A’S STAVE OFF ELIMINATION WITH RALLY

Ramon Laureano sensed his teammates’ energy dragging. They were down three runs with time running out to save their season.

So the Oakland outfielder lit into them in the dugout during the sixth inning, getting so loud he was heard easily in mostly empty Dodger Stadium.

And just in case Laureano’s words did not get the message across, he ripped a double as the A’s got a pair of sacrifice f lies in the eighth to rally past the Houston Astros 9-7 on Wednesday and avoid elimination in their AL Division Series.

“We live another day,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.

Suitably inspired by Laureano’s outburst, Chad Pinder tied the score with a three-run homer in the seventh before Sean Murphy hit the go-ahead sac fly in the

A’s 9, Astros 7

eighth.

“Ramon got everything fired up, saying this wasn’t it, we’re not going to let it be our last game, we’ve gone through too much this season,” Pinder said. “It was awesome.”

Houston leads the bestof-five series 2-1 and can advance to its fourth straight AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 today.

“There’s never a doubt in this team,” Oakland starter Jesus Luzardo said. “We can go ahead and win three in a row.”

The Astros wasted leads of 2-1 and 7-4, and the Athletics bounced back after giving up advantages of 1-0 and 4-2.

Houston’s bullpen had stif led Oakland in the first two games with seven shutout innings of one-hit relief, but Pinder ended that dominance.

Houston led 7-4 when Marcus Semien and Tommy La Stella had back-to-back singles off Josh James starting the seventh. Pinder hit a first-pitch slider to the opposite field for Oakland’s fifth homer, a drive chased by right fielder Kyle Tucker until he ran out of room at the short wall.

La Stella, Mark Canha, Matt Olson and Semien also homered for the A’s, whose entire infield went deep.

“They beat us with the home run ball,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “Tough to take but we have to come back tomorrow.”

The teams have combined for 18 homers — including seven in Game 3 — in the neutral-site series at Dodger Stadium featuring all day games. After two straight days in the 90s, the temperature cooled to 81 degrees.

Losing pitcher Brooks Raley walked Robbie Grossman leading off the eighth, and Laureano doubled. Murphy’s sacrifice f ly put Oakland ahead, Semien walked, La Stella was hit on his right forearm, loading the bases and forcing him from the game. Pinder, who went 3for-4 with four RBIs, followed with another sacrifice f ly in the eighth.

Winner Liam Hendriks pitched three innings of onehit, scoreless relief.

“Once our backs are against the wall, suddenly everything changes,” Hendriks said.

“Everybody has that bit of extra drive.”