Colorado Rockies struck back hard against Oakland Athletics to claim a dominating 23-9 win in Las Vegas during their interleague series finale. Although playing their future home field of Oakland Stadium, Colorado seized upon A’s difficulties both on the mound and field to avoid series sweep with impressive display from Colorado players.
Rockies strike early when Oakland third baseman Max Muncy makes an error that puts a runner into scoring position, setting Hunter Goodman off on an early two-run homer — his 19th this year — giving his side an early edge.
The Athletics answered in the bottom of the first inning. Center fielder Lawrence Butler opened with a single, followed by a walk to Nick Kurtz. Tyler Soderstrom then delivered a two-run double, scoring Butler and narrowing the gap. Carlos Cortes added a two-run single shortly after, briefly putting Oakland ahead 3-2 as they took advantage of a shaky start from Rockies pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.
The back-and-forth contest continued into the second inning. After a solid defensive play by A’s second baseman Zack Gelof to retire a runner, Colorado tied the game at 3-3 with a groundout. The Rockies soon reclaimed the lead on a two-run homer by Willi Castro, marking the second big hit allowed by Athletics pitcher Springs within just two innings.
Despite their pitching woes, the Athletics’ offense kept battling. Alika Williams extended his hitting streak with a single, and Kurtz tied the game again with an RBI double. However, the Rockies responded emphatically in the fourth inning, retaking the lead with an RBI double from Kyle Karros and a two-run homer from Johnston. Springs was charged with a career-high eight runs allowed through four innings.
The Rockies’ offense remained relentless as the game progressed. Goodman’s solo home run restored a three-run lead for Colorado, and in the fifth inning they scored four more runs, taking advantage of continued poor pitching and defensive errors by the Athletics.
Although Muncy hit a two-run homer as part of an attempted Athletics rally, Colorado’s dominant scoring overshadowed any comeback hopes. In the seventh inning, the Rockies added another four runs, highlighted by a grand slam from Castro that set a franchise record for runs scored in a single game.
Once their game was out of hand, Oakland turned to position player Carlos Cortes as a pitcher – only for Cortes to give up yet another homer, sealing Oakland’s 23-9 loss and their worst performance of the season thus far.
Going forward, the Athletics hope to find their footing as they begin a series against Pittsburgh Pirates at Sutter Health Park. Right-handed pitcher J.T. Ginn is scheduled to start and help lead them back from this difficult outing.