Bryan Reynolds feared he was about to be robbed of a homer to center field from the left side while batting in the sixth inning on Tuesday night. He slowed down between first and second base to see the ball barely elude the glove of the Athletics’ leaping Henry Bolte.
One inning later, Reynolds’ shot to right field while batting right-handed was even more dicey but it narrowly escaped the reach of the Athletics’ Lawrence Butler over the short wall to tie the game.
“They both almost got robbed,” Reynolds said. “I got lucky there.”
Reynolds will look for more good fortune on Wednesday night when the Pirates complete a three-game series against the Athletics at West Sacramento, Calif.
The two-homer game is the ninth of Reynolds’ career and it marked the fourth time the switch-hitter has homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.
Reynolds previously hit homers from both sides once in 2019 (against the Miami Marlins) and twice in 2024 (against the New York Mets and Yankees).
“It’s a good park for it,” said Reynolds, noting the ball-travels-well reputation of Sutter Health Park.
Reynolds’ seventh-inning homer was a two-run shot and Brandon Lowe hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth as Pittsburgh prevailed 6-5 for just its third win in the past 11 games. Lowe has a team-leading 18 homers.
Reynolds went 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs and has reached base in 23 consecutive games.
“I just felt pretty good up there,” Reynolds said. “I took some chances and I think they worked out.”
The big night from Reynolds was timely as the Pirates had to dig out of a 4-0 first-inning deficit.
“His game was enormous,” Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly said of Reynolds. “Home runs from both sides. The way he’s been swinging the bat lately, barreling everything up and (hitting) line drives. He had a huge game.”
The loss was just the third in the past nine games for the A’s. They won Monday’s opener 11-2 before blowing the big lead on Tuesday.
Zack Gelof went 3-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs and a walk to increase his career-best hitting streak to 20 games. It ranks as the longest active streak in the majors.
“Zack has been swinging the bat great,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said afterward. “This is a period of time for Zack where the at-bats have been getting better and better and the confidence is there. He made a couple good plays defensively.”
The Athletics will activate right-hander Aaron Civale (5-2, 4.20 ERA) to start Wednesday’s game.
Civale (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 26, one day after serving up three homers for the second straight start. The team had noticed a velocity drop as well.
Civale made a rehab start for Triple-A Las Vegas last Thursday and tossed 4 1/3 perfect innings and struck out seven while throwing 56 pitches.
Civale, 31, is 4-2 with a 2.77 ERA in nine career appearances (eight starts) against Pittsburgh. Nick Gonzales is 5-for-8 and Reynolds is 5-for-20 with two homers against Civale while Spencer Horwitz (2-for-5) and Ryan O’Hearn (1-for-11) each have one homer.
Pirates right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (5-3, 3.30) will seek to continue a strong season in which he has given up two or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 14 starts.
Ashcraft, 26, received a no-decision against the Marlins on Friday when he gave up two runs and five hits over five innings. He is 0-1 over his last two starts after being 4-0 over his previous six outings.
Ashcraft had a strong performance in relief against the Athletics last season when he struck out six in three perfect innings.
–Field Level Media
