Nick Kurtz gave the Athletics the last swing that mattered Wednesday night.
Kurtz singled in Alika Williams in the 10th inning, and the A’s beat the Cubs 5-4 at Wrigley Field. As a result, the Athletics improved to 30-31 and moved within two games of Seattle in the AL West.
Late punch
The A’s trailed 4-2 entering the eighth before Colby Thomas changed the inning.
Thomas came off the bench and hit a pinch-hit solo homer to left-center. Then Shea Langeliers doubled, and Tyler Soderstrom followed with a game-tying single to right.
Soderstrom was thrown out at second, but the damage was done. The game was tied at 4.
The 10th inning turn
Williams started the 10th at second base as the automatic runner.
After Jonah Heim moved him to third, Kurtz singled to left to put the A’s ahead. It was Kurtz’s 43rd RBI of the season.
Then Justin Sterner handled the bottom half. He retired the Cubs in order for his first save.
Bullpen shuts it down
Jeffrey Springs allowed four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings, but the bullpen gave the A’s time to rally.
Joel Kuhnel, José Suarez, Mark Leiter Jr., Luis Medina, Hogan Harris and Sterner combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings. Harris struck out two in a clean ninth and earned the win.
Meanwhile, Chicago went scoreless after the fourth inning.
Numbers that mattered
Soderstrom went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and extended his hitting streak to nine games.
Kurtz finished with the go-ahead RBI. Williams added an RBI single in the second, and Zack Gelof doubled and scored.
For Chicago, Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered. Ian Happ also collected his 1,000th career hit with a fourth-inning double.
Up next
The A’s go for the sweep Thursday at Wrigley Field.
J.T. Ginn is scheduled to start for the Athletics. He enters 3-3 with a 2.87 ERA and 52 strikeouts. Chicago is set to counter with Shota Imanaga, who is 4-6 with a 4.37 ERA and 69 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.
