St. Louis tied it in the fifth on Victor Scott II’s solo homer. Then Jordan Walker homered in the sixth, and Nolan Gorman added an RBI single after two A’s errors helped extend the inning.
Seventh-inning swing
The A’s trailed 3-1 before the seventh flipped the game.
Gelof led the push with a solo homer, his fifth of the season. After Jeff McNeil walked, Colby Thomas singled, and Kurtz loaded the bases with a single.
Then Shea Langeliers delivered the biggest A’s hit of the day. His two-run single scored McNeil and Thomas, giving the Athletics a 4-3 lead.
Still, they left two runners on when Michael Stefanic grounded out to end the inning.
Ninth inning stings
Scott Barlow protected the lead in the eighth, but Perkins could not finish it in the ninth.
Yohel Pozo singled to open the inning, and Thomas Saggese entered as a pinch-runner. Perkins got the next two outs, but then hit JJ Wetherholt.
Iván Herrera tied it with a single to left. Then Walker doubled to right, scoring Wetherholt for the go-ahead run.
Joel Kuhnel entered and kept the deficit at one, but the A’s could not answer.
Numbers that mattered
Kurtz went 2-for-3 with a homer, an RBI, a walk and a hit by pitch. Langeliers went 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
Gelof finished 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. Henry Bolte added another hit and stole his first major league base.
Jacob Lopez allowed three runs, two earned, over five innings. He gave up four hits, walked three and struck out two.
Up next
The Athletics stay home Friday to open a series against their former Bay Area rival, the Giants.
Aaron Civale is scheduled to start for the A’s. He enters 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA and 33 strikeouts. San Francisco had not listed a probable starter at the time provided.
