A’s Drop Series Opener To Guardians 8-5

Q: What was the final score of the A's vs Guardians game on May 1, 2026?

The final score was 8-5 in favor of the Cleveland Guardians.

Q: Who hit a home run for the A's in the game against the Guardians?

Brent Rooker hit a two-run home run for the A's in the first inning.

Q: How did J.T. Ginn perform as the starting pitcher for the A's?

J.T. Ginn pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing 5 earned runs on 5 hits and 5 walks.

Q: What impact did the loss have on the A's division lead?

Despite the loss, the A's maintained a one-game lead in their division.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 01: Brent Rooker #25 of the Athletics hits a two-run home run against the Cleveland Guardians in the bottom of the first inning at Sutter Health Park on May 01, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) | Getty Images May has officially begun, and the A’s begin the month with a series-opening loss to the Cleveland Guardians, falling to their AL Central foes in a high-scoring 8-5 contest. The starting pitching wasn’t great, the bullpen allowed three runners to cross home plate, and while the offense provided five runs they left 10 on base tonight and let this game slip away. The Mariners lost tonight but the Rangers won. The division lead is still ours and still at one game. **Teams trade early runs** Righty J.T. Ginn got the ball tonight looking to continue the solid streak he’s been on since joining the starting staff. He ran into some early trouble tonight though as the first three batters he faced all reached, loading the bases with nobody out before most people had found their seats. Not a good start. This tough spot didn’t faze the young righty though. He buckled down and got two huge strikeouts before getting out of the early jam with a high flyout to right fielder Colby Thomas to end the threat: That’s what we call a magic trick, folks. Now it was the A’s turn to bat. Shea Langeliers got things going with a one-out single against Cleveland starting pitcher . After a flyout from Kurtz it was Brent Rooker up to the plate with two outs and he absolutely *smacked* the second pitch he saw over the wall in left field, giving the A’s the first lead of the game: Pretty amazing considering how this game started. That was Rooker’s third of the season and he really needed that one. Snapped an 0-for-20 streak at the plate, longest of his career. He wasn’t done there tonight either. While Ginn pulled some magic in the first, he couldn’t do it again in the second. A walk and single started the inning and Ginn got two outs right after that, but he got tagged for a two-run double that tied this game up at 2. Could have been worse. **The middle frames** From there Ginn actually settled in for a bit. He went three up, three down in the third and fourth innings, at one point retiring seven in a row. On the other side, the A’s were getting contact against Cantillo and broke through again in the fourth. A pair of back-to-back walks to open the frame was followed by a sac bunt to put two runners in scoring position for . Once considered a building block of the organization but beginning the year in Triple-A, Gelof came through with perhaps his biggest hit of the year to date, a two-run single to retake the lead for the Green & Gold: Things have been rough for Gelof over the past couple of seasons but he’s already had a couple moments for this club so far. Gelof would actually be thrown out at home when grounded a ball to short to end the frame. Not a great call, going for home with only one out, but we like the aggressiveness. That’s a moment too. Again, once the A’s took the lead Cleveland began to rally. Back-to-back walks to the top of the lineup to open the fifth was Ginn just asking for trouble. While he escaped the wrath of , another walk loaded the bases and veteran first baseman made Ginn pay with a two-run double after that that tied this game back up. And at 88 pitches, that was the final straw for Mark Kotsay to come get his starter and turn things over to the bullpen.