Oakland A's Lose Lead Twice, Rally Twice to Outlast Baltimore 14-9 in Slugfest

Just another boring game for the Oakland A's. Oakland's normally fabulous pitching staff could not hold two leads in Baltimore as the Orioles rallied from five runs down to take a 9-8 lead headed to the ninth.

But in the opener of a crucial three-game series, the A's rallied again, scoring six runs off of Baltimore's closer Jim Johnson to rally to a 14-9 victory. Ryan Cook's recent struggles continued as he allowed the tying and go-ahead run to score in the bottom of the eighth inning. But in this crazy game, it did not result in a loss.

The A's seemed to be on their way to an easy night as they jumped on Orioles' starter Zach Britton. Oakland scored four runs in the first on an RBI triple by Josh Reddick, a wild pitch that scored Reddick, then a two-run home run by Chris Carter. In the second inning, Brandon Hicks hit his second home run to make the score 5-0.

But Jarrod Parker could not hold the lead as Baltimore rallied to score single runs in the second and third innings. Then in the fifth, they scored four times off of Parker with the big blast coming from Adam Jones, whose three-run home run gave the Orioles a 6-5 lead. 

True to form, the A's rallied in the top of the sixth. Consecutive walks from Brandon Hicks set up pinch-hitter Seth Smith who doubled off of Baltimore reliever Miguel Socolovich to give the A's the lead again at 8-6.

But, the bullpen could not hold the lead. Sean Doolittle allowed a pair of runners to reach in the eighth. Cook then allowed RBI singles to JJ Hardy and Jim Thome to tie the score. Then Chris Davis hit an opposite field single to left, scoring Hardy to make the score 9-8.

Just as they have during throughout the incredible month of July, the A's had the last word. After Yoenis Cespedes grounded out on a cue shot to first, Carter singled to start the rally. Brandon Inge followed with a single to left, and Derek Norris hit a flare to right that tied the score.

A walk by pinch-hitter Brandon Moss set the stage for Weeks, whose opposite field single gave the A's the lead at 10-9. Coco Crisp slapped a clean single into right to score Norris and Moss and it was 12-9, ending Johnson's night.

Smith then capped the rally with a double to right center, his fourth and fifth RBI on the night, to conclude the scoring for Oakland. It was Baltimore's first loss of the year after having a ninth inning lead, having previously won 39 in a row.

Jerry Blevins came in and recorded the final three outs to move to 4-0 as the A's moved to a remarkable 17-3 record in the month of July, and maintained their position in the AL Wild Card race.

However, the final out provided a scare as Josh Reddick slammed into the right-field wall, making a very good catch to end the game. He stayed down as the game ended and was taken off on a cart.

Saturday's game will match Oakland starter Bartolo Colon against Baltimore's Tommy Hunter. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.