WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Nick Kurtz hit two homers and drove in five runs, Jeff McNeil also went deep and knocked in four, and the Athletics beat the scuffling Pittsburgh Pirates 11-2 on Monday night.
J.T. Ginn pitched six strong innings for the A's, who returned to their regular temporary home in California after going 4-2 on a homestand at their Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, where the big league club plans to move into a new stadium in 2028.
McNeil went 3 for 4 and snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an RBI single in the second. Kurtz followed with an opposite-field homer to left for a 3-0 lead and finished 3 for 5.
McNeil hit his third homer to make it 5-1 in the fourth and added an RBI single in the seventh before Kurtz followed with a three-run shot to left. Eight of Kurtz's 18 home runs have come in June.
Lawrence Butler sparked the five-run seventh with an RBI double after Zack Gelof reached on a two-out error by second baseman Brandon Lowe.
Ginn (5-3) allowed just an unearned run and six hits with two walks, throwing 98 pitches.
Kurtz had the first of three straight singles to load the bases in the first before Jared Jones (1-1) came back to strike out the side. Henry Bolte hit a one-out double before McNeil drove him in during a three-run second.
Jones permitted five runs and eight hits over four innings in his fourth start this season.
Tyler Soderstrom singled in front of Jacob Wilson's ground-rule double to begin the fifth against Pirates reliever Carmen Mlodzinski. Gelof upped the majors' longest current hitting streak to 19 games with an RBI single for a 6-1 lead.
Jake Mangum had an RBI single in the fourth for the Pirates, and Endy RodrÃguez went 3 for 3 with a solo homer in the eighth.
The Athletics (36-36) moved within a half-game of the first-place Mariners in the AL West.
Pittsburgh (36-37) has lost eight of 10. The Pirates are 9-19 all-time against the A's.
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (5-4, 5.14 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Athletics RHP Jack Perkins (2-3, 6.25).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Join the ADU Resource Center of San Mateo County for a free webinar about ADU financing. Our… Read moreADU Funding For Homeowners
Bay Area soccer celebration! Live World Cup, games, meet Oakland Roots' Kendall McIntosh &am… Read moreBay Area World Cup Kickoff
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.