Esteury Ruiz singled home Jace Peterson with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lead the Oakland Athletics past the visiting Cincinnati Reds 5-4 and salvage the finale of the three-game weekend series.
Ruiz got the chance to be the hero only after an umpire review overturned a hit-by-pitch ruling earlier in the at-bat against Reds closer Alexis Diaz on a very blustery afternoon.
Peterson singled off Derek Law (0-4) to open the ninth. Kevin Smith dropped a sacrifice bunt that first baseman Matt Reynolds misplayed to put the first two runners on. Diaz relieved Law and nearly plunked Ruiz before the center fielder hit his game-winning single to left.
Zach Jackson (2-1) pitched out of a ninth-inning jam when Kevin Newman singled and Spencer Steer doubled, putting runners at second and third with none out. Jackson fanned Jonathan India and Tyler Stephenson before Henry Ramos grounded out to end the inning.
The loss snapped Cincinnati’s season-high five-game win streak, while Oakland won for just the sixth time in 29 games this season.
Jesus Aguilar drilled a two-out homer deep to the seats in left-center to give the A’s a 2-0 lead in the first. The homer, measured at 428 feet, came just after Brent Rooker’s check-swing single to right field extended the inning.
For Aguilar, it was his fourth homer in his last seven games.
The Reds answered off Oakland starter Ken Waldichuk with a long ball of their own when Nick Senzel belted his second homer in four games, a high fly to the stairway beyond the left field fence to cut the Oakland lead in half, 2-1.
Rooker got the run back for Oakland with another homer off Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo leading off the fourth. Rooker drove a long fly ball just inside the left field foul pole for his team-leading ninth homer and a 3-1 lead.
Waldichuk allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings and was knocked from the game in the sixth when Ramos and Senzel singled with one out, starting Cincinnati’s three-run rally.
Ramos scored from second on a throwing error by Athletics reliever Domingo Acevedo and Newman later put Cincinnati ahead 4-3 with a two-run single.
Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, ending his career-long 17-game on-base streak.
–Field Level Media
