A's aim to keep all-around effort going and finish 2024 strong

CHICAGO -- Manager Mark Kotsay has been impressed by the work A’s players continue to put in day in and day out down the stretch of the 2024 season. On Wednesday at Wrigley Field, Oakland’s no-quit attitude was on full display.

The A’s erased a two-run deficit in the seventh inning and, after they scored twice in the eighth, picked up a 5-3 win over the Cubs. It secured the three-game series win for the A’s as well as a winning record on their nine-game road trip (5-4). Mason Miller picked up his 27th save, setting the Oakland rookie record.

After Seth Brown’s leadoff single in the eighth, Zack Gelof delivered a go-ahead RBI double. Gelof advanced to third base on the play, as the Cubs unsuccessfully made a play on Brown at the plate. Gelof came around to score moments later, on Tyler Soderstrom fielder’s choice.

“Coming out with a winning record speaks to how well we've been playing the last several months,” said designated hitter Brent Rooker, who reached base four times (2-for-3, two walks) to extend his on-base streak to 28 games, the longest active streak in the Majors.

“It just speaks to the work the guys are still putting in and really going out there and giving their best effort every day, despite it being this late in the year.”

The A’s have a 37-30 record since July, which is third best in the American League during that span and tied for the eighth-best mark in the Majors. After posting winning records the past two months, they have a chance to make it three straight for the first time since April-June 2021.

Oakland is 8-9 to open September after winning three-game series against both the Astros, who lead the AL West, and Cubs, who have been in the postseason mix.

“To come in against a team that's still fighting for its life and to take two out of three says a lot about that group,” Kotsay said.

It was a group effort on Wednesday, beginning with rookie starter Brady Basso, who was charged with three runs (all earned) on six hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. The lefty ran into some trouble and tough luck in the fifth. The Cubs loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, and third baseman Nick Allen was then unable to come up with a potential inning-ending double-play ground ball. It was ruled an RBI single for Dansby Swanson.

When Kotsay went to the mound for a pitching change, he offered Basso a message of encouragement before the lefty exited. Kotsay said Basso -- ranked by MLB Pipeline as the A's No. 28 prospect -- did an “outstanding job.”

“For a young man in his, I think, third start,” Kotsay said, “to get through there and just to have the type of game he did, I was impressed.”

Basso has a 1.69 ERA in 16 innings over three starts in the Major Leagues, and Wednesday was the first start in which he allowed any runs. Among other contributions, Soderstrom hit a solo homer in the fourth inning. Wednesday was his fourth game since coming off of the 10-day injured list on Saturday. The 22-year-old missed over two months with a left wrist bone bruise.

The motivation to finish strong and keep working down the stretch extends throughout the clubhouse.

“I think the ultimate goal is to win a World Series,” Soderstrom said. “I think we've got to, as a group, learn and keep pushing. The goal is to be playing in October next year, so we’ve got to keep grinding all the way and keep getting ready for that extra month of baseball.”

Next up for the A’s is their final homestand of the season, as well as their final homestand before a planned move to Sacramento for 2025-27. The A’s will host the Yankees and Rangers at the Oakland Coliseum during the six-game homestand.

The A’s have called Oakland home since 1968. Kotsay played there from 2004-07 and recalled memories such as the suite that his family watched games from, located behind him when he played center field.

It figures to be an emotional stretch of games at the Coliseum.

“I think we're expecting a lot of people to come out and show up, so we're expecting a good atmosphere and we're excited about that,” Rooker said. “But we understand at the same time, there's going to be a lot of mixed emotions from all sides, and we're ready to just hopefully close on a high note.”