Jump Dominant As Athletics Beat Cubs 2-1
· Yahoo Sports
The A’s were able to snap their losing ways on Tuesday evening, winning the series opener against the Chicago Cubs behind a strong second start from their prized rookie starting pitcher and winning their 29th game of the season in a 2-1 win. Starting the road trip right!
Taking the hill for the A’s tonight was left-hander Gage Jump, who was making just his second career start. Things didn’t start well for him in this one. Chicago leadoff man Nico Hoerner began with a single then stole second base and advanced to third on another single. With runners at second and third and no outs Jump was able to get a much-needed out but that was enough to give the Cubs the first lead of the game. A caught-stealing at third from Langeliers wiped out the other runner and Jump struck out Seiya Suzuki to end the first. Damage contained.
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Meanwhile on the mound for the Cubs it was veteran Jameson Taillon. The A’s went 1-2-3 in the first inning before threatening but coming up short in the second. Then with two outs in the third, Nick Kurtz stepped to the plate and tied this game with a solo blast to the opposite field:
Big Amish ties it up with a solo blast 💥 pic.twitter.com/rRexuA6bUM
— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 3, 2026
That oppo taco was Kurtz’s 11th of the year and his third in the last four games. Are we finally getting ready to see his power surge?
They A’s would keep up the pressure on Taillon in the fourth. Back-to-back one-out singles put a runner in scoring position, then Zack Gelof came through one batter later with a two-out RBI base knock to give the A’s their first lead of the evening:
Go Gelof Go 👏 pic.twitter.com/skTDOXnYFw
— Athletics (@Athletics) June 3, 2026
Just barely made it over Hoerner’s glove there but that run would end up being huge. The A’s bats were seeing Taillon and making him work for every out tonight but he managed to keep the A’s from adding on from there. He’d end up pitching into the seventh inning tonight before making way to the Chicago bullpen.
Back to Jump. He settled into a rhythm after giving up that first inning run. The lefty bounced around a walk and another hit but kept the Cubs in complete check for the next six innings tonight. He finished his outing retiring the final 14 batters he saw, gaining confidence and looking even more dominant as the game went on.
- Gage Jump: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 85 pitches
An absolutely fantastic performance from the 23-year-old in his second career start. The Cubs offense had no idea what to do against Jump and he kept Chicago from ever getting anything going after that first inning. That’s the type of pitcher the A’s are hoping he can be going forward. He’s lined up to go next against the Houston Astros on Sunday for his third career start.
With Jump out of the game manager Mark Kotsay needed his bullpen to be perfect to hang onto this one-run lead. He first turned to a right-hander in Justin Sterner to start the eighth and switch things up on the Cubs. He did his job with a perfect 1-2-3 inning, setting up Scott Barlow for the save opportunity. He played with fire allowing back-to-back singles top open the bottom of the ninth but managed to get two outs before Hogan Harris came on and secured the final out to secure the win.
The story tonight is all Gage Jump. The lefty was the rock behind the win in this contest, holding down the Cubs’ offense for seven innings. The offense got just enough to get him the win, and the bullpen did its job to secure his first as a big leaguer, even if it got a little hairy at the end. Fun, close, great win all around tonight.
The series continues tomorrow evening, same time same place. It’ll be left-handed Jeffrey Springs on the mound for the Athletics while the Cubs have Colin Rea set to take the ball for them.