A’s rally with 2 homers in 8th to beat Angels

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — September 23, 2026 - 8:55 am The Athletics rallied past the Los Angeles Angels 9-7 on Tuesday night, erasing a six‑run deficit with two‑run home runs from Carlos Cortes and Zack Gelof in the eighth inning. Cortes launched a drive to right‑center off Sam Bachman (1-3) to put Oakland ahead 7-6, and Gelof followed with another two‑run shot to seal the comeback. Cortes, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh, finished 2-for-2 with a run‑scoring triple, three RBIs and two runs scored. Hogan Harris surrendered a run in the ninth but recorded his 16th save by striking out pinch‑hitter Oswald Peraza with two runners aboard. Luis Medina (6-3) tossed a scoreless inning for the victory, giving the Athletics a season‑series clinch with one game left between the bottom two clubs in the AL West. The organization announced plans to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028, when it is scheduled to open play at a new ballpark on the Strip. For the Angels, Denzer Guzman homered and drove in four runs, including a three‑run blast off starter Brady Basso in the third inning. Guzman has homered in four straight games at Sutter Health Park. Mike Trout and Vaughn Grissom each contributed three of Los Angeles’ 15 hits; Grissom’s second‑inning RBI single built a 6-0 lead. Shea Langeliers and Lawrence Butler each collected three of Oakland’s 14 hits. Butler sparked the rally in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI triple that scored Langeliers, who later trimmed the gap to 6-4 with a run‑scoring single in the seventh. Jeff McNeil drew a bases‑loaded walk earlier in the frame to make it 6-5. Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi yielded two runs and seven hits over 5⅓ innings. Looking ahead, Angels right‑hander Walbert Urena (9-10, 2.74 ERA) will face Athletics left‑hander Jeffrey Springs (4-14, 6.18) on Wednesday night.