Ildemaro Vargas slapped a bases-loaded single to left with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks recorded a 6-5 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night at Phoenix.
Nolan Arenado delivered the tying single earlier in the inning as Arizona won for the seventh time in the past nine games. Max Kepler added a three-run homer for the Diamondbacks.
Jacob Wilson drilled a tying two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and Jonah Heim hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 10th inning for the Athletics.
Shea Langeliers also homered for the Athletics, who lost for the 16th time in their past 19 games.
Automatic runner Tyler Soderstrom was on second to start the 10th for the A’s and moved to third on a grounder by Langeliers. Heim followed with a deep fly to center off Arizona’s Kevin Ginkel (4-3) to score Soderstrom.
Arizona began the bottom of the 10th with automatic runner Corbin Carroll on second before Luis Medina (2-2) walked Gabriel Moreno and Kepler to load the bases. Arenado followed with a soft tying single to center.
After Tim Tawa struck out, the left-handed-hitting Vargas swung at a high 1-2 fastball and sent it through the hole between shortstop and third base to drive in Moreno with the winning run.
The Diamondbacks were one out from winning in the ninth before Paul Sewald allowed a triple to center to Donovan Walton and the tying two-run blast to left to Wilson.
Arizona’s Kohl Drake gave up one run and four hits in five innings in his major league debut. The left-hander struck out five and walked two.
Jack Perkins of the Athletics gave up three runs and five hits over five innings.
Ketel Marte drew a walk to open the bottom of the first and Moreno singled with two outs. Kepler came up and drilled a 2-1 sweeper 392 feet over the fence in right-center for a quick three-run lead.
The Athletics scored in the third when Lawrence Butler tripled and scored on a single by Alika Williams.
Drake then hit Wilson with a pitch and walked Soderstrom to load the bases with none out. But Drake got Langeliers to line out and Heim to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Arizona added on in the bottom of the seventh. Vargas and Jorge Barrosa walked to start the inning and moved up on Geoff Hartlieb’s wild pitch. Marte hit a sacrifice fly to score Vargas and make it 4-1.
Langeliers drilled a 444-foot blast to left-center off Arizona’s Ryan Thompson with one out in the eighth. Heim and Tommy White followed with singles before Thompson coerced Jeff McNeil to hit into an inning-ending double play.
–Field Level Media
