The Athletics had a chance to match some franchise history on Sunday. It was history they did not want any part of.
Marcus Semien, Jake Smolinski and Danny Valencia each hit home runs, as the A’s ended their season-high losing streak of seven games with a 6-1 win over the Reds on Sunday at Great American Ball Park. Semien and Smolinski each hit two-run homers in the second inning off of Cincinnati starter John Lamb (1-4), while Valencia hit a solo homer in the eighth inning off of reliever A.J. Morris.
All seven losses had come on the road. Sunday’s win kept the A’s from going winless on a road trip of eight or more games for what would have been just the fourth time in Oakland history.
“Each and every game that you go through a losing streak like that, there’s just a little more urgency,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “There should be. But it’s miserable going home every night. You can’t even enjoy your evening when you’re in a losing streak like that.”
The Reds, who have won nine of 15 games since ending their own 11-game losing streak on May 28, took two of three games for a third series win in their last four attempts. The loss denied them their second series sweep of the season. They opened the season with a three-game sweep of Phillies at home.
The A’s bullpen combination of Fernando Rodriguez, John Axford, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson combined to toss five shutout innings in relief of starter Kendall Graveman, who gave up seven hits and one run in four-plus innings. He was taken out in favor of Rodriguez (2-0), who was credited with the win after throwing two scoreless innings.
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