Stephen Piscotty homered, right-hander Adrian Martinez won his home debut and the Oakland Athletics made it two straight over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night.
Matt Chapman thrilled his old fans with three hits, including a home run, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Blue Jays from losing their fifth straight.
Clinching a home-series victory for the first time since taking three of four from the Baltimore Orioles in April, the A’s never trailed, scoring twice in the first and third before Piscotty’s solo homer in the fifth.
Oakland took advantage of two game-opening walks by Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi (3-5) to grab its 2-0 lead in the first. Christian Bethancourt singled in the first run, after which a double play grounder off the bat of Sean Murphy plated the second.
Chapman’s homer, his 12th of the season, got Toronto even in the top of the second. It also scored Cavan Biggio, who had singled.
But the A’s seized the lead for good with their two-run third, with Kikuchi’s wildness again playing a big role. He hit Ramon Laureano and Bethancourt consecutively to set the stage for a Murphy sacrifice fly and, three batters later, a Chad Pinder bases-loaded walk off reliever Trent Thornton.
Kikuchi was charged with four runs in his 2 1/3 innings despite allowing just two hits. He hurt himself with five walks and the two hit batsmen. He did not record a strikeout.
Teoscar Hernandez smacked his ninth homer of the season, a solo shot, to get Toronto within 4-3 in the fourth, but that was the last of the Blue Jays’ scoring.
Martinez (2-1) completed five innings, allowing three runs and eight hits. He struck out five and did not walk anyone.
The rookie had begun his career with a pair of road starts, beating the Detroit Tigers in May before losing to the Seattle Mariners in June.
Piscotty’s homer, his second of the season, completed the game’s scoring in the fifth.
Athletics relievers A.J. Puk, Domingo Acevedo, Zach Jackson and Lou Trivino secured the win for Martinez, each throwing a scoreless inning.
Laureano and Nick Allen each scored twice for the A’s.
Chapman’s 3-for-4 night included a pair of singles for the Blue Jays, who outhit the A’s 10-4. Hernandez and Tapia each finished with two hits.
–Field Level Media
