WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Interstat) — Zack Gelof homered and drove in two runs, Alika Williams had three hits and the Athletics defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-5 on Saturday night at Sutter Health Park.

The Athletics evened their record at 35-35, while the Rockies fell to 26-45 with their sixth loss in seven games. The victory gave a 2-0 lead in the three-game series after a 6-4 win Friday.

José Suarez (1-2) earned the win in relief, allowing no runs on one hit over one inning with one strikeout. Elvis Alvarado pitched the ninth for his second save, striking out two and allowing no hits. Kyle Freeland (1-7) took the loss, surrendering four runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and one walk.

The Rockies struck first in the third inning when Brett Sullivan homered to right field, his fourth of the season, making it 1-0. They added a run in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Troy Johnston that plated TJ Rumfield, who had doubled. Johnston was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

The Athletics had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning. After a single by Nick Kurtz and a double by Shea Langeliers, Jacob Wilson singled to left field, scoring both Kurtz and Langeliers. But Colorado tied the game at 2-2 after the top of the fourth.

Colorado seized a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth. Kyle Karros led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Sullivan. Sterlin Thompson doubled, Edouard Julien singled, and Willi Castro walked to load the bases. Rumfield then doubled to center field, driving in Julien, but Castro was thrown out at home on a relay from center fielder Henry Bolte to second baseman Williams to catcher Langeliers. The Rockies led 4-2.

The Athletics answered in the bottom of the fourth. Henry Bolte singled, and Gelof followed with his ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left-center field, tying the game at 4-4.

The pivotal inning was the bottom of the sixth. With the score still tied at 4-4, Gelof singled to center field with one out. After Max Muncy grounded out, advancing Gelof to second, Williams singled to center, scoring Gelof to give the Athletics a 5-4 lead. Tyler Soderstrom then doubled to left field, scoring Williams and making it 6-4. After an intentional walk to Kurtz and a walk to Langeliers loaded the bases, Carlos Cortes was hit by a pitch, forcing in Soderstrom to extend the lead to 7-4.

The Rockies threatened in the top of the seventh when Castro walked with two outs, but Rumfield flied out to end the inning. In the eighth, Troy Johnston singled and advanced to second on a groundout, but was caught stealing third on a throw from Langeliers to Gelof, who had moved to third base.

Colorado scored its final run in the top of the ninth. Karros led off with a triple, but Sullivan grounded out to first, scoring Karros and cutting the deficit to 7-5. Thompson grounded out to first to end the game.

The Rockies finished with eight hits, led by Rumfield’s two hits and two RBIs, and Sullivan’s home run and two RBIs. The Athletics had 11 hits, with Williams going 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI, and Gelof collecting two hits.

Attendance was announced at 8,532. The game lasted 2 hours, 42 minutes.

Key performances included Gelof’s home run and two RBIs, Alvarado’s scoreless save inning with two strikeouts, and Juan Mejia of the Rockies pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout. Brett Sullivan also homered for Colorado. Alika Williams’ three-hit night and run-scoring single in the sixth proved crucial. TJ Rumfield drove in a run with a double. Athletics starter Joey Estes pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts. Mark Leiter Jr. threw a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout. Seth Halvorsen of the Rockies recorded two outs without allowing a hit or run. Scott Barlow pitched a perfect inning for the Athletics.

The game’s most important sequence occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Athletics scored three runs to take the lead. With the score tied 4-4, Gelof singled and eventually scored on Williams’ single. Soderstrom’s double drove in Williams, and Cortes was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in another run. The Athletics’ bullpen held the Rockies scoreless over the final three innings, with Alvarado closing the door.

The Athletics improved to 35-35, while the Rockies dropped to 26-45. The teams conclude the series Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Athletics 5, Rockies 4. The ELO system gave the Athletics a 66.90 percent probability to win. The Athletics were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 12 went over the over/under line of 13.5.