Joe Boyle overcame a wild start to throw five innings of one-hit ball as the Oakland Athletics opened a 10-game homestand with a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Dany Jimenez and Michael Kelly combined for three strikeouts over four shutout innings to put the wraps on a two-hit performance for the A’s, who won for the fourth time in five games.
Oakland’s Tyler Nevin homered, singled and drove in two runs.
Coming off dropping two out of three games across San Francisco Bay against the Giants, Pittsburgh jumped on Boyle (2-4) for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a Ke’Bryan Hayes leadoff single, two walks and two wild pitches.
But after Hayes’ single, which came on Boyle’s fifth pitch, the right-hander didn’t allow another hit, leaving with a 5-1 lead. He walked four and struck out four.
Nevin got the A’s even when he smacked a one-out homer to center field in the bottom of the first against Pittsburgh’s Bailey Falter (2-2). The homer was Nevin’s third of the season.
The hosts pulled away with two-run uprisings in the fourth and fifth.
A single by Brent Rooker and double by Abraham Toro set the stage in the fourth, when the two runs came home on consecutive sacrifice flies by Shea Langeliers and Max Schuemann.
Esteury Ruiz was the driving force in the fifth, doubling home Darell Hernaiz before stealing third and scampering home on a sacrifice fly by Nevin.
Falter was pulled after five innings, charged with five runs on six hits. He struck out five without issuing a walk.
Langeliers and JJ Bleday also had doubles for Oakland, which had five extra-base hits and just three singles. Nevin was the only batter in the game with two hits.
Roansy Contreras and Kyle Nicolas kept the Pirates within arm’s length with a combined three innings of scoreless relief.
–Field Level Media
