Jake Fraley belted a two-run homer and Nick Senzel drove in three runs as the visiting Cincinnati Reds won their season-high fourth straight game, beating the Oakland Athletics 11-7 on Friday.
Cincinnati had a season-high 16 hits, and eight of the nine batters in the lineup had two hits. Luis Cessa (1-3) allowed three runs on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts over five-plus innings.
Ryan Noda went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and four runs for Oakland, which has lost four straight and 13 of its past 15. Brent Rooker had three hits, including a two-run homer in the ninth inning, and Shea Langeliers added two hits and three RBIs.
The A’s fell to 5-22 and need one win in their next two games to avoid setting a major league record for the most losses in April.
Langeliers’ run-scoring single with out in the first inning gave Oakland a brief lead before Cincinnati responded with three runs in the second against Drew Rucinski (0-1). After Senzel singled in a run with one out, Stuart Fairchild doubled and Jose Barrero followed with a two-run double.
The Reds stretched their lead to 5-1 on Fraley’s two-run homer in the third against Rucinski, who was activated from the 15-day injured list (hamstring strain) prior to the game to make his Oakland debut.
Cessa was replaced by Derek Law after giving up two runs in the sixth inning. Noda hit a leadoff single, Rooker walked, and both scored on Langeliers’ triple to left field.
Rucinski gave up five runs (three earned) on 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings in his first major league appearance since September 2018. He walked one and struck out one in his return after spending four years pitching in South Korea.
The A’s have opened the season by going 27 games without the starting pitcher recording a victory. The streak matches the longest to start a season in major league history. The Pittsburgh Pirates established the mark last year.
Cincinnati moved ahead 8-3 with three runs in the seventh against Sam Long. Senzel doubled in two runs with two outs, and Fairchild followed with a run-scoring single.
Noda’s two-run homer in the seventh cut the Athletics’ deficit to 8-5. Cincinnati answered in the eighth with Stephenson’s run-scoring single before adding two runs in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
