starts) back from the Minors. Then came a brutal previous three starts before Friday in which he allowed 19 runs in 12 1/3 innings, including a career-high 10 earned runs in a loss to the Guardians in Cleveland last week. Asked before the game about those struggles in that three-game stretch, manager Mark Kotsay hinted that fatigue may have been setting in for Lopez. After all, he’d already surpassed the most innings he’d ever pitched in one season as a professional, and this season is by far the most he’s pitched in the big leagues. “These guys are still going through this process of a full season at the Major League level, which is challenging,” Kotsay said of Lopez and other young starters on the roster. “Every aspect of it, from travel to pitching on four days of rest. … The biggest thing going into the offseason for Jacob is going to be training. “But we’re excited for him to go back out tonight. Any time he takes the mound, you know what he’s capable of doing and you’re hopeful that he can go out and put up zeros for six innings tonight.”
