Nick Kurtz drilled a go-ahead, three-run homer to extend his streak of reaching base to 38 games while leading the Athletics to a 5-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Rookie Henry Bolte and veteran Jeff McNeil each had two hits and one RBI for the Athletics, who had lost three of their previous four games.
Luis Arraez had four hits, including his first homer of the season, for the Giants, who lost their third in a row. Harrison Bader also went deep and joined Willy Adames with two hits for San Francisco, which left 10 runners on base and dropped to 8-15 on the road.
Athletics starter Aaron Civale (5-1) allowed two runs and six hits over five innings to win his third consecutive start. He struck out two and walked one.
Four relievers followed with Hogan Harris pitching the ninth for his third save. Harris allowed an infield hit to Arraez with two outs in the ninth before retiring Matt Chapman on a tapper in front of the plate to end it.
San Francisco starter Tyler Mahle (1-5) was roughed up for five runs and 10 hits over five innings. He struck out six and walked one.
Lawrence Butler singled off Mahle to start the fifth and was sacrificed to second by Darell Hernaiz before McNeil’s single put runners on the corners.
Kurtz came up and jumped on a first-pitch cutter and hammered it 417 feet over the wall in left-center to give the Athletics a 4-2 lead.
Shea Langeliers followed with a single and Brent Rooker’s two-out single put runners on the corners. Bolte then drilled a single to left to give the A’s a three-run lead.
The Athletics got on the board in the second when Zack Gelof drew a one-out walk, moved to second on an infield single by Hernaiz and scored on McNeil’s double to right. Hernaiz also tried to score and was thrown out at the plate.
Arraez homered to right to open the fourth to knot the score. Heliot Ramos and Adames hit two-out singles but the Giants were stymied when Bryce Eldridge lined out to end the frame.
San Francisco took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Bader swatted Civale’s slider over the fence in left with one out.
Ramos exited after 5 1/2 innings due to right quadriceps tightness. He struck out in the top of the sixth.
–Field Level Media
