Bullpen, Late Rally Lift A’s to 10-Inning Win Over the Cubs

The Athletics battled the Chicago Cubs in the second game of this three-game midweek series. The road-warrior A’s took an early lead and then gave it up. Up 4-2 for most of the night, it looked like the Cubs would hold on to even up the series. Yet, the A’s came back in the eighth to tie and wound up winning 5-4 in ten innings.

Athletics’ right fielder Carlos Cortes led off with an infield single and first baseman Nick Kurtz walked against Cubs’ starting pitcher Collin Rea. On consecutive ground balls by catcher Shea Langeliers and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, the Cubs attempted to turn double plays, but both runners beat the relay throws to first. Cortes scored on Soderstrom’s groundout, giving the A’s a 1–0 lead.

Jeffrey Springs kept momentum on the A’s side with a scoreless bottom of the first inning. The A’s added another run in the second. With one out, third baseman Zack Gelof doubled, extending his hitting streak to eight games. He scored on shortstop Alika Williams’ two-out RBI single.

The Cubs immediately got one back. After making a nice catch in the top of the inning, right-fielder Seiya Suzuki led off the bottom of the second with his eighth home run of the season, a solo blast to the left field bleachers. That was Springs’ 13th home run allowed this season. He wiggled out of trouble following Dansby Swanson’s one-out double, keeping his team’s lead intact.

Chicago took the lead the next inning on center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run home run to right-center field, his eighth of the season. The blast came after Soderstrom’s defensive misread on a line drive that turned into a double for Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner.

Through three innings, Jeffrey Springs again struggled with a familiar issue—giving up too many home runs, which has been a recurring problem during his ongoing winless streak. Meanwhile, Rea completed a second straight scoreless inning for the hosts in the top of the fourth, preserving their slim lead.

The Cubs scored their fourth run in the fourth inning. Ian Happ doubled, and Michael Busch followed with an RBI triple. Cortes misplayed both hits in right field, especially the triple.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay pulled Springs after 3 2/3 innings. The A’s starter allowed four runs on seven hits, with those two home runs doing most of the damage, although he was not helped by the poor outfield defense behind him. A’s right-handed reliever Joel Kuhnel came in and got Nico Hoerner to end the threat, escaping a two-on, two-out jam.

Kuhnel and left-hander Jose Suarez each turned in 1 1/3 scoreless relief appearances out of the A’s bullpen, keeping the team’s deficit at two.

With one out in the sixth, the Cubs went to their bullpen, pulling Rea from the game despite the starter allowing only two runs on four hits on just 69 pitches. Left-handed reliever Hoby Milner got the final two outs of that inning. In the seventh, right-handed reliever Jacob Webb held the A’s to one hit.

Cubs’ left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar entered to pitch the eighth. Kotsay countered by bringing Colby Thomas off the bench to pinch hit for Cortes. Thomas, who crushes left-handers, delivered by hitting his second home run of the year, a solo blast crushed deep to the left field bleachers.

Langeliers lined a double to the left-center gap with one out, positioning himself as the game-tying run. Soderstrom followed with a hit down the right field line, scoring Langeliers to tie the game. The A’s left fielder tried stretching that hit into a double. Suzuki made a nice throw to nab Soderstrom at second.

The next batter, designated hitter Brent Rooker hit a long single to center. If Soderstrom had stopped at first, he would have likely made it to third with one out on that hit, putting the visitors in prime position to take the lead. Alas, A’s center fielder Lawrence Butler failed again, hitting an inning-ending line out after fouling off multiple potential ball four pitches.

Athletics hard-throwing right-hander Luis Medina pitched the bottom of the eighth, walking Alex Bregman to start the inning before inducing a double play from Seiya Suzuki. He gave up Happ’s two-out double, but then struck out Swanson to keep the game tied.

The A’s went down in order in the ninth against Cubs’ closer Daniel Palencia. Chicago did the same in the last of the ninth as A’s reliever Hogan Harris sent this game to extra innings.

Athletics pinch-hitter Jonah Heim led off the tenth with a groundout to first, advancing the ghost-runner Williams to third. Kurtz singled to left, scoring Williams to give the A’s their first lead since the third.

Right-hander Justin Sterner pitched the tenth for the A’s, seeking the save. Hoerner led off with a fly out, advancing the Cubs’ ghost runner to third. Sterner struck out Crow-Armstrong for a big second out and then retired Bregman to end the game and seal the Athletics comeback series-clinching victory.

The series ends tomorrow evening, same time, same place. The Athletics will send right-hander J.T. Ginn to the mound as they go for the series-sweep at Wrigley. The Cubs will counter with left-hander Shota Imanaga.