Tonight showed what the Athletics are capable of when their pitching does its job. The team got the start it needed from J.T. Ginn, who has become its most consistent starter. The A’s offense, led by Kurtz’s three-hit, two-home-run All-Star-caliber performance, provided Ginn plenty of run support in this 11-2 series-opening victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at West Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park.
A’s Waste Early Scoring Opportunity
In the bottom of the first, Pirates starter Jared Jones worked into trouble. A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz, catcher Shea Langeliers and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom opened the frame with three consecutive singles. Jones responded by striking out the next three hitters, and the A’s came away empty-handed despite loading the bases with no outs.
A’s starting pitcher J.T. Ginn got off to a good start, pitching a scoreless first two innings, only giving up a single and a walk.
A’s Take the Lead with a Three-Spot!
With one out in the bottom of the second, Athletics’ center fielder Henry Bolte hit his fifth double of the season to the right field corner. Second baseman Jeff McNeil promptly delivered an RBI single to left field, with Bolte beating the throw home to give the hosts a 1–0 lead. That hit snapped the veteran infielder’s 0-for-20 streak.
The A’s were not done scoring that inning. Kurtz made it two hits in two at-bats as he hit his 17th home run, a two-run 112 mph line drive missile over the left field fence.
Ginn Keeps A’s in Front
Ginn got the first two outs in the third inning before allowing an infield single and a walk. The A’s starter struck out Pirates’ right fielder Ryan O’Hearn to escape the runners in scoring position threat unharmed and complete the shutdown inning.
The Pirates first batter of the fourth inning reached on A’s third baseman Zack Gelof’s sixth fielding error of the season. Then, the Pirates’ catcher Endy Rodriguez singled, making it two on with no outs for the visitors. Center fielder Jake Mangum blooped a one-out RBI single to left field to get the Pirates on the scoreboard. Ginn limited the damage to one run by inducing an inning-ending double play that he started on a comebacker. Like the A’s in the first inning, the Pirates failed to capitalize on a runner at third with fewer than two outs.
McNeil Having A Game
The Athletics regained the momentum in the bottom of the fourth. Right fielder Lawrence Butler led off the inning with an infield single. He moved to second on Bolte’s groundout and then scored on McNeil’s third home run of the season, a two-run shot into the A’s bullpen in right field.
Ginn fired an eight-pitch, 1-2-3 shutdown fifth inning, keeping the A’s up 5-1. Jones did not come out for the fifth as right-handed reliever Carmen Mlodzinski entered out of the Pirates bullpen.
A’s Add a Sixth Run
Soderstrom greeted Mlodzinski with a single to right. A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson followed with a fly ball to right field that O’Hearn failed to catch, resulting in a ground-rule double that advanced Soderstrom to third. With one out, Gelof lined an RBI single up the middle to score Soderstrom, extending his hitting streak to 19 games—the longest active streak in the majors. Mlodzinski retired the next two batters as the A’s only pushed one run across in the fifth inning.
The Pirates got two singles against Ginn in the sixth, yet the A’s burgeoning ace wiggled out of another jam to finish six strong innings of work. He earned his fifth win, allowing just one unearned run on six hits while recording three strikeouts, eight groundouts, and six fly outs.
Right-handed reliever Justin Sterner replaced Ginn in the seventh inning. He preserved his team’s five-run lead, striking out two in a scoreless appearance.
A’s Two-out Rally!
Gelof reached on Pirates’ second baseman Brandon Lowe’s fielding error with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Butler punished the visitors’ mistake by lining an RBI double off the left-center field fence, scoring Gelof from first to give the A’s their seventh run of the night.
Bolte kept the inning going by speeding down the line to beat Pittsburgh’s third baseman’s throw across the diamond. Then McNeil lined a single into right field for his fourth RBI of the game.
Kurtz put an exclamation mark on the inning with his second home run of the game and 18th of the season, a three-run opposite-field shot that just snuck over the left field fence. The hosts’ seventh inning rally off Mlodzinski doubled their advantage.
With three more home runs today, the Athletics set a franchise record for the most home runs over a seven-game span. Additionally, Kurtz’s seventh home run since last Sunday left him one shy of the Athletics’ franchise record for home runs by a player in his first two MLB seasons.
The “Big Amish” has shown no signs of a sophomore slump, as he now leads MLB in both RBIs and walks. How is he not in first place in the early All-Star voting?
Pirates Score A Consolation Run
In the eighth inning, Rodriguez collected his third hit of the game, a two-out solo home run off A’s reliever Mason Barnett to make it an 11-2 game. Barnett came back out and sealed the A’s win with a scoreless ninth inning.
Tomorrow, the A’s will return at the same time and place as they look to clinch the series against the Pirates and move above .500. Right-hander Jack Perkins will make his third start since joining the A’s rotation. Pittsburgh counters with right-hander Mitch Keller, who is 5-4 with a 5.14 ERA across 14 starts this season.
