Inge’s go-ahead double lifts A’s past Rockies
DENVER — Brandon Inge hit a go-ahead two-run double during a three-run ninth inning, 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.
Down 8-7 heading into the ninth, Coco Crisp singled off Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt (1-2) leading off. Jemile Woods sacrificed Crisp to second, and Crisp stole third before scoring the tying run on Collin Cowgill’s sacrifice fly.
Seth Smith, a former Rockies player who homered earlier in the game, 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 leave the Rockies winless in eight interleague games this season.
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 to within one run in the seventh when Cliff Pennington reached on shortstop Marco Scutaro’s errant throw to first and came around to score on Cowgill’s RBI single.
Colorado rebuilt its lead to 8-5 in its half 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 as a member of the Rockies, the team he joined in the offseason as a free agent.
The A’s had 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 their half of the first, capped by Helton’s seventh career slam and second this season.
Scutaro singled around walks to Dexter Fowler and Cuddyer and Helton drove a 77 mph curveball from Milone into the A’s bullpen beyond the center field fence for his seventh homer of the season.
Jordan Pacheco then singled and Chris Nelson was walked intentionally to get to Outman, who singled to left for his first major league hit and run batted in.
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.