Bizarre Play Dooms A's in Opener vs. Phillies

The atmosphere at Sutter Health Park against the Phillies was filled with anticipation over the call-up of top prospect, centerfielder Denzel Clarke. It was a tense game as the A's were playing tight, and at the forefront of their mind was ending their nine-game losing streak. It was on old-fashioned pitchers' duel for most of the game up until the 9th inning.

Both starters Zach Wheeler and Jacob Lopez pitched gems, in a night where Sutter Health Park was playing more like a pitcher's park than we've seen in previous series. The two starters amassed 16 strikeouts between them. It also worked in their favor that the home plate umpire's strike zone was extremely generous.

The A's had a chance going into the top of the ninth, with the score still at 1-0. Mason Miller came into the game, after not having pitched since May 17 at San Francisco. Then, JT Realmuto hit a ground ball to short. Jacob Wilson fielded it and made off-balance throw to Kurtz at first, who couldn't pick it up and lost his glove in the process.

The ball caromed off Realmuto's leg and rolled into foul territory behind where the ball boy was seated. Realmuto ended up with a triple, and from there things unraveled. Miller was unable to recover following the unusual sequence of events, and as a result, the Phillies scored three runs total in the inning.

The A's rallied in the bottom of the ninth with Kurtz's dramatic three-run homer, and with another runner on base with two outs, it was up to left-handed bat Lawrence Butler facing lefty relief pitcher Tanner Banks, who struck him out to end the game.

The A's will return to action tomorrow night at Sutter Health Park against the Phillies. The roster has had a bit of a shakeup after a slew of roster moves were made on Friday. Left-hander Jeffrey Springs will go up against fellow lefty Cristopher Sanchez for Philadelphia. First pitch is at 7:05 PDT.