Brandon Lowe ripped a tiebreaking homer with one out in the top of the ninth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday in West Sacramento, Calif.
Bryan Reynolds went 4-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs as the Pirates won for just the third time in the past 11 games. It was Reynolds’ ninth career multi-homer game.
Ryan O’Hearn had three hits and Tyler Callihan added two for Pittsburgh. Mason Montgomery (2-1) struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning.
Pirates closer Gregory Soto gave up one-out singles in the ninth to Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers before striking out Tyler Soderstrom and getting Jacob Wilson to line out to right for his 11th save.
Lowe’s decisive blast to right came off Elvis Alvarado (2-1).
The Athletics’ Zack Gelof went 3-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs and a walk to increase his career-best hitting streak to 20 games. It is also the longest active streak in the majors.
Pittsburgh tied the game at 5 in the seventh inning against Hogan Harris when Spencer Horwitz walked with one out and Reynolds went the opposite way with two outs, lofting a two-run homer that barely cleared the wall in right.
Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings. He gave up five runs (four earned), five hits and four walks.
The Athletics’ Jack Perkins allowed three runs and six hits over five-plus innings. He struck out six and walked two.
The A’s scored four runs in the first inning, three crossing on a two-out play in which the ball didn’t leave the infield.
Kurtz, Soderstrom and Wilson all walked off Keller before Gelof hit a ball between first and second base. Horwitz made a diving stop, but his throw toward Keller covering first was wild.
Kurtz scored on the infield hit, Soderstrom scored on the throw and Wilson came home due to obstruction at third base on Pittsburgh’s Nick Gonzales.
Lawrence Butler followed with a double to left to make it 4-0.
Pittsburgh got on the board in the fourth. Reynolds and O’Hearn stroked one-out singles to put runners on the corners, and Reynolds scored on Gonzales’ infield out.
Reynolds hit the first pitch from Perkins in the sixth inning over the wall in center to bring the Pirates within 4-2. O’Hearn followed with a double to end Perkins’ night. One out later, Endy Rodriguez delivered an RBI single off Justin Sterner.
Gelof lined a homer to left with one out in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-3. The blast finished Keller’s outing.
–Field Level Media
