Kurtz homer, strong pitching lift Athletics to sweep of Mets

The Athletics are building an identity one tight game at a time. Behind Nick Kurtz’s first home run of the season and Aaron Civale’s 5 2/3 scoreless innings, Oakland beat the New York Mets 1-0 on Sunday and finished a three-game sweep that showed how pitching, defense and one timely swing can carry a club through a long road trip.

Kurtz broke the scoreless game in the third inning, driving a 363-foot shot to right field off Freddy Peralta for the only run either team would need. Civale did the rest, allowing four hits, striking out three and improving to 2-0 as the Athletics kept New York off balance for most of the afternoon. Joel Kuhnel, who also had earned a save earlier in the week against the Yankees, finished the job with a quick ninth inning on four pitches for his first save of the season.

The sweep was the first in Athletics franchise history against the Mets, a notable marker for a matchup that began with its first regular-season series in 2005. It capped a 5-1 road trip through New York that also included a series win over the Yankees, giving the Athletics their first six-game road trip with at least five wins since Sept. 14-19, 2021. Kurtz said the trip “proves us right” because the Yankees and Mets are teams that could make the playoffs, and said it shows the Athletics “are good.”

The Mets, by contrast, kept running into the same problem: not enough offense to support a quality start. Peralta worked six innings, his longest outing of the season, but the Mets could not turn it into runs. They were shut out in the series opener and managed only nine runs during a five-game skid at home, with Juan Soto on the injured list. Carlos Mendoza pointed to Peralta’s outing and the club’s offensive struggles after the loss, a familiar storyline for a lineup that has not found much rhythm against disciplined pitching staffs. Jeff McNeil doubled in the fourth and finished the series 6-for-13 against his former team in his first trip to Citi Field since being traded to the Athletics in December, but New York never delivered the hit that could change the tone.