Nick Kurtz made sure the Athletics did not let another one get away.
Kurtz went 3-for-5 with five RBIs, Zack Gelof and Brent Rooker homered, and the A’s beat the Angels 14-6 on Tuesday at Angel Stadium. The win snapped a three-game skid and moved the Athletics back to 24-24.
Six-run spark
The A’s broke the game open in the third inning.
Jeff McNeil and Darell Hernaiz singled, then Kurtz drove in the first run with a two-out single. Next, Colby Thomas doubled in two more, and Rooker followed with an RBI single.
After that, Henry Bolte doubled and Gelof singled in two runs. As a result, the A’s led 6-0 before the inning ended.
Angels push back
Los Angeles answered with a Mike Trout solo homer in the third.
Then the Angels made it tighter in the fourth. Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded, and Vaughn Grissom followed with a two-run single to cut the A’s lead to 6-4.
Jacob Lopez lasted 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out two.
Kurtz keeps adding
Because J.T. Ginn went the distance Monday, the A’s needed the bullpen to cover the rest.
Justin Sterner got the final out of the fourth and earned the win. Then Jack Perkins, Scott Barlow, Hogan Harris and Joel Kuhnel handled the final five innings.
Meanwhile, Kurtz kept building the lead. He added a two-run single in the sixth, then doubled in two more in the eighth.
Power late
Gelof homered in the seventh, his sixth of the season, to make it 9-4.
Then Rooker added a two-run homer in the eighth. It was his seventh of the season, and it left the bat at 110 mph.
The A’s added one more in the ninth when Hernaiz singled home Gelof.
Numbers that mattered
The Athletics finished with 15 hits and went 8-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Kurtz drove in five and stole his sixth base. Gelof went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, while Rooker finished 2-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs and a walk.
Hernaiz and McNeil each had two hits. Bolte added his first double, and Thomas drove in two with his second double.
Up next
The series finale is Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.
Aaron Civale is scheduled to start for the A’s. He enters 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 35 strikeouts. The Angels are set to counter with Jack Kochanowicz, who is 2-3 with a 4.56 ERA and 34 strikeouts.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
