Seth Brown capped a two-homer performance with a three-run shot in the eighth inning, fueling the visiting Oakland Athletics to a 9-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
Oakland’s Lawrence Butler homered to lead off the game and also drove in a run with a fielder’s choice in the seventh inning. Brown also went deep in the fourth inning and Brent Rooker launched his career-high 31st homer in the sixth to propel the Athletics to their third straight win.
Will Benson belted a three-run homer to cap a six-run seventh inning for the reeling Reds, who have lost nine of their past 12 games.
Oakland swiftly responded after seeing its five-run lead turn into a 6-5 deficit. The Athletics quickly put two runners aboard to begin the eighth inning before Brown deposited a 2-2 fastball from Emilio Pagan (3-4) over the wall in center field. Zack Gelof scored on a double-play ball to push Oakland’s advantage to 9-6.
Tyler Ferguson (2-1) picked up the win after retiring the side in order in the eighth inning. Mason Miller struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to secure his 23rd save of the season.
Pagan took the loss after yielding four runs on five hits in one inning.
Cincinnati chipped into a 5-0 deficit after Tyler Stephenson extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI double earlier in the seventh inning. Santiago Espinal ripped an RBI double three batters later and advanced to third on Ty France’s single before Benson’s blast.
Butler got Oakland going after sending a 2-0 cutter from Fernando Cruz over the wall in right-center field. The homer was Butler’s 16th of the season and second in his past four games.
Brown doubled the Athletics’ advantage in the fourth inning and Rooker surpassed his home run total from last year after crushing a 2-2 fastball from Casey Kelly over the wall in left-center field.
Oakland extended its lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning on Max Schuemann’s sacrifice fly and Butler’s run-scoring fielder’s choice.
–Field Level Media
