A’s end ugly month of April with walk-off win over Cincinnati
MLB: Starter Ken Waldichuk lasted 5 2/3 innings as the Oakland A's beat the Cincinnati Reds
OAKLAND – The ugliest April in the history of the Athletics franchise had a most pleasant ending Sunday.
Esteury Ruiz singled to center in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Jace Peterson from third base as A’s beat the Cincinnati Reds 5-4, snapping a five-game losing streak before a Little League player-fueled crowd of 18,271 at the Coliseum.
A’s reliever Zach Jackson got out of a jam in the top of the ninth — stranding Reds runners on second and third base — by retiring three straight batters. In the bottom half, Oakland had runners on first and third before the heroics by Ruiz, who collected his first career walk-off hit.
The A’s win snapped a nine-game home losing streak and allowed them to finish April with a 5-23 record.
“I think everyone’s kind of ready for this month to be over,” A’s utility player Tony Kemp said, “and good thing we just put an exclamation point on it right there.”
Ruiz heard some criticism Saturday after he struck out in the ninth inning, as a bunt attempt with two strikes went foul.
His at-bat in the ninth Sunday was no less eventful. He first botched a sacrifice bunt attempt, was nearly hit on the second of two wild pitches by Reds reliever Alexis Diaz, was hit by a pitch — only to see the call overturned — then smoked a single to left.
“I heard it when he tried to bunt with two strikes from the fans,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Obviously it’s not necessarily the correct baseball play, but in this kid’s mind, he’s trying to do everything he can to get on base and impact the game.”
The A’s had already set a Major League record for most losses in April, as they dropped to 5-23 overall with a 3-2 loss to the Reds on Saturday. The defeat eclipsed a mark set by the Baltimore Orioles, who went 1-22 in 1988. The five wins in 28 games were the fewest in team history.
Now the A’s can at least turn the page to May, as they begin a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.
“I think these challenges are only going to make us stronger and make us better,” Kotsay said.
A’s starter Ken Waldichuk had one of his stronger outings of the season, as he had seven strikeouts and allowed six hits over 5 2/3 innings. He was charged with three earned runs, but two of those scored after he was removed in favor of Domingo Acevedo, as the Reds scored three times in the sixth inning to take a 4-3 lead.
The A’s tied the game 4-4 in the eighth, as a deep sacrifice fly to right by Brent Rooker scored Peterson from third base. Rooker and Jesus Aguilar both homered. Rooker now has nine home runs and 22 RBIs.
April, of course, also saw the A’s franchise announce that it had signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a new retractable roof ballpark in Las Vegas. That caused a furor among the team’s Oakland fanbase, who have loudly called for owner John Fisher to sell the team.
“I think the toughest part is you want all your fans to be cheering loud and to be cheering for you,” Kemp said. “They pay their ticket of admission and they can say whatever they want out there.
“It’s not over yet and you never know what’s going to happen. But I just feel bad for the fans.”