 to win for just the fifth time in 18 games away from O. Co Coliseum and nearly match its entire 15-run total during a skid the dropped the A's to last in the American League West. Even pitcher Brett Anderson (4-2) got in on the act. He singled twice in addition to allowing just one run in six innings to pick up his first victory since April 9.''Running bases is still terrifying,'' Anderson said. ''Especially the first one when I had to go to second. I blacked out basically. But I'll take the two hits.'' The A's certainly needed them. Oakland came in hitting just .205 over their last 14 games to extend their wildly uneven start before jumping on Pittsburgh's Joe Musgrove (1-3) early and then continuing to add on against four relievers.''I feel like everyone was firing and that's kind of what we're used to and what we expect out of ourselves,'' Phegley said.Pittsburgh rookie left fielder Bryan Reynolds singled to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, the second-longest by a Pirate to start his career since 1901, trailing only an 11-game streak by Gregory Polanco in 2014. It wasn't nearly enough on a night the A's used a rare visit to Pittsburgh to end a seven-game road losing streak.MUSGROVE MISFIRESMusgrove hadn't allowed more than three runs in any of his first five starts - all of which lasted at least six innings - but didn't make it out of the third. Some sloppy defense behind him didn't help. Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang had a pair of errors during a four-run outburst in the second highlighted by Phegley's three-run double. Oakland tacked on two more in the third, with Musgrove exiting after walking in a run that pushed Oakland's advantage to 7-2.''We did not play good defense,'' Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. ''That's all I got. At the end of the day, we didn't handle the ball really well.'' Musgrove was charged with five earned runs on six hits over 2 2/3 innings as his ERA jumped from 1.54 to 2.63. Reliever Nick Kingham fared no better, allowing four runs in 2 1/3, three of the runs coming home on a rope to the left-field wall by Phegley in the fourth that pushed his RBI total to seven.Phegley wasn't done. He sent Richard Rodriguez's pitch to the deserted bleachers in left field in the ninth for his fourth home run to become the first Pittsburgh opponent to knock in eight runs against the Pirates since Ken Reitz did it for the St. Louis Cardinals on June 28, 1977.Asked what could be done to neutralize Phegley, Musgrove shrugged.''Not much,'' Musgrove said. ''He hit good pitches. He had a good night tonight. He saw everyone pretty well, swung the bat well. I don't think there's anything we need to do different or need to panic.'' SKYE'S ZONEOakland outfield prospect Skye Bolt made his major league debut in the seventh when he popped out to first as a pinch hitter. He remained in the game in center field and later struck out in the ninth. The fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft - named by his father Mike because the elder Bolt wanted to give his son a name that ''popped'' - joined the A's after hitting .325 with six home runs for Triple-A Las Vegas.TRAINER'S ROOMPirates: C Jose Osuna (neck) was recalled from his rehabilitation assignment, reinstated from the 10-day injured list and assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. ...UP NEXTA's: Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.75 ERA) has allowed one run over 12 innings in his first two starts.Pirates: Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.38) takes the mound Saturday looking to rebound after giving up five in six innings in a no decision against the Dodgers last weekend.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Musgrove, Pirates welcome reeling Athletics to town The Pittsburgh Pirates have been where the Oakland A's are, and recently, but that doesn't mean there will be any empathy when the teams meet for a weekend interleague series at PNC Park beginning Friday.Pittsburgh climbed out of an eight-game losing streak by sweeping a two-game series at Texas. Oakland has lost a season-high six straight."Good experience to get the sweep ... get back on the right track," Pirates first baseman Josh Bell said.Neither of Pittsburgh's wins against the Rangers came easily -- a comeback 6-4, 11-inning game and a 7-5 nail-biter.Pirates manager Clint Hurdle insists there's no particular formula to mark the line between winning and losing."We continue to encourage them," he said of his players. "They have skills. We believe they can do it."There's a lot of different things that go into it. We just encourage them to be that 6-year-old kid in the back yard playing Wiffle ball, and now you're here. You've been talking about it since you were 6, about doing these things, and now you're here." While the Pirates are embracing their inner child, the A's are trying not to resort to tantrums."Guys are just frustrated," A's starter Mike Fiers said in an interview with the team website after the latest loss, 7-3 Wednesday at Boston."Everyone expects more out of themselves. Everyone is not clicking on all cylinders, and we're not playing the baseball we know how to play. We know it'll come. We just have to stay at it." Oakland's struggles can be linked to several areas. Over the past 14 games, the A's are 4-10 and are batting .204 collectively with just seven home runs. The defense, after making three errors in 13 games, has made 16 over the past 20 games."We're going to have to play our way out of this," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "You don't just sit around and wait for it." The A's are 4-11 on the road.In the series opener, Oakland left-hander Brett Anderson (3-2, 4.35 ERA) is scheduled to face Pittsburgh right-hander Joe Musgrove (1-2, 1.54 ERA).The A's probably won't be thrilled to face Musgrove in interleague play. He has had success against Oakland, all while he was with Houston.He is 1-1 with a 1.33 ERA in seven career appearances. In three career starts, he has allowed two earned runs in 17 innings. Even in his only loss, in 2017, he gave up one run in 6 1/3 innings.This season, Musgrove has been charged with six earned runs in his first 35 innings, but he gave up three runs, one earned, Saturday in his last start, a 3-1 loss against Los Angeles.Saturday at Toronto, Anderson gave up six runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 7-1 loss."It was a battle from the get-go," Anderson said. "If I had a couple plays go my way, keep us in the ballgame, could have been a different story. But you've got to overcome some of those things and get the people out regardless." Anderson is 2-1 with a 3.10 ERA in four career starts against the Pirates. At PNC Park, he is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two career starts.--Field Level Media
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