A’s hit 3 late home runs after a quiet start and keep Reds at bay with 5:4

CINCINNATI (AP) — Max Schuemann and Lawrence Butler each hit two-run home runs in the seventh inning to help the Oakland Athletics to a 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

Zack Gelof added a solo hit in the eighth inning and All-Star closer Mason Miller held on after allowing two runs and four hits in a shaky ninth inning, striking out pinch-hitter Amed Rosario with runners on second and third base for his 22nd save.

Oakland had one hit and was down 1-0 after six innings, but rallied to hand Cincinnati its ninth consecutive loss to an interleague opponent.

“When we’ve been behind and haven’t been able to score first, we haven’t been very successful this season,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “It’s nice that we were able to come back from behind tonight and finish the game.”

A’s starter Mitch Spence allowed one run and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed three walks and had three strikeouts.

Michel Otañez (1-0) made two outs in the sixth inning and thus earned his first win in the Major League.

The Reds, who have five starting pitchers on the injured list, were expected to make full use of their bullpen on Tuesday.

Jakob Junis made his fourth start of the season, his first since joining the Reds, and shut down all 12 batters he faced with three strikeouts. He had made eight relief appearances after being signed by the Brewers on July 30.

“Jakob just threw a lot of strikes,” said Reds manager David Bell. “We didn’t know how far he was going to get. Getting through those four innings gave us a chance to win.”

Oakland didn’t have a baserunner until Buck Farmer allowed a walk to Seth Brown with one out in the fifth inning. The first hit for the A’s came when Schuemann hit a double against Farmer in the sixth inning.

In his next at-bat, Schuemann hit a home run against Tony Santillan (1-2) to give the A’s a 2-1 lead with two outs in the seventh inning.

“I went into it with the idea of ​​attacking his aggressiveness with the fastball and giving him a good swing,” Schuemann said. “It was a tough battle. Just go out there and trust the process every day.”

Two batters later, Butler hit his 15th home run against Justin Wilson.

Gelof hit his 16th home run in the eighth inning against Casey Legumina.

Oakland has hit 162 home runs, tied with the Minnesota Twins for seventh in the major leagues. More than 50% of the A’s runs this season have come from home runs.

“We managed to knock the ball out of the ballpark,” Kotsay said. “It was nice to see these guys get some shots tonight that they can handle and hit them with some good shots.”

Oakland took a 5-2 lead with one out in the ninth inning when Elly De La Cruz and Tyler Stephenson singled to put runners on first and third base. De La Cruz scored on TJ Friedl’s groundout and Spencer Steer’s bloop single cut the score to 5-4. Ty France doubled before Miller finally tied the game by fanning out Rosario.

TRAINING ROOM

Athletics: C Tyler Soderstrom (left wrist bruise) has started hitting and could begin rehab this week.

Reds: LHP Nick Lodolo (left middle finger strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 24. … LHP Brandon Williamson (shoulder strain) was sent to Triple-A Louisville for rehab. … OF Stuart Fairchild (left thumb sprain) was placed on the 10-day IL.

Next

Osvaldo Bido (5-3, 3.24 ERA) will pitch for Oakland on Wednesday. The Reds have not yet announced a scheduled starter. Bido is 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA in his last three starts.

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An earlier version of this story corrected that Stephenson singled for the Reds in the ninth inning, not Friedl.

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