PITTSBURGH — Brandon Moss was talking about his days with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s game, and said his biggest regret was not hitting more home runs to the short porch in right field at PNC Park.
Moss found that short porch Tuesday night, and his two-run home run in the fourth inning lifted Dan Straily and the Oakland Athletics to a 2-1 victory over the Pirates.
The American League West-leading Athletics have won 10 of their last 13 games, and their 13-4 interleague record is the best in the major leagues. Oakland also improved to 11-0 all-time against the Pirates.
The Pirates lost their fourth straight game.
The home run was Moss’ 16th of the season. Moss connected a career-high 21 times last season in helping the Athletics win the AL West. He hit just 13 for the Pirates in 195 games over three seasons from 2008-10.
However, Moss said he did not have revenge on his mind in facing the Pirates for the first time since they allowed him to leave as a minor-league free agent.
“The only thing that was special is that it was only the second one I ever hit in those right-field bleachers and it was special, too, because those were the only two runs we scored,” Moss said. “I don’t have any animosity toward Pittsburgh like I do some other places I’ve been. I had a lot of opportunities here and I didn’t do anything with them. It’s my fault that I’m not here anymore.”
Moss hit only one home run into the right-field stands during his time with the Pirates and he remembered it vividly.
“Off Todd Wellemeyer on May 13, 2009,” Moss said. “I remember it because it was my first home run of the season and it took a ridiculously long time to get that first one, and also because it was the only one I ever hit in those dadgum bleachers the whole time I was here.”
Moss, though, has hit 37 home runs in two seasons with Oakland.
“After you get a couple of opportunities then you get another one, you understand how important that can be,” Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. “Everywhere I ever saw Brandon play, though, you could see the talent was there. The consistent at-bats he’s gotten here helped him and he has run with the opportunity.”
The home run was enough offensive support for Straily (6-2), who was again dominant against a National League team, allowing only one run and two hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out seven and walking three. In his last three interleague starts, Straily has given up two runs and seven hits in 19 1/3 innings for a 0.93 ERA.
However, Straily was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento after the game and right-hander Sonny Gray was called up from the River Cats to work out of the bullpen as the Athletics won’t need a fifth starter again until after the All-Star break.
“I knew it before the game,” Straily said. “I could have thrown a perfect game and I was going to get optioned out. It’s nothing personal. It’s the situation we’re in. It is what it is.”
Gerrit Cole (4-2) lost his second straight start after becoming the first Pirates pitcher to win his first four career starts since Nick Maddox in 1907. Cole went seven innings, giving up two runs and five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
“It’s kind of fun to pitch in a game like that,” Cole said. “You want the best out of the other team. Any competitive person would say that. Straily threw the ball really well tonight and I tried to match him. Sometimes the ball doesn’t fall your way.”
Down 2-1, the Pirates put a runner on second base with one out in the seventh inning. However, left-hander Sean Doolittle relieved Straily and struck out Gaby Sanchez before getting Jordy Mercer to hit an inning-ending foul out.
Ryan Cook pitched a scoreless eighth, and Grant Balfour worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to improve to 24-for-24 in save opportunities this season. Balfour also extended his club-record streak of consecutive saves to 42.
Moss’ fourth-inning homer followed John Jaso’s two-out double.
Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez opened the scoring by belting a home run off the batter’s eye in center field to lead off the second inning. The homer was Alvarez’s 23rd and was estimated at 448 feet.
That was all the offense the slumping Pirates could manage as they have scored just two runs in losing the first two games of the series.
“Part of what’s going on now is, especially the last two days, is the pitchers we’ve faced on the mound have been very sharp,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “Their command has been very good, their bullpen plays well. There’s a reason they’re in first place over there.”
NOTES: Pittsburgh placed 2B Neil Walker on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Sunday, with a strained right oblique muscle and recalled INF/OF Josh Harrison from Class AAA Indianapolis. … Oakland LHP Brett Anderson, who has been on the DL since May 1 with a sprained right ankle, played catch from 105 feet Tuesday but the Athletics don’t have a timetable for when he can start throwing off a mound. … The start was delayed 1 hour, 42 minutes because of the threat of a thunderstorm but the rain never came and the game finally got underway at 8:47 p.m. ET. … The three-game series concludes Wednesday night with Athletics LHP Tommy Milone (8-7, 4.11) opposing Pirates LHP Francisco Liriano (8-3, 2.20).