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05/01 18:29 CDT Ross Stripling earns his first win since 2022 as Athletics
blank Pirates 4-0
Ross Stripling earns his first win since 2022 as Athletics blank Pirates 4-0
By MICHAEL WAGAMAN
Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) --- Ross Stripling threw six strong scoreless innings to
earn his first win in nearly two years, and the Oakland Athletics hit two home
runs to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Wednesday to complete their first
series sweep of the season.
Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin both went deep to help the A's to their fourth
straight victory in front of another sparse crowd of 4,679 at the Coliseum.
Kyle McCann added two hits and an RBI.
Stripling (1-5), acquired from San Francisco in the offseason, had lost 10
consecutive decisions for the A's and Giants before putting the clamps on the
Pirates offense. The veteran right-hander allowed three hits, had two
strikeouts and retired the final seven batters he faced to gain his first win
since Oct. 1, 2022.
"Last year ... I felt like I had no room for error," Stripling said. "I felt
like if I missed with anything, especially fastballs over the plate, it was
damage every time. I feel like I've thrown the ball well this year. Some
outings I haven't been able to finish as strong as I would have liked, but
today was a good one."
Five Oakland relievers combined for three innings to complete the A's fourth
shutout of the season.
Toro put the A's ahead early when he belted a 3-1 sinker from Quinn Priester
(0-2) to center field that bounced off the top of the fence and went over.
Nevin extended his career-best hitting streak to nine games with his fourth
homer of the season in the third to make it 2-0.
"It all starts with our pitching," Toro said. "I feel like if we can score two
or three runs, our pitchers just keep us in the game. They've been the main
reason why we've been winning lately."
Oakland tacked on an unearned run in the fifth after Nevin reached on an
infield single then scored on shortstop Onell Cruz's throwing error that pulled
Rowdy Tellez off the first base bag.
The Pirates missed a chance to score in the fourth inning when the A's made a
pair of errors after Cruz's leadoff single. With a runner on third base,
Oakland shortstop Darrell Hernaiz fielded Tellez's grounder and threw home to
get Cruz sliding across the plate.
Pittsburgh missed another chance when A's reliever Austin Adams got Bryan
Reynolds to strike out swinging with the bases loaded in the seventh.
"When we had to make plays we made plays," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "We're
getting the pitching from both the starters and the bullpen. The offense is
scoring enough runs but the pitching and defense is really the story now."
Priester walked four and allowed five hits and three runs in six innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: C Yasmani Grandal (plantar fasciitis) made another start at DH for
Triple-A Indianapolis and is expected to rejoin the big league club soon. ...
LHP Marco Gonzales (left forearm strain) has yet to resume throwing but the
team remains optimistic for a possible quick return.
Athletics: Injured 2B Zack Gelof (left oblique strain) took infield practice
before the game.
UP NEXT
Pirates: LHP Martn Prez (1-1, 2.86 ERA) pitches the series opener against the
Rockies on Friday. Prez has allowed seven runs and 12 hits over his last two
starts, covering 9 2/3 innings.
Athletics: LHP JP Sears (1-2, 4.64) faces the Marlins on Friday. Sears was
tagged for seven runs in 6 1/3 innings against the Orioles in his previous
start.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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