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Cowser's homer, Taveras' key hits lead Orioles past Athletics

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the host Athletics 5-3 on Sunday, Aug. 30, at Sutter Health Park. The visitors improved to 67-69 while the A's fell to 53-83.

Briar Keller

August 30, 20262 min read

baseball victory - illustration, Jake Team LLC
MLBFinal
Baltimore Orioles5
Athletics3

August 30, 2026

Visitor's Perspective

The Baltimore Orioles secured a 5-3 victory over the host Athletics on Sunday, Aug. 30, at Sutter Health Park. The win moved the visitors' record to 67-69, while the Athletics dropped to 53-83. Leody Taveras was the offensive catalyst for Baltimore, driving in three runs across two multi-hit efforts. Adley Rutschman also contributed significantly to the scoring, though the primary momentum came from Taveras and Gunnar Henderson's consistent contact.

Game Flow

Baltimore established an early lead in the third inning when Taveras hit a ground rule double that allowed Mayo to score, making it 1-0. The gap widened in the fifth inning when Cowser launched a home run to center field, traveling 386 feet, to extend the advantage to 2-0. The decisive run came in the sixth inning, where Taveras doubled to left field. This play scored two runs as Mayo and Beavers crossed the plate, bringing the score to 4-0.

The Athletics attempted a comeback in the sixth. Butler walked to score Heim, then Walton was hit by a pitch to score McNeil, narrowing the deficit to 4-2. In the eighth inning, Cortes singled to right field, scoring Walton and moving Stefanic to third, which made it 4-3.

The final run of the game was scored in the ninth inning when Cowser crossed the plate on an Alvarado wild pitch, sealing the 5-3 result.

Pitching Performance

Shane Baz earned the win for Baltimore, pitching 5.2 innings while allowing five hits and two earned runs. He also issued three walks and struck out four batters. Alex Hoppe, Rico Garcia, Yennier Cano, Cam Sanders, and Andrew Kittredge provided relief. Kittredge recorded the save, pitching one inning with two hits and no earned runs.

Jack Perkins took the loss for the Athletics. He pitched five innings, allowing four hits and one earned run, while issuing four walks and striking out five. Jose Suarez, Luis Medina, Chris Roycroft, and Elvis Alvarado followed in relief. Suarez allowed three hits and two earned runs in one inning. The remaining relievers combined to allow no earned runs.

Sources

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401816730

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Briar Keller

Briar Keller covers Saratoga high school and area college sports.

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