A’s slug their way through Las Vegas, powering past Brewers with five homers

LAS VEGAS Ballpark has made an early reputation with the Athletics, and the A’s added another chapter Tuesday by turning a 7-5 win over the Brewers into a home-run showcase. Oakland followed Monday’s opener, in which it mashed seven long balls, with five more in its victory. The result was a sustained burst of power that immediately put the A’s franchise history in play, not just their scoreline.

Through the first two of what is described as a six-game set at Las Vegas Ballpark, the Athletics totaled 12 home runs. That matches the franchise record for most homers over a two-game span, last achieved in late June 1996. The speed of the achievement is part of what makes the surge stand out, with Oakland accumulating the mark without needing a long road trip or a prolonged stretch of extra bases.

The A’s leaders in the home-run parade were Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom, both of whom went deep twice on Monday and repeated the feat with different results Tuesday. Kurtz added another solo homer early in the game, reported as his 15th of the season. The release also ties his latest blast to recent form, noting it was his fourth home run over the last three days.

Soderstrom, meanwhile, delivered the kind of extra-base impact that can shift an inning in a hurry. In Tuesday’s win, he struck with a two-run home run in the fifth inning, described as his 11th homer of the season and his third in the last two days. Together, the Kurtz and Soderstrom performances helped keep pressure on Milwaukee throughout the middle innings, when games often tighten and leverage in the batting order can become decisive.

The A’s offensive outburst also reflects a broader theme of what has worked for them in this particular stretch. MLB’s account describes Oakland as “built-to-slug,” and the production in Las Vegas has looked like the blueprint, turning the park and the moment into a steady stream of balls that left the yard. It is not simply one big swing in a vacuum, but multiple players taking advantage of the same conditions in consecutive games.

Still, the novelty of a new venue and a short sample size matter. Las Vegas Ballpark can change the rhythm of at-bats, and batting-friendly stretches can come and go, especially over a six-game visit where pitching matchups and lineup adjustments can vary widely. Tuesday’s power is therefore best viewed as a sign of readiness and execution, not a guarantee that the A’s will repeat this exact volume every night.

What to watch next is whether Oakland can sustain quality contact beyond the home runs, and whether the home-run count turns into consistent run prevention and run production across the rest of the Las Vegas set. With two-game franchise context already reached, the next question is how the Athletics respond if opposing starters and bullpens make sharper adjustments to their swing patterns and damage paths.

If the A’s keep landing multiple home runs in the same series window, it could reframe how the club is evaluated in the middle of the season. More immediately, it changes the internal conversations around lineup construction and who is carrying the heaviest leverage in the heart of the order during hostile stretches.