Athletics squander lead in 8th inning, fall to Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa hit a go-ahead two-run single in Philadelphia’s four-run eighth inning as the Phillies rallied past the Athletics 6-3 on Wednesday.

Adolis Garcia homered, singled and scored twice, and Brandon Marsh had a triple and an RBI single among this three hits for Philadelphia, which is 8-1 under interim manager Don Mattingly.

Brad Keller pitched a scoreless ninth inning despite loading the bases, notching his third save, after Orion Kerkering (1-0) got the final out of the eighth.

Tyler Soderstrom homered in the sixth, and Nick Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 30 straight games with an RBI single for the American League West-leading A’s, who have lost four of five.

The Athletics plan to move to Las Vegas in 2028, when they are scheduled to open play at a new ballpark on the Strip.

Down 3-2, the Phillies scored four times in the eighth off Jack Perkins (2-1). Perkins walked Kyle Schwarber to open the inning before second baseman Jeff McNeil’s throwing error on Bryce Harper’s grounder and a single by Garcia loaded the bases.

Sosa’s two-run single put Philadelphia up 4-3. Marsh added an RBI single and rookie Bishop Gorman product Justin Crawford a run-scoring groundout.

Kurtz, who grew up a Phillies from nearby Lancaster, Pennsylvania, gave the A’s a 2-0 lead with a two-out RBI single in the fifth off Zack Wheeler.

Wheeler, making his third start this season and first in Philadelphia since August following thoracic outlet decompression surgery, allowed three runs on five hits in 6⅓ innings. The 35-year-old three-time All-Star struck out four and walked one.

A’s starter Jeffrey Springs yielded two runs on eight hits and no walks in 5⅓ innings. The left-hander struck out four. The 75-pitch outing was a good sign for Springs, who left his previous start after 67 pitches because of right hip soreness.

McNeil singled to open the ninth off Keller, who walked Lawrence Butler with one out. After striking out Zack Gelof, Keller walked Kurtz to load the bases. Jacob Wilson then grounded out softly to Keller to end the game.

Up next

A’s RHP J.T. Ginn (0-1, 4.30 ERA) opposes RHP Andrew Painter (1-3, 5.28) in the finale of the three-game series Thursday.