Athletics beat Royals, win back-to-back games for first time since May 24-25

Nick Allen hit a two-run bloop single in the seventh inning Sunday to enable the Athletics to do something they hadn’t accomplished in over a month.

With a 5-3 road win over the Kansas City Royals, the Athletics not only won back-to-back games for the first time in June but also ended a streak of eight straight series losses.

Following a 9-7 victory on Saturday, the A’s won consecutive games for the first time since May 24-25, when they won twice in Seattle, snapping a stretch that lasted 32 days.

The A’s record during the month of June is 5-17 heading into a three-game series in New York against the Yankees, who own the best record in the majors at 53-20.

“It had been a while since we had a series win,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “We’re definitely going to enjoy this one and head off to New York.”

Seth Brown homered for the Athletics (25-49), a solo shot in the fourth inning. It was his 10th of the season. Domingo Acevedo (1-1), the second of four relievers after starter James Kaprielian, was the winning pitcher. Lou Trivino, coming off a two-inning save Saturday, pitched the ninth for his fourth save, stranding runners at second and third. All five A’s runs were scored with two outs.

Brady Singer, who pitched into the ninth inning for the Royals (26-45), was the losing pitcher and fell to 3-3.

Trailing 3-2, Allen’s bloop single to center brought home two runs and put the A’s up 4-3 in the seventh inning, and Cristian Pache drove a two-out run-scoring single in the ninth to bump Oakland’s lead up to two runs.

In the seventh, Chad Pinder, involved in a nasty collision in the previous inning, stayed in the game and got it started with a single to right. Pache hit a grounder through the right side and hustled his way to second for a double, with Pinder taking third. Allen’s single drove in both runners.

Slick Nick puts us back on pic.twitter.com/PU1Ib08hNA

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) June 26, 2022

“Singer was throwing good today, I was just trying to make sure I got something I could handle,” Allen told NBC Sports California. “Didn’t hit it hard enough for the outfielder to catch it. It fell in and we got two runs out of it. That’s all that really matters.”

Said Kotsay: “We haven’t been getting many of those type of hits, and it was good to see a ball fall in for us and give us the lead there.”

The Royals, trailing 2-0, scored three times in a sixth inning that included a collision between Pinder in right and second baseman Jonah Bride on a bloop single that allowed the third run to score.

Nicky Lopez opened the sixth with a triple down the left field line past a diving Tony Kemp. Kaprielian got Whit Merrifield on a comebacker but walked Andrew Benintendi and Bobby Witt Jr. to load the bases.

Kotsay called for Sam Moll, coming off a Saturday disaster in which he walked three batters and gave up a three-run home run. Moll struck out MJ Melendez, but Carlos Santana singled to right and brought home the tying runs.

Pinch-hitter Edward Olivares then lofted a pop to shallow right that neither Pinder nor Bride could reach. Bride drove his head into Pinder’s rib cage and cut the bridge of his nose. The lead run scored, and Olivares was thrown out at second on a heads-up play by Pache in center field to end the inning. Bride did not return to the game.

Neither Pinder nor Bride had concussion symptoms, Kotsay said. Bride has a shoulder injury that is believed to be minor and the cut on his nose did not require stitches.

BROWN BINGE:  Brown is hitting .440 in his last six games (11-for-25). He doubled to left in addition to his home run and his hitting .226 after hovering near .200 earlier this month.

“I think it clicked for Seth when he found the left side of the diamond,” Kotsay said. “We had a conversation, you keep that approach, you look up at the end of the year you’re going to be surprised where you end up.”

TRIVINO BACK TO BACK: The last time Trivino closed out back-to-back games was Aug. 19-20 of last season against the White Sox and Giants.

“Lou let me know he was good for one inning and I let him know that if that was the case he’d be in the ninth,” Kotsay said. “Obviously it wasn’t easy but he got the job done.”