Ivan Herrera singled with two outs in the ninth inning to tie the game and Jordan Walker followed with a go-ahead double, rallying the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 win over the Athletics on Thursday afternoon in West Sacramento, Calif.
Scoring three times in the seventh to go up 4-3, the A’s took a one-run lead into the ninth and were one strike away from a win before reliever Jack Perkins (2-2) hit JJ Wetherholt with a pitch, advancing the potential tying run to second.
Herrera then grounded his game-tying hit to left field, before Walker blooped a flyball down the right field line, chasing home the eventual game-winner.
Matt Svanson (1-1), who pitched a scoreless eighth inning, was credited with the win. Riley O’Brien recorded his 13th save with three straight outs after walking Nick Kurtz in the last of the ninth.
The A’s trailed 3-1 before Zack Gelof launched a one-out solo homer off Cardinals reliever Ryne Stanek in the seventh. The home run was Gelof’s fifth of the year.
Stanek was pulled following a walk to Jeff McNeil, after which pinch-hitter Colby Thomas and Kurtz singled off JoJo Romero to load the bases. Shea Langeliers followed with a third straight single, scoring two runs and putting the A’s on top 4-3.
After Kurtz hit Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy’s second pitch for his seventh home run, the Cardinals got even on Victor Scott II’s second homer in the fifth, then took their first lead against A’s starter Jacob Lopez in the sixth.
Walker put the visitors in front with his 12th homer leading off the inning. Throwing errors by Lopez and McNeil on a groundball by Masyn Winn then led to the Cardinals’ go-ahead run, which scored on a single by Nolan Gorman.
Lopez was charged with three runs (two earned) on four hits in five-plus innings. He walked three and struck out two.
McGreevy was pulled after six innings, having limited the A’s to one run and five hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Yohel Pozo had three hits for the Cardinals, who won two of three in the interleague series. Walker finished with a single, a double and two RBIs.
Langeliers had three hits, while Gelof and Kurtz collected two apiece for the A’s, who out-hit the visitors 10-9. Kurtz extended his streak of reaching base to 37 games.
