Oakland A’s Seth Brown (15) hit two home runs in game two of the series, here he is getting congratulated by his teammates after hitting his second home run in the top of the eighth inning at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Wed Aug 28, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Oakland A’s (58-75) won game two in their series with the Cincinnati Reds (63-70) 9-6. The team sailed through the first seven innings but in the bottom of the seventh, the Reds scored 6 runs taking a 6-5 lead. The A’s wasted little time scoring four runs in the eighth and closing out this game. Oakland hit four home runs in this game and Mason Miller celebrated his 24th save of the season.

Game recap: Oakland did not waste any time getting up on the scoreboard and they did it via the home run. In the first inning, the A’s first at bat Lawrence Butler sent the ball out of the park for the early 1-0 lead.

The second and third innings were quiet for both teams but in the fourth inning, Oakland got back to the long ball. Seth Brown hit a 430 feet home run taking a 2-0 lead but as this game progressed, the A’s just continued to extend their lead. In the sixth inning Brent Rooker hit the A’s third solo home run of the game for a 3-0 lead.

Oakland scored two more runs in the seventh inning taking a 5-0 lead. Max Schuemann hit a sacrifice to center and Daz Cameron scored. In the same inning, Lawrence Butler grounded into a fielder’s choice to second driving in Zach Gelof.

When it seemed as if the A’s had it all going on, the Reds started making a run much as they did in last nights’ game. Five hits later, the Reds had erased the 5-0 Oakland lead and the score was 5-3 in favor of the A’s.

Tyler Stephenson doubled driving Elly De La Cruz home followed by another double from Santiago Espinal driving in Stephenson. It all went downhill for Oakland at that point. Ty France singled Espinal home and the Reds took the lead when Will Benson homered with two runners on base taking a 6-5 lead. It was a disastrous seventh inning for Oakland.

The A’s took care of business in the eighth inning, or should I say Seth Brown did with his second home run of the game driving in JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers taking back the lead 8-6. They extended their lead when Jacob Wilson sacrificed and Zach Gelof scored; Oakland had fought back after losing the lead in the seventh inning. Through eight innings Oakland had 13 hits and four home runs.

Osvaldo Bido pitched six innings in this game allowing three hits, two runs, no walks with five strikeouts. When he allowed those two runs he was spent and he was relieved by T.J. McFarland. When McFarland started to struggle in the seventh inning giving up a run, Michel Otanez took the mound with dire results. He gave up three hits and three runs but finally got that third out.

Oakland had a clean eighth inning with Tyler Ferguson on the mound going three up and three down. They were again three outs away from winning game two, winning the series and going for a sweep in Thursday’s game three.

Mason Miller would take the mound looking to close out this game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Last night, Miller threw 31 pitches getting out of a sticky situation. Wednesday night he will be looking for a far less dramatic ninth inning.

In fact he will be looking for his 23rd save which will put him in a tie with Huston Street for most saves by a rookie in Oakland’s history. Andrew Bailey is in first place with 26 saves and Miller will be looking to better that with more than a month of baseball still left on the season.

It began to feel eerily like last night and there would be a bit of drama in this game. The Reds got a hit and a walk and with only one out, the tying run was at the plate. Miller went on to strike out Amed Rosario for the second out and dismissed Will Benson for the win 9-6.

Game notes: Tuesday, the A’s beat the Reds in game one of their series after trailing through the first six innings. They had a huge seventh inning in thanks to a couple of home runs, one from Max Schuemann and a second from Lawrence Butler. In Wednesday’s game started Osvaldo Bido who pitched six innings, allowed three hits, two runs, and struck out five. The Reds started Fernando Cruz who went three innings, two hits and one earned run. Bido’s pitching performance kept the Red in check until the seventh inning when the Reds scored six runs.

Oakland played a great game. They took a significant lead in the game, lost the lead in the seventh inning but went on to battle back scoring four runs in the eighth. It was an impressive win and sets the Athletics up for a possible sweep in Thursday’s game.

Winning a series on the road is not easy and Oakland already has that under their belt. First pitch for game three is scheduled for 2:10. Probable pitchers for this game will be J.T. Ginn (0-0, 2.45) for Oakland and for the Reds it will be Julian Aguiar (1-0, 3.60).