A's refuse to give in vs. Rox: 'We're going to enjoy this one'

OAKLAND -- Throughout the long grind of a baseball season, some wins deserve extra time to just soak it all in. For A’s manager Mark Kotsay, Thursday was one of those occasions.

A wild series finale against the Rockies began with the A’s trailing by four runs entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Oakland tied it in the ninth, got down a run before tying it again in the 10th, then overcame a four-run deficit in the 11th by sending nine batters to the plate and storming back for a five-run frame capped by Tyler Soderstrom’s bases-loaded walk-off walk for a 10-9 victory.

“We’re going to enjoy this one,” Kotsay said shortly after the eventful extra-innings affair at the Coliseum. “I don’t want to move past this one yet. This one feels too good.”

The zaniness ensued in the final three innings. Let’s take a look at some key moments of this thriller, which earned the A’s (21-31) a series win before welcoming the division-rival Astros for three games this weekend.

Daz-zling debut
Called up from Triple-A Las Vegas, Daz Cameron boarded a flight from Seattle -- the Aviators were playing a series at Tacoma -- to Oakland at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday. He was thrust into the starting lineup several hours later for the matinee series finale, then he came up big with the first of a few clutch late hits for the A’s. Leading off the bottom of the ninth, Cameron launched a 1-1 cutter from Jalen Beeks into the left-center seats for a game-tying solo blast that traveled a Statcast-projected 419 feet.

“If you’ve ever heard a ‘snap, crackle, pop’ saying, that’s exactly what it felt like,” Cameron said. “Popping a ball off the fat part of the bat and sending it out was a good feeling.”

Cameron joined the A’s as a result of Esteury Ruiz landing on the injured list with a strained left wrist. It’s a promotion that was well-earned. Cameron was hitting .307 with a 1.001 OPS and 15 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 27 RBIs in 41 games with Las Vegas this season.

“He’s been [dominating] Triple-A,” Kotsay said of Cameron. “I met him midway through my workout this morning and told him he was in the lineup. He kind of blank-stared me and didn’t realize what was going on. … It always happens that way, right? For him to come through, that was great to see for him.”

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The 10th
After an unearned run on a sacrifice fly as a result of the automatic runner snapped flamethrowing rookie Mason Miller’s career-high scoreless streak at 19 1/3 innings, Zack Gelof picked up his closer with a one-out RBI single in the bottom half.

It was an encouraging sight for Gelof, who after a slow start and a left oblique injury that sidelined him for 19 games has now reached base five times in his last two games.

A wacky 11th
Sent back out for the 11th, Miller’s uncharacteristic outing continued. He surrendered RBI singles to Jake Cave and Brenton Doyle before getting pulled with two outs, ultimately charged with five runs (three earned) in 1 2/3 innings, for his first runs allowed since March 30.

“He left a lot of pitches in the middle of the plate,” Kotsay said of Miller. “Even though he’s got dominant stuff, there’s going to be days like that. … Now, it’s about bouncing back.”

Max Schuemann immediately cut into the four-run deficit in the bottom of the 11th with a leadoff RBI double. Two batters, later, JJ Bleday followed Abraham Toro’s RBI single with a game-tying two-run blast off Matt Koch. The homer was Bleday's seventh of the year and second in as many days.

“Toro and I were struggling to just find a way to get on base,” Bleday said. “The way he grinded that last at-bat out, you’re just trying to get on base and hand it off to the next guy. … That’s all I was trying to do that last at-bat. Keep the train rolling.”

After an intentional walk to Kyle McCann loaded the bases with two outs, Kotsay summoned Soderstrom as a pinch-hitter. He never swung the bat, watching four consecutive balls go by to plate Seth Brown as the winning run.

In Oakland history (since 1968), Thursday marked just the third extra-inning game where the A’s scored in each of their final five at-bats. The last time? April 11, 1992, a 7-6 A’s victory over the White Sox in 10 innings.

“Man, that was just crazy,” Bleday said. “That was exhausting going back and forth. I’m just glad we came out on top. We showed fight this whole series. All the games were pretty similar. It shows our character. We’re not going to give up.”