Reds at Athletics
The Oakland Athletics vie for a sweep of their interleague series when they host the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon for the finale of the three-game set. Mike Fiers tossed his second career no-hitter in the opener and Stephen Piscotty led off the 13th inning on Wednesday with his fifth homer for a 5-4 victory.
Piscotty also recorded an RBI single in the fifth to extend his hitting streak to five games for the Athletics, who will be without slugger Khris Davis due to a hip contusion. Davis, who has belted 10 home runs and collected 26 RBIs, missed the series opener with the injury and went 0-for-1 with a walk on Wednesday before exiting and manager Bob Melvin said he will be re-examined Friday. Jose Peraza and Nick Senzel each recorded two hits and an RBI for the Reds, who have lost eight of their last 12 contests. Kyle Farmer has hit safely in four of his last five games after delivering a run-scoring double on Wednesday, while Joey Votto is 0-for-9 in the series.
TV: 3:37 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds RH Tanner Roark (2-1, 3.82 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Chris Bassitt (1-0, 2.12)
Roark is coming off his longest start of 2019, a 6 2/3-inning outing against San Francisco on Saturday in which he allowed two runs and four hits while registering a season-high seven strikeouts en route to victory. The 32-year-old native of Illinois had worked more than five frames just twice in his first six turns this year, lasting 5 1/3 innings in back-to-back outings versus St. Louis and San Diego in mid-April. Roark has yielded five runs and seven hits with one walk and nine strikeouts over 15 1/3 frames in two career starts against Oakland, winning once.
Bassitt settled for a no-decision at Pittsburgh on Saturday after giving up three runs and five hits in five innings. The 30-year-old native of Ohio was impressive in his first home outing of 2019 as he allowed two hits and issued four walks over five frames en route to a victory over Texas in his season debut on April 22. Bassitt never has faced Cincinnati but is 0-2 with a 3.48 ERA in four career interleague starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. Athletics SS Jurickson Profar is batting just .192 but has recorded a homer and two RBIs in each of his last two contests and enters Thursday with a six-game hitting streak.
2. Cincinnati 3B Eugenio Suarez has gone 1-for-7 in two contests following a three-game home run streak during which he registered seven RBIs.
3. Oakland OF Nick Martini (knee) was sent to Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday to begin a rehab assignment.