Despite a standout performances from a trio of B’s in Lawrence Butler, JJ Bleday, and Seth Brown, the Oakland A’s were stopped in heartbreaking fashion from sweeping the Cincinnati Reds.
Igniting a back-and-forth battle, Brownie and Butler contributed to three A’s runs in the first two innings of the game. The latter hit a two-run homer to score the freshly recalled Nick Allen that put Oakland up 3-0 on the Reds.
Butler came back for seconds with a solo shot in the top of the 4th, followed shortly by another big flyball over the right field fence from Bleday.
Rookie J.T. Ginn held the lead throughout his outing but ended up losing the majority of it. Over five innings, the 25-year-old gave up four runs, including two solo homers from Will Benson and Tyler Stephenson, leaving the game with a 6-4 lead. However, he maintained his typically solid strikeout-to-walk ratio, punching out four batters and walking one.
Unfortunately, the lead was lost the next inning by the pitcher Ginn replaced in the rotation, Joe Boyle. After hitting his first batter in the bottom of the 6th, the flamethrower exhibited the command issues that lost him his starting job, only getting one out before walking the next three and giving up the Reds’ fifth run. Boyle ended up leaving the game with the bases still loaded for T.J. McFarland, who also hit his first batter and allowed the tying run. The Reds took a 7-6 lead on a sacrifice fly that also ended the inning on a tag at third base.
Heading into the 9th, the A’s needed a spark to keep the game alive. Who else to provide that spark than Law himself, who opened the inning with his third homer of the night, tying the game at 7. After a walk from Brent Rooker and a double from Bleday, Brownie continued his hot streak with a go-ahead two-run single to put the A’s back up 9-7.
With the game now seemingly in hand, but Mason Miller coming off back-to-back outings, Mark Kotsay had to go to the rookie Grant Holman in another big spot. Unfortunately, he couldn’t meet the moment, allowing two walks and three hits, the last of which walked it off for the Reds and helped the team narrowly avoid the sweep, handing Oakland a 10-9 loss.
The A’s will hope to bounce back tomorrow against the reigning champion Texas Rangers, who are five games ahead of the A’s in the AL West.