CHICAGO (Interstat) — Colby Thomas’s pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning ignited a two-run rally that lifted the Athletics to a 5-4, 10-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The Athletics, who had lost 12 of their previous 15 games, evened the three-game series at one win apiece after dropping the opener Tuesday. They improved to 30-31, while the Cubs fell to 32-30.

The game was scoreless through the first half-inning before the Athletics struck in the top of the first. Carlos Cortes led off with a single, moved to second on a walk to Nick Kurtz and advanced to third on a force out. Tyler Soderstrom grounded into another force play that scored Cortes, giving the Athletics a 1-0 lead.

The Athletics added another run in the second. Zack Gelof doubled and scored on a sharp single by Alika Williams, making it 2-0.

The Cubs cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second when Seiya Suzuki led off with a solo home run to left-center, his eighth of the season. The Cubs then tied the game in the third. Nico Hoerner doubled and scored on a two-run homer by Pete Crow-Armstrong, also his eighth. Crow-Armstrong’s blast put the Cubs ahead 3-2.

Chicago stretched its lead in the fourth. Ian Happ doubled and scored on a triple by Michael Busch, making it 4-2.

The Athletics’ offense went quiet through the middle innings as Cubs starter Colin Rea kept them off balance. Rea worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts.

The score remained 4-2 until the eighth, when the Athletics tied it against the Cubs bullpen. Pinch-hitter Colby Thomas led off the inning with a home run to left-center, his second of the year, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Shea Langeliers followed with a double, then Soderstrom singled to right field, scoring Langeliers and tying the game at 4-4. Soderstrom was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

The Athletics bullpen held the Cubs scoreless over the final three innings. José Suarez worked 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit but no runs. Joel Kuhnel followed with 1 1/3 perfect innings. Mark Leiter Jr. recorded two outs in the eighth, and Luis Medina struck out the side in the ninth, allowing one hit.

The game went to extra innings, and the Athletics broke the tie in the top of the 10th. Alika Williams started the inning on second base under the extra-innings rule. Jonah Heim grounded out, moving Williams to third. Nick Kurtz then singled to left, scoring Williams and giving the Athletics a 5-4 lead.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Cubs put the tying run on third with one out after a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice bunt. But Athletics reliever Hogan Harris struck out Crow-Armstrong on a foul tip, then induced a lineout from Alex Bregman to end the game. Harris earned the win, improving to 3-0, after recording two strikeouts in a scoreless inning. Justin Sterner pitched the ninth and got the save, his first of the season.

Cubs reliever Ethan Roberts took the loss, falling to 0-1. He allowed one run in the 10th.

Key performances included a strong start by Rea, and a perfect relief outing by Joel Kuhnel, who retired all four batters he faced. Thomas’s pinch-hit homer was the game’s pivotal moment, turning the momentum after the Athletics had been held scoreless for five innings.

The Athletics finished with 10 hits to the Cubs’ nine. The game lasted 3 hours, 5 minutes in front of an announced crowd of 31,922.

The Athletics will try to win the series Thursday in the finale before heading to Houston for a three-game weekend set. The Cubs host San Francisco for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago Cubs 4, Athletics 3, and its ELO system gave the Cubs a 62.30 percent probability to win. The Athletics were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5.