Seth Brown’s two home runs, including a crucial three-run shot in the eighth inning, led the Oakland Athletics to a 9-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Oakland, hitting four home runs in the game, has now hit a total of 166 home runs this season, ranking seventh in the major leagues. Interestingly, 50.3% of the Athletics’ runs have been scored through home runs, the highest percentage in the majors.

Despite the Reds trailing 5-0 after six innings with only one hit, they managed to score six runs in the seventh, taking the lead briefly with Will Benson’s three-run homer. However, Brown’s second home run of the night off Emilio Pagán in the eighth inning sealed the win for the A’s at 8-6.

On the offensive side, Lawrence Butler hit the second leadoff home run of his career, while Brent Rooker added his career-best 31st home run of the season. Athletics’ starter Osvaldo Bido had a strong performance, allowing only two earned runs on three hits over six innings before Tyler Ferguson pitched the eighth inning for the win.

In the ninth inning, the Reds threatened with runners on first and second, but Mason Miller shut them down with two strikeouts to secure his 23rd save. With multiple starters on the injured list, Fernando Cruz made a career-high three-inning start for the Reds, recording six strikeouts.

In the injury report, the Athletics announced that outfielder Miguel Andujar will undergo season-ending surgery for a core muscle injury. For the Reds, LHP Evan Kravetz was called up from Triple-A Louisville, RHP Casey Legumina was sent down, and OF Stuart Fairchild was moved to the 60-day IL with a left thumb sprain.

Next up, the Athletics will have RHP JT Ginn making his first career start, while the Reds will send RHP Julian Aguiar to the mound, who earned his first major-league victory in his last outing.