Oakland Athletics’ Seth Brown reacts after hitting a three-run home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Sunday, June 11, 2023, in Milwaukee (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

What’s going on with the Oakland A’s? The A’s started the nine-game road trip with a record of 12-46. They lost the first four games to fall to 12-50. Suddenly, the A’s won two from the Pittsburgh Pirates and three straight against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The A’s finished the sweep by beating the Brewers 8-6 Sunday afternoon at American Family Field in Milwaukee. The win took work. The A’s leading 5-3 after eight put three insurance runs on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth. Oakland thought they were going to coast to an easy win.

They rallied to put three on the board to lead 8-3. Reliever Trevor May retired the first two hitters she faced in the bottom of the ninth. All the A’s needed was one more out.

May could not do the job. May walked William Contreras on a 3-2 count. He gave up a single to Adames. He walked Yellich and Victor Caratini to force in a run. Mark Kotsay brought in lefty Sammy Long to finish the game. Long gave up a single to Abraham Toro to make it an 8-6 game.

The Brewers had men on at first and third with two out. All the Brewers needed was one swing of the bat, and they would have won the game, but Sammy Long retired Blake Perkins for the final out. A’s starter, lefty J.P. Sears, finally won his first game of the year.

The Brewers started the scoring in the bottom of the second. With one out, left-handed hitter Christian Yellich hit an opposite-field home run to give the Brew Crew an early 1-0 lead. It was Yellich’s eighth dinger of the year and the 14th home run allowed by Sears this year.

The Brewers added a run in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Second Baseman Andruw Monistario led off the inning with a single. Monistario stole second and scored on Owen Miller’s double down the left field line. Sears regained focus and retired the next three hitters.

The Brewers’ started Freddy Peralta coasted through the game’s first three innings. His only blemish was a walk to Ryan Noda in the first inning. Things changed in the fourth. A’s first baseman Ryan Noda doubled to start the rally. Peralta plunked Ramon Laureano with a pitch to put two men on with no out.

A’s left Fielder Seth Brown engaged Peralta in an epic battle. On the twelfth pitch that Brown saw from Peralta, Brown connected and sent the ball over the wall in right field to give the A’s a 3-2 lead. It was Brown’s fourth home run of the year. A’s DH Brent Rooker didn’t waste any time as he sent Peralta’s pitch into the second deck n left field. The A’s lead 4-2.

Lefty Sam Moll was on the hill to start the bottom of the sixth inning. The Brewers’ shortstop Willie Adames singled, leading off the inning. Moll struck out Yellich for the first out. Moll hit Luis Urias with a pitch.

Right-fielder Brian Anderson hit a ball that appeared to head over the centerfield wall. Esteury Ruiz ran back to the wall and made the catch of the day as he leaped and carraled the ball before it left the park. Blake Perkins singled to drive in Adames with the Brewers’ third run. Lucas Erceg came in from the bullpen to get the final out of the inning.

In the top of the seventh, Kevin Smith, the A’s light-hitting shortstop, surprised everyone in the ballpark when he homered into the second deck in left field. It was Smith’s fourth home run, giving the A’s a 5-3 lead.

The A’s plated three insurance runs in the top of the ninth. As mentioned above, it appeared they were going to cruise to an 8-3 win. Trevor May was summoned from the bullpen. He retired the hot-hitting Owen Miller on a groundout to second baseman Tony Kemp.

He struck out Joey Wiemer for the second out. All May needed was one more out. That did not happen. The Brewers scored three runs. A walk, single, two more walks, and another single produced three runs for Milwaukee. A’s reliever Sammy Long got Blake Perkins to ground out to end the game and earn his second consecutive save and second career save. The A’s win 8-6.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 17-50. The five-game winning streak is the first one since the 2021 season. The Brewers fall to 34-32.

J.P.Sears was the winning picture. His record is now 1-2. Freddy Peralta took the loss and is now 5-6.

The line score for Oakland was eight runs, six hits, and one error. The A’s hit three home runs in the game. The line for Milwaukee was six runs, ten hits, and one error. Christian Yellich had Milwaukee’s only home run.

The A’s won their second series in a row. They beat the Pirates two games to one and swept The Brewers three straight. The A’s finished the road trip with five wins and four losses. It was the A’s first winning road trip this year.

The A’s will be at the Oakland Coliseum to play four games against the Tampa Bay Rays starting Monday night. The Rays beat the Texas Rangers Sunday afternoon 7-3 to improve to 48-20. The Rays are in first place in the AL East Division and have the best record in baseball. The A’s will send James Kaprielian to the hill Monday night. Kap is 1-6, with an ERA of 7.21. His opponent will be Zach Elfin. Elfin is 8-1, and his ERA is 2.97. The game will start at 6:40 pm.