SEATTLE -- In multiple aspects, the start of the 2025 season provided the Athletics exactly what they wanted to see.
At the plate, Tyler Soderstrom, who entered this year with arguably the most to prove of any hitter in this A¡¯s lineup, had two of the loudest swings of the night with a historic two-homer performance. On the mound, Luis Severino looked every bit like the pitcher the A¡¯s were expecting when they signed him to the largest contract in franchise history this offseason across six scoreless innings.
The only thing missing was the ¡®W¡¯, which escaped them after Jos¨¦ Leclerc blew a one-run lead after surrendering a pair of eighth-inning homers that sunk the A¡¯s in a 4-2 Opening Day loss to the Mariners on Thursday night at T-Mobile Park.
Soderstrom makes it three¡¯s company
A former No. 1 prospect for the A¡¯s and their first-round selection from the 2020 MLB Draft, Soderstrom experienced mixed results and a position change with limited opportunities over his first two big league seasons.
Without question, Soderstrom¡¯s calling card is his bat. That raw power is what initially drew the A¡¯s to him as a high schooler in Turlock, and it showed through when he pummeled a first-pitch slider from Logan Gilbert for a 432-foot solo shot to straightaway center in the fifth, then in the eighth as he swatted a 1-0 cutter from Trent Thornton into the right-field seats for a 362-foot go-ahead solo homer that was scorched 111.4 mph off the bat.
Slugging 794 feet worth of homers in the same night, Soderstrom became just the third player in A's history to homer twice on Opening Day. The other two: Khris Davis in 2017 and Jason Giambi in 2000.
¡°Unbelievable,¡± Severino said of Soderstrom¡¯s two-homer effort. ¡°I¡¯m so happy for him. You don¡¯t see too many young guys like that. He seems so comfortable at the plate right now. Hopefully, he can continue doing that.¡±
Soderstrom generated some momentum for himself last season by slashing .250/.310/.485 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs over his final 37 games. After a slow start to spring, the 23-year-old began to heat up over the final week of Cactus League action, and that hot bat seemingly carried over into the first game of the regular season.
Amped up Sevy
It was not exactly a dominant performance by Severino, who constantly pitched with traffic on the bases by allowing three hits and four walks. But each time he needed a big out, the right-handed dug deep and got the job done.
Most impressive was his sixth-inning showdown with Rowdy Tellez. After a one-out bloop single by Luke Raley, Severino¡¯s pitch count was creeping toward 100, but he waved manager Mark Kotsay back to the dugout. After retiring Jorge Polanco for the second out, Severino saved his two best pitches for last, firing a 99.2 mph fastball that was just fouled off by Tellez to stay alive before perfectly placing a filthy 84 mph sweeper ¨C his 99th and final pitch ¨C on the outside corner that froze the slugging first baseman for his sixth strikeout of the game.
Walking off the mound, Severino let out a huge roar before making his way back to the dugout.
¡°I saw [Kotsay] was looking at me and he asked me if I was good,¡± Severino said. ¡°I told him, ¡®I got this.¡¯ I knew I had enough in my back pocket. In my head, I was like, ¡®I¡¯m going to throw everything I¡¯ve got.¡¯ I just wanted to throw the nastiest stuff that I had.¡±
Leclerc¡¯s forgettable debut
Leclerc, who signed a one-year, $10 million deal this offseason to be the top setup option to All-Star closer Mason Miller, struggled in his first regular season look in an A¡¯s uniform. Inheriting a one-run lead in the eighth, the right-hander began his outing in a long battle with Cal Raleigh that ended in a strikeout.
Three batters later, that one-run lead flipped to a two-run deficit after a solo shot to Randy Arozarena and two-run blast to Jorge Polanco, both on two-strike pitches left over the middle of the plate.
¡°He left some balls over the middle of the plate,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°Arozarena on the breaking ball, that¡¯s his finish pitch if it¡¯s down below the zone. He left it up in the zone, which is a pitch that Randy handles really well. Polanco at-bat, same kind of pitch. He left it up, and we got beat.¡±