Major League Baseball

Athletics 10, Rockies 8

Published Jun. 14, 2012 6:38 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

Coco Crisp started the rally and Brandon Inge put the finishing touch on it.

Inge hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth after Crisp scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly, sliding into home to avoid a sweeping tag by catcher Wilin Rosario, and the Oakland Athletics rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 10-8 Wednesday night.

Todd Helton hit a grand slam and Michael Cuddyer had two homers for the Rockies, who lost their season-high seventh straight.

''We battled our way back, close enough to where we had a chance in the ninth,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said. ''Coco gets on and creates a little havoc on the bases. Next thing you know, we have a ball in the corner and we've got two more runs.''

Down 8-7, Crisp singled off Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt (1-2) leading off the ninth. Jemile Woods moved Crisp to second with a sacrifice, and Crisp stole third before scoring the tying run on Collin Cowgill's sacrifice fly. He slipped across home plate just ahead of the throw from right-fielder Cuddyer.

Seth Smith, a former Rockies player who homered earlier in the game, then hit a two-out double. Josh Reddick, hitting for reliever Jerry Blevins (1-0), was walked intentionally and Inge followed by lashing a double down the left-field line to drop the Rockies to 0-8 in interleague play this season.

''We've got a bunch of grinders,'' Smith said. ''Regardless of where we are, who we're playing, we're in it till the end.''

Betancourt, in his first full season as the Rockies' closer, blew his second save in 12 chances.

''I don't think I made good pitches,'' Betancourt said. ''I've been through a lot of these games and there's nothing you can do about it. All you can do is come back tomorrow, because I'm going to keep pitching, but it's not good a feeling.''

Helton said the loss was a tough one during an especially tough time for the Rockies.

''We can react one of two ways,'' he said. ''We can put our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves or we can come out tomorrow ready to play. Hopefully, we do the latter. It's gut-check time, time to see what we're made of.''

Ryan Cook allowed Cuddyer's leadoff single - his fourth hit - in the bottom of the ninth before getting three outs - the first two on a double play - for his second save in three chances.

Colorado's Marco Scutaro also tied a career best with four hits in a game in which the teams combined for 23 hits, including six home runs.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was back in the lineup for the first time since straining his left hamstring last Thursday against Texas but he apparently aggravated the injury running out a grounder in the top of the first. He played left field in the bottom half of the first before being replaced in the field in the second by Jonny Gomes.

Cespedes is considered day to day.

Trailing by three, the A's narrowed the deficit when Gomes led off the sixth by homering off reliever Adam Ottovino. They pulled within one run in the seventh when Cliff Pennington reached on shortstop Scutaro's errant throw to first and came around to score on Cowgill's RBI single.

Colorado rebuilt its lead to 8-5 in the bottom of the fourth when Cuddyer connected for a second time off Tommy Milone, who moved up a spot in the rotation to pitch in place of injured Brandon McCarthy. The two-run drive gave Cuddyer his first multihomer game since signing with the Rockies in the offseason.

The A's pulled to 6-5 in the fourth, getting an RBI single from Inge and a two-run drive from Brandon Moss, his third homer in two games.

Smith, a former Rockie who was sent to Oakland as part of the offseason trade bringing Josh Outman to Colorado, put the A's in front 2-0 in the first when he followed Cowgill's single with his sixth homer of a season.

The Rockies came right back in the bottom of the first, capped by Helton's seventh career slam and second this season.

Cuddyer hit his first homer in the second to give the Rockies a 6-2 lead.

NOTES: Milone allowed eight runs on seven hits in four innings. ... Outman went five innings and allowed five runs on six hits. ... Troy Tulowitzki's rehab program was put on hold Wednesday after the Colorado Rockies shortstop aggravated a left groin strain that has sidelined him for the last two weeks. Team officials say no decision has been made on when Tulowitzki will resume his rehab work. ... The Rockies have hit five grand slams this season, tying the New York Yankees for the most in the major leagues. ... Since being recalled by the A's from Triple-A Sacramento a week ago, Moss has five hits, four of them home runs. ... Cuddyer's multihomer game was the seventh of his career and first since last Aug. 3 against the Los Angeles Angels while with Minnesota.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball