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Yankees fans will recognize the twist in this weekend's series at the Stadium
Yankees fans will recognize the twist in this weekend's series at the Stadium

Yahoo

time4 days ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Yankees fans will recognize the twist in this weekend's series at the Stadium

Yankees fans will recognize the twist in this weekend's series at the Stadium originally appeared on Athlon Sports. At one point, all of the A's rotation coming into the Bronx this weekend to face the New York Yankees would have been wearing pinstripes. In a weird twist, the formerly Oakland A's rotation for the series at Yankee Stadium is a full-blown reunion with Mitch Spence, JP Sears, and Luis Severino. All three have worn pinstripes. All three have something to prove. Advertisement And you can be sure all three will be trying to beat the team that gave them their first shot. Former New York Yankees teammates Aaron Judge and Luis Severino at the 2018 All-Star Game at Nationals Park.© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Spence is the newest ex-Yankee of the bunch. Drafted in the 10th round back in 2019, he was plucked by Oakland in the Rule 5 Draft just last December. He made his big league debut earlier this year and has quietly stuck around, mostly working in long relief. Friday's start will be his fifth of the season—and his first at Yankee Stadium. He saw the Yankees once already, giving up three runs on four hits in two innings on May 11. Now he gets his first taste of the Bronx crowd, which tends to remember names... and line scores. Then there's Sears. Yankees fans will recall the lefty who went 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA during a strong cameo in 2022 before getting shipped to Oakland in the Frankie Montas deal. That trade hasn't aged well on either side, but Sears looked like the lone bright spot—until recently. Advertisement He's been roughed up over his last seven outings, going 1-4 with an 8.72 ERA. Forty-five hits in 32 innings will do that. Still, lefties with command always get more chances. And then there's Severino. Once the Yankees' ace of the future, Severino racked up 33 wins and back-to-back All-Star nods in 2017 and 2018 before injuries took over the narrative. He had a bounce-back season with the Mets last year, then shocked just about everyone by signing a three-year, $67 million deal with Oakland. His return to the Bronx will be emotional—for him, maybe. For the fans? Let's just say it depends which version of Severino shows up. Three former Yankees. One weekend. And probably more than a few flashbacks. Advertisement Related: Aaron Judge Gets Official Word From MLB Ahead of All-Star Voting Shift Related: Luis Severino Shares Honest Feelings About Yankees' Changes This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.

Nick Kurtz of A's hits 11th home run in 22-game span, 2 months after big league debut
Nick Kurtz of A's hits 11th home run in 22-game span, 2 months after big league debut

Washington Post

time4 days ago

  • Sport
  • Washington Post

Nick Kurtz of A's hits 11th home run in 22-game span, 2 months after big league debut

NEW YORK — Nick Kurtz tried not to make too much of his latest home run, his 11th in 22 games. However, this one was special. 'I am playing at Yankee Stadium. I grew up a Phillies fan,' the 22-year-old Athletics rookie said. 'It's just a surreal moment.' Kurtz broke open the game with a three-run, sixth-inning drive off Clarke Schmidt into the right field short porch, sparking former Yankee JP Sears and the A's to a 7-0 win Saturday .

Nick Kurtz of A's Hits 11th Home Run in 22-Game Span, 2 Months After Big League Debut
Nick Kurtz of A's Hits 11th Home Run in 22-Game Span, 2 Months After Big League Debut

Al Arabiya

time4 days ago

  • Sport
  • Al Arabiya

Nick Kurtz of A's Hits 11th Home Run in 22-Game Span, 2 Months After Big League Debut

Nick Kurtz tried not to make too much of his latest home run–his 11th in 22 games. However, this one was special. 'I'm playing at Yankee Stadium. I grew up a Phillies fan,' the 22-year-old Athletics rookie said. 'It's just a surreal moment.' Kurtz broke open the game with a three-run sixth-inning drive off Clarke Schmidt into the right field short porch, sparking former Yankee JP Sears and the A's to a 7–0 win Saturday. 'When he hits the baseball, he impacts,' A's manager Mark Kotsay said. A group of about 20 of Kurtz's family and friends were on hand, including his mom, Marie, and his dad, Jeff. 'Just the easiest. We don't play in Philly this year,' Kurtz said. He grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, went to Wake Forest and was selected fourth overall in last year's amateur draft, gaining a $7 million signing bonus. He started at Class A Stockton last Aug. 10 and was promoted to Double-A Midland nine days later. Kurtz began this season at Triple-A Las Vegas and hit .400 with six homers and 17 RBIs in his first eight games as part of an opening 13-game hitting streak. That gave him thoughts of a big league callup, but Kurtz went into a 5-for-27 slump with 12 strikeouts. He got a surprising call on April 21, an off day, from Aviators manager Fran Riordan. 'I was in bed sleeping and I wake up to a phone call from him telling me I'm going up,' Kurtz said. 'So that was pretty cool.' Kurtz hit an RBI single against Kumar Rocker in his first plate appearance, helping the A's to a 4–0 win over Texas in his debut on April 23. He hit his first home run at Dodger Stadium on May 13, had a tiebreaking ninth-inning drive at Kansas City on June 15, then a 447-foot two-run walk-off drive at home against Houston the following night. Three days later, he added a 10th-inning walk-off homer off the Astros' Josh Hader. Kurtz is hitting .256 with 12 homers, 31 RBIs and an .843 OPS in 45 games. 'There's just a calming presence about him,' said Sears, who has an adjacent locker at West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park. 'At times when guys get here and they've done really well before, they try and do too much or try and swing too much or get too mad when they get out. I think there was a week or two where he was hitting the ball pretty hard but just hitting the ball at guys, and I think as a young player you get pretty frustrated. But it seemed like he just never did.' Growing up in Pennsylvania, Kurtz attended games at Citizens Bank Park, sitting in the left-field bleachers near Ashburn Alley. 'I always wanted to catch a home run,' he said. But Kurtz never did. 'I wasn't that lucky,' he quickly added. Kurtz rooted for Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay. His father attended one of the 2009 World Series games against the Yankees, a matchup New York won in six games for its most recent title. That memory still stings. 'I don't like talking about it,' Kurtz said.

