Carlos Cortes was not in the starting lineup when the Athletics trailed by six runs at Sutter Health Park. By the eighth inning, he owned the night.
The Associated Press, via CBS Sports, reported that Cortes entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and finished 2-for-2 with a run-scoring triple, a two-run home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. His eighth-inning blast off Sam Bachman put Oakland ahead 7-6, and Zack Gelof followed with a two-run shot that made it 9-6 in a 9-7 Athletics win.
From the bench to the lead
Cortes' triple in the seventh scored shortstop A. Williams and started a three-run frame that sliced a 6-0 deficit to 6-5. Shea Langeliers singled him home. Jeff McNeil drew a bases-loaded walk for another run. An inning later, Cortes turned on Bachman for his 10th home run of the season - the go-ahead two-run drive to right that flipped the scoreboard.
Gelof's 20th homer, also a two-run shot after Lawrence Butler doubled, supplied the cushion. Luis Medina earned the win (6-3) with a scoreless eighth. Hogan Harris allowed a run in the ninth but struck out pinch-hitter Oswald Peraza with two aboard for his 16th save.
How the hole opened - and closed
Los Angeles built the early lead behind Denzer Guzmán, who homered and drove in four, and Mike Trout, who went 3-for-4 with a double. Vaughn Grissom added three hits and two RBIs. The Angels led 6-0 after Grissom's sixth-inning single. Guzmán has gone deep in four straight games at Sutter Health Park, the AP reported.
Butler and Langeliers each collected three of Oakland's 14 hits. Butler's RBI triple in the sixth started the climb from 6-0. The Athletics clinched the season series with one meeting left between the AL West's bottom two clubs, the AP noted.
Yusei Kikuchi worked 5 1/3 innings for Los Angeles before the bullpen unraveled. Brady Basso lasted only two innings for Oakland and allowed five runs; middle and late relief flipped the game once Cortes entered.
