Jeff McNeil delivered a tiebreaking pinch-hit, two-run single during a three-run seventh inning and the Athletics’ bullpen made it stand up in a 5-2 victory over the host Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Monday night.
Tommy White went 4-for-5 with a run scored in his third major league game to help the Athletics win for just the third time in their past 18 games.
Jacob Wilson and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer both had a homer among their two hits. Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler also had two hits as the A’s racked up 15 overall.
Ketel Marte smacked a two-run homer for the Diamondbacks, who lost for just the second time in the past eight games. Geraldo Perdomo had two hits for Arizona.
Nolan Arenado ripped a double into the left field corner in the fifth inning for his 2,000th career hit.
Arenado becomes the sixth active player in the 2,000-hit club. The others are Freddie Freeman, Jose Altuve, Andrew McCutchen, Paul Goldschmidt and Manny Machado.
Diamondbacks All-Star Corbin Carroll right elbow) sat out one day after being injured. The Athletics lost Kuroda-Grauer (testicular contusion) after hitting his first career home run and Colby Thomas (left wrist contusion) during the contest.
Luis Medina (2-1) gave up one hit and struck out two in two scoreless innings of relief for the A’s.
Jose Suarez pitched a flawless eighth. Hogan Harris allowed a bloop single to Gabriel Moreno to start the ninth and walked Tyler Locklear with two outs before fanning Ryan Waldschmidt for his third strikeout of the inning to record his seventh save.
The game was tied at 2 in the seventh when the Athletics received singles from Shea Langeliers, Butler and White to load the bases with two outs against Kevin Ginkel (3-3).
McNeil followed with a two-run single to center to score Langeliers and Butler. With Henry Bolte at the plate, Ginkel unleashed a wild pitch to score White. McNeil was running on the play and stole second and continued to third due to the errant pitch.
Jeffrey Springs of the A’s gave up two runs and six hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked one as his winless stretch continued to 16 straight starts.
Arizona Mitch Bratt gave up two runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one in his third big league start.
Kuroda-Grauer hit the first pitch of the second inning from Bratt over the wall in left-center. It traveled 416 feet.
In the fifth, Wilson hit the inning’s first pitch 399 feet to left to make it 2-0.
Arizona tied the game in the bottom of the sixth as Jorge Barrosa led off with a double to left-center and Marte followed with a 402-foot homer inside the left field foul pole.