Rooker, Kurtz homer off Schmidt to back Sears, lead Athletics over Yankees 7-0
Rooker, Kurtz homer off Schmidt to back Sears, lead Athletics over Yankees 7-0

Washington Post

time4 days ago

  • Sport
  • Washington Post

Rooker, Kurtz homer off Schmidt to back Sears, lead Athletics over Yankees 7-0

NEW YORK — Brent Rooker ended Clarke Schmidt's scoreless streak at 28 1/3 innings with a solo homer in the fourth inning, Nick Kurtz added a three-run drive in the sixth and the Athletics beat the New York Yankees 7-0 Saturday. Former Yankee JP Sears (6-7) allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings for the A's, who had lost five of six and entered a major league-worst 11-31 since May 13.

Nick Kurtz of A's hits 11th home run in 22-game span, 2 months after big league debut
Nick Kurtz of A's hits 11th home run in 22-game span, 2 months after big league debut

Associated Press

time4 days ago

  • Sport
  • Associated Press

Nick Kurtz of A's hits 11th home run in 22-game span, 2 months after big league debut

NEW YORK (AP) — Nick Kurtz tried not to make too much of his latest home run, his 11th in 22 games. However, this one was special. 'I am playing at Yankee Stadium. I grew up a Phillies fan,' the 22-year-old Athletics rookie said. 'It's just a surreal moment.' Kurtz broke open the game with a three-run, sixth-inning drive off Clarke Schmidt into the right field short porch, sparking former Yankee JP Sears and the A's to a 7-0 win Saturday. 'When he hits the baseball, he impacts,' A's manager Mark Kotsay said. A group of about 20 of Kurtz's family and friends were on hand, including his mom, Marie, and his dad, Jeff. 'Just the easiest. We don't play in Philly this year,' Kurtz said. He grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, went to Wake Forest and was selected fourth overall in last year's amateur draft, gaining a $7 million signing bonus. He started at Class A Stockton last Aug. 10 and was promoted to Double-A Midland nine days later. Kurtz began this season at Triple-A Las Vegas and hit .400 with six homers and 17 RBIs in his first eight games as part of an opening 13-game hitting streak. That gave him thoughts of a big league callup, but Kurtz went into a 5-for-27 slump with 12 strikeouts. He got a surprising call on April 21, an off day, from Aviators manager Fran Riordan. 'I was in bed sleeping and I wake up to a phone call from him telling me I'm going up,' Kurtz said. 'So that was pretty cool.' Kurtz hit an RBI single against Kumar Rocker in his first plate appearance. helping the A's to a 4-0 win over Texas in his debut on April 23. He hit his first home run at Dodger Stadium on May 13, had a tiebreaking, ninth-inning drive at Kansas City on June 15, then a 447-foot, two-run walk-off drive at home against Houston the following night. Three days later, he added a 10th-inning walk-off homer off the Astros' Josh Hader. Kurtz is hitting .256 with 12 homers. 31 RBIs and and .843 OPS in 45 games. 'There's just a calming presence about him,' said Sears, who has an adjacent locker at West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park. 'At times when guys get here and they've done really well before, they try and do too much or try and swing too much or get too mad when they get out. I think there was a week or two where he was hitting the ball pretty hard but just hitting the ball at guys and I think as a young player you get pretty frustrated. But it seemed like he just never did.' Growing up in Pennsylvania, Kurtz attended games at Citizens Bank Park, sitting in the left-field bleachers near Ashburn Alley. 'I always wanted to catch a home run,' he said. But Kurtz never did. 'I wasn't that lucky,' he quickly added. Kurtz rooted for Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay. His father attended one of the 2009 World Series games against the Yankees, a matchup New York won in six games for its most recent title. That memory still stings. 'I don't like talking about it,' Kurtz said. ___ AP MLB:

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