Nick Kurtz and Jeff McNeil power the A's to an 11-2 victory over the struggling Pirates
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1:37 AM on Tuesday, June 16
The Associated Press
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nick Kurtz hit two homers and drove in five runs, Jeff McNeil also went deep and knocked in four, and the Athletics beat the scuffling Pittsburgh Pirates 11-2 on Monday night.
J.T. Ginn pitched six strong innings for the A's, who returned to their regular temporary home in California after going 4-2 on a homestand at their Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, where the big league club plans to move into a new stadium in 2028.
McNeil went 3 for 4 and snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an RBI single in the second. Kurtz followed with an opposite-field homer to left for a 3-0 lead and finished 3 for 5.
McNeil hit his third homer to make it 5-1 in the fourth and added an RBI single in the seventh before Kurtz followed with a three-run shot to left. Eight of Kurtz's 18 home runs have come in June.
Lawrence Butler sparked the five-run seventh with an RBI double after Zack Gelof reached on a two-out error by second baseman Brandon Lowe.
Ginn (5-3) allowed just an unearned run and six hits with two walks, throwing 98 pitches.
Kurtz had the first of three straight singles to load the bases in the first before Jared Jones (1-1) came back to strike out the side. Henry Bolte hit a one-out double before McNeil drove him in during a three-run second.
Jones permitted five runs and eight hits over four innings in his fourth start this season.
Tyler Soderstrom singled in front of Jacob Wilson's ground-rule double to begin the fifth against Pirates reliever Carmen Mlodzinski. Gelof upped the majors' longest current hitting streak to 19 games with an RBI single for a 6-1 lead.
Jake Mangum had an RBI single in the fourth for the Pirates, and Endy Rodríguez went 3 for 3 with a solo homer in the eighth.
The Athletics (36-36) moved within a half-game of the first-place Mariners in the AL West.
Pittsburgh (36-37) has lost eight of 10. The Pirates are 9-19 all-time against the A's.
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (5-4, 5.14 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Athletics RHP Jack Perkins (2-3, 6.25).
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