Pleasanton’s TJ Friedl rallies Reds past the A’s despite Lawrence Butler’s three homers

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds never found a way to slow down A’s outfielder Lawrence Butler, who homered three more times on Thursday and clobbered five in three games at Great American Ballpark.  But a Bay Area native capped a ninth-inning rally that allowed the Reds to overcome Butler and avoid being swept by the A’s.

TJ Friedl, who starred at Pleasanton’s Foothill High, capped Cincinnati’s three-run ninth inning with a two-run single in the Reds’ 10-9 comeback win. Oakland won the first two games of the series, and now head to Arlington to face the Texas Rangers for a three-game series that begins Friday.

TJ BRINGS 'EM HOME@TjFriedl1 pic.twitter.com/asiszFSSMT

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 30, 2024

The A’s saw their four-game winning streak snapped despite leading by five in the fourth inning and taking a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

“You score nine runs, you expect to win those ballgames, and I think just the true lesson is that we have the ability to come back,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said.

Oakland closer Mason Miller saved each of the first two games in the series, so manager Mark Kotsay sent Grant Holman (0-1) to the mound for the ninth. And the Reds rallied against the rookie right-hander who was seeking his first big league save.

Rece Hinds reached on a leadoff walk and Jonathan India singled. Elly De La Cruz walked ahead of Tyler Stephenson’s RBI single, and Friedl grounded a game-ending single into right field.

“It was a back-and-forth series. Every time we answered, they answered back,” Friedl said. “We’re going to keep fighting. That’s all we know. Tonight it paid off.”

The A’s out-hit the Reds 14-8, but Oakland pitchers combined to walk seven batters and hit three more with pitches.

Butler hit a two-run drive in the second and a solo shot in the fourth, helping Oakland build a 6-1 lead. He also homered in the first two games of the series. In all, Butler went 7 for 14, drove in eight runs and scored five times over the three games.

Butler is tied with JJ Bleday for third on the team with 19 homers behind Brent Rooker (31) and Shea Langeliers (22).

After homering in the A’s first two wins in the series, Butler hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give the A’s a 4-0 lead. He and Bleday hit back-to-back solo homers in the fourth inning as the A’s expanded their lead to 6-1. Butler hit another solo homer in the ninth. It was his second three-homer game of the season after he also went deep three times in an 18-3 win at Philadelphia on July 14.

Butler opened the ninth with his 19th homer, a drive to right off Alexis Díaz that tied it at 7. Rooker then walked and Bleday doubled ahead of Seth Brown’s tiebreaking two-run single. Bleday had five hits for the A’s, including his 19th homer. Brown finished with two hits and three RBIs.

LAWRENCE BUTLER DOES IT AGAIN!!! pic.twitter.com/FZARPLrwiD

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 29, 2024

Stephenson and Will Benson homered for Cincinnati, which had lost five of six. Stephenson finished with three hits and two RBIs.

The struggling Díaz was replaced by onetime A’s reliever Emilio Pagán (4-4), who retired his only three batters.

Cincinnati right-hander Julian Aguiar was tagged for six runs and 10 hits in four innings in his third career start.

Stephenson hit his 18th homer in the fourth, and the Reds added two more runs in the fifth. India walked with the bases loaded, and De La Cruz drove in a run with a groundout.

Cincinnati scored three runs in the sixth without a hit. Joe Boyle hit Friedl with his first pitch, and the reliever walked three straight batters with one out. T. J. McFarland replaced Boyle and hit pinch-hitter Amed Rosario, forcing in a run, before India gave the Reds the lead with a flyball to center.

Andujar out for the season

After playing through the pain for the past few weeks, A’s left fielder Miguel Andujar will undergo season-ending muscle core surgery, the team announced before the game.

Andujar, who had a slash line of .285/.320/.377 in 70 games with Oakland, was placed on the 10-day injured list. He was replaced on the roster by infielder Nick Allen, who was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Andujar was picked up on waivers from the Pirates during the off-season and he turned out to be quite a bargain after earning a $1.7 million contract. He gave the A’s a strong presence in the middle of the lineup, particularly against left-handers. The right-handed hitter batted .411/.459/.536 in 61 at-bats against lefties.