T.J. Friedl on Thursday capped Cincinnati’s three-run ninth inning with a two-run single as the Reds beat Lawrence Butler and the Oakland Athletics 10-9.
Tyler Stephenson and Will Benson homered for Cincinnati, who had lost five of six. Stephenson finished with three hits and two RBIs while extending his hitting streak to 13 games.
Butler hit three homers for Oakland and drove in four runs. It was his second three-homer game of the season after he also went deep three times in an 18-3 win at Philadelphia on July 14.
Photo: AFP
Butler opened the ninth inning with his 19th homer, a drive to right off Alexis Diaz that tied it at 7-7. Brent Rooker then walked and J.J. Bleday doubled ahead of Seth Brown’s tiebreaking two-run single.
“You score nine runs, you expect to win those ballgames and I think just the true lesson is that we have the ability to come back,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said.
The struggling Diaz was replaced by Emilio Pagan (4-4), who retired his only three batters.
Photo: AP
Oakland closer Mason Miller saved each of the first two games in the series, so Kotsay sent Grant Holman (0-1) to the mound for the ninth and the Reds rallied.
“It was a back-and-forth series. Every time we answered, they answered back,” Friedl said. “We’re going to keep fighting. That’s all we know. Tonight it paid off.”
Rece Hinds reached on a leadoff walk and Jonathan India singled. Elly de la Cruz walked ahead of Stephenson’s RBI single and Friedl grounded a game-ending single into right field.
Butler hit a two-run drive in the second inning and a solo shot in the fourth, helping Oakland build a 6-1 lead. He also homered in the first two games of the series.
Bleday had five hits for the A’s, including his 19th homer. Brown finished with two hits and three RBIs.
Cincinnati right-hander Julian Aguiar was tagged for six runs and 10 hits in four innings in his third career start.
Stephenson hit his 18th homer in the fourth inning and the Reds added two more runs in the fifth. India walked with the bases loaded and De la Cruz drove in a run with a groundout.
“Something went our way for once,” Stephenson said. “It’s been a grind. The name of the game is just hitting pitches you’re trying to hit. There is a lot of work behind it. It is good to see it’s paying off. Friedl is an absolute gamer.”
Cincinnati scored three runs in the sixth inning without a hit. Joe Boyle hit Friedl with his first pitch and the reliever walked three straight batters with one out.
T.J. McFarland replaced Boyle and hit pinch-hitter Amed Rosario, forcing in a run, before India gave the Reds the lead with a flyball to center.
“Our offense has fought back in several games recently and come up short,” Reds manager David Bell said. “It’s nice to break through with some great at-bats.”
Elsewhere, the Angels tamed the Tigers 3-0, the Rangers edged the White Sox 2-1, the Cardinals crushed the Padres 4-1, the Brewers blanked the Giants 6-0 and the Mets mastered the Diamondbacks 3-2.
The Marlins defeated the Rockies 12-8, the Blue Jays downed the Red Sox 2-0, the Phillies pipped the Braves 5-4, the Dodgers overcame the Orioles 6-3 and the Astros dethroned the Royals 6-3.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later
RSS