WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Carlos Cortes was not in the starting lineup. By the eighth inning, he had rewritten the scoreboard.
The Athletics trailed the Los Angeles Angels by six runs through five innings Tuesday night at Sutter Health Park. Cortes entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh, tripled home a run, and then launched a two-run homer in the eighth that put Sacramento ahead for good.
Per ESPN's box score, he finished 2-for-2 with two runs, three RBI, a triple, and his 10th home run of the season as the Athletics beat the Angels 9-7.
Zack Gelof followed with another two-run shot later in the eighth, and Hogan Harris locked down his 16th save. The Associated Press credited those dual eighth-inning blasts with completing the comeback from 6-0.
Six down, then the climb
Denzer Guzman drove in four early for Los Angeles, including a three-run homer off Brady Basso in the third. Mike Trout and Vaughn Grissom each collected three of the Angels' 15 hits. Grissom's second RBI single padded the lead to 6-0 in the sixth, the AP reported.
Lawrence Butler started the Athletics' reply with an RBI triple that scored Shea Langeliers in the sixth. Jeff McNeil, pinch-hitting, reached on a fielder's choice that plated another run on a first-base throwing error and cut the deficit to 6-2. Langeliers and Butler each finished with three of Sacramento's 14 hits.
Cortes stepped in for Denzel Clarke in the seventh and tripled to deep right, scoring Alika Williams. Langeliers singled Cortes home, and McNeil walked with the bases loaded to make it 6-5. ESPN's box matches that sequence.
Eighth-inning swing
Alika Williams singled to open the eighth against Sam Bachman. Cortes drove a ball to right-center for a two-run homer and a 7-6 Athletics lead. Butler doubled later in the frame, and Gelof homered to left off Blake Weiman for a 9-6 cushion, his 20th of the year.
