Athletics’ Bleday, make it two straight over Pirates

OAKLAND — JJ Bleday hit a pair of home runs and the Athletics bullpen did what it’s done all season Tuesday night in a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Bleday hit a solo home run in the fifth and two-run shot against reliever Josh Fleming in the seventh, his second and third home runs of the season.

Mitch Spence, who pitched three scoreless innings after starter Alex Wood struggled through the first four, was the winning pitcher to improve to 3-1 as the Athletics won their third straight game to improve to 14-17.

Lucas Erceg struck out the side in the eighth inning for the A’s, with Mason Miller finishing it off in the ninth with his eighth save. Miller struck out Jared Triolo with six of eight pitches breaking 100 miles per hour, then got Michael A. Taylor on two sliders. Oneil Cruz was the final out, waving helplessly at a slider on strike three.

Erceg and Miller combined for 30 pitches, and A’s defenders may have well have taken a seat and watched the show.

“They’re like playing a video game,” Spence said. “It’s crazy.”

The A’s bullpen hasn’t allowed a run in six consecutive games.

Pittsburgh, also 14-17, got a solo home run from Connor Joe in the first inning.

The paid attendance at the Coliseum was 3,876, the first time this season the A’s drew less than 4,000 on consecutive nights. Tuesday night’s win over the Pirates had a paid crowd of 3,528.

It was Bleday’s first game with two homers. The first came on a mistake from Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller, a drive that carried 399 feet down the left field line and left the bat at 106.5 miles per hour. The second came off a left-handed pitcher, which for a left-handed batter like Bleday usually makes it more difficult.

“Facing lefties helps you clean things up mechanically and helps you stay on the ball a little bit better and eliminate some thinking,” Bleday said.

Spence, along with Kyle Muller, Dany Jimenez and Michael Kelly, is the latest middle reliever to shine of late and get the ball to Erceg and/or Miller to close things out.

“It’s not a competition really, it’s just going out and doing our jobs,” Spence said. “We’re kind of on a fun little run right here. Hopefully we can keep it rolling. Everybody’s been playing so great it’s been exciting.”

Wood, who came in to the game having allowed hitters to post a staggering 1.018 OPS against him, battled himself as much as he took on the Pirates.

Considering he gave up four walks and four hits in four innings and threw 93 pitches, Wood did well to give up just the two runs.

“I didn’t throw as many strikes as I would have liked,” Wood said. “Credit to our bullpen. Spence, I mean, you’ve got mason and Erceg at the end, but what Mitch has done is amazing. That long role is not easy to do and to make it as effortless as he’s made it look has been fun to watch.”

The Pirates scored in the first on Joe’s home run with two out, and again in the fourth on a Ke’Bryan Hayes sacrifice fly. In all, Pittsburgh left six runners on base in the four innings Wood pitched.

The Athletics scored twice in the fourth against Keller, with Abraham Toro singling home Shea Langeliers, who had doubled, and Tyler Nevin hitting a soft single to right to bring in Toro.

NOTABLE

— Nevin went 2-for-3 with his RBI single to right and a ground ball single to left as well as fielding his third base position flawlessly. He is now on an eight-game hitting streak.

— Ryan Noda, mired in an 0-for-26 streak and hitting .133, hit two balls on the nose to right field for line drive outs, the second of which left the bat at 108 miles per hour.