OAKLAND, Calif.—JJ Bleday hit a go-ahead home run with one out in the fifth inning and a two-run drive in the seventh for his first career multi-homer game, leading the Oakland Athletics past the Pittsburgh Pirates 5–2 on Tuesday night.
“Oh, it’s awesome. It’s a very special night,” Bleday said. “You always dream about those moments, and then when it finally comes true, it’s just like, ‘That’s sweet.' But now it’s try to find another goal, something else to do.”
Like what?
“Maybe three home runs,” Bleday said with a grin.
Oakland’s Mitch Spence (3–1) struck out two over three scoreless innings in relief of starter Alex Wood. A veteran left-hander, Wood is still winless over four starts since joining the A’s as a free agent Feb. 2—and he is yet to pitch more than 5 2/3 innings in seven starts this season.
Tyler Nevin and Abraham Toro hit RBI singles in the second for the A’s after Shea Langeliers doubled to start the inning against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller (2–3).
The A’s, who have won three straight games and five of their past six, drew an announced crowd of 3,876 and finished the month of April with a 13–14 record.
“Guys are confident. Down to each guy, I think they were sick of going through what they went through last year,” Wood said of Oakland’s 112–loss season in 2023. “There’s a really strong will to go out there and play well, and try and win every night, and you can see it in every guy out there.”
Lucas Erceg struck out the side in the eighth and Mason Miller finished the two-hour, 22-minute game for his eighth save. The Oakland bullpen has gone six straight games and eight of nine without surrendering a run—the longest stretch by A’s relievers since an eight-game scoreless streak from Aug. 20–29, 2020.
The pitchers are feeding off each other, and the A’s are on a roll playing solid, smart baseball—pitching, at the plate, and on defense.
“It builds confidence. It gives you momentum,” Manager Mark Kotsay said. “When you play good baseball, it’s contagious, the same as hitting is contagious, and guys start feeding off each other.”
Connor Joe homered in the first and singled in the fifth for the Pirates—matching his team’s total hits from a night earlier in a 5–1 defeat. Ke'Bryan Hayes added a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
