Steele returns from injury, but Cubs suffer another loss
Tyler Soderstrom homered and was 2 for 4 and Zack Gelof hit a double to take the lead in the eighth as the Athletics beat the Cubs 5-3, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to become the first major-league team to earn a spot in the playoffs, on Wednesday.
Chicago's loss clinches a playoff berth for the Brewers, who won the National League Central Division for the third time in four years.
The 22-year-old Soderstrom scored two runs and batted in two more to help Oakland to a series victory over the Cubs, the Athletics' first since 2013. Brent Rooker was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a pair of walks.
Tyler Ferguson (4-2) picked up the win after throwing a hitless seventh inning, and Michel Otañez struck out two in the eighth. Mason Miller earned his 27th save of the year, setting a franchise rookie record.
“Coming into the season and through spring training, we saw the confidence, we saw the demeanor and the ability to handle that high-leverage situation,” A's manager Mark Kotsay said about Miller. “We started him out right at the beginning of the year in that closing role, and he's just had such a great season doing it. The confidence that this club has turning the ball over to him feels really good.”
Oakland sits at just 67-86 in the standings, third worst in the American League. Despite the A's 2024 struggles, a 5-4 road trip against the Astros, White Sox and Cubs, along with a 30-25 record since the All-Star Break, have given Oakland players confidence and hope as they look to finish the season strong and build momentum into 2025.
“At this point of the year, obviously out of playoff contention, it'd be pretty easy to just mail that one in the fifth or sixth inning and try to get back on the road and get back home, but that's not the character of this group,” Rooker said. “The group of guys in here is going to go out there and fight until the last out and try to win every game possible, and that's what we did.”
Batting in just his fourth game since returning from a left wrist injury, Soderstrom hit a home run in the fourth inning to mark his first long ball since June 28 and give Oakland the lead, 1-0.
The Cubs were held to just two hits through four innings but finally connected in the fifth. With the bases loaded, Dansby Swanson and Seiya Suzuki hit RBI singles and Cody Bellinger's sacrifice fly made it 3-1.
The streak of hits ended rookie pitcher Brady Basso's day after 4⅔ innings. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks, but struck out five.
Soderstrom and Tyler Nevin each singled in the seventh, and Lawrence Butler and Rooker brought them home to tie it up.
Gelof's RBI double in the eighth regained the lead for Oakland. Gelof advanced to third on the throw, putting him in position to score and take a 5-3 lead on a hard-hit grounder to second by Soderstrom.
Justin Steele had a short return to action in his first game back from elbow tendinitis, going just 2⅔ innings. He allowed two hits and three walks to go along with a strikeout, then was taken out after loading the bases in the third. Ethan Roberts took over for the final out, and zero earned runs were attached to Steele. Cubs manager Craig Counsell said before the game that he expected Steele's Wednesday start to be short and that he planned to slowly reintroduce him to playing again.
Nate Pearson (2-2) took the loss after giving up two runs in 1⅓ innings.