OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) 鈥 Carlos P茅rez broke out of a lengthy batting slump with a two-run homer off Hyun Jin Ryu and the Oakland Athletics avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-2 on Wednesday.
It was a milestone day for Ryu. The 36-year-old left-hander threw 77 pitches in his seventh start after beginning the season in the minors. That鈥檚 one more start than Ryu had in 2022, when his season was cut short in June due to Tommy John surgery.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been pitching a long time for a reason,鈥 said Oakland's Kevin Smith, who had an infield single in two at-bats against Ryu. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to get you out, he鈥檚 going to throw his good pitches. He has some funky stuff, just the way that his change-up moves. He鈥檚 not going to overpower you, but he鈥檚 going to throw it where he wants. If he鈥檚 spotting up, it鈥檚 going to be a hard day.鈥
P茅rez鈥檚 sixth home run of the season ended a 5-for-27 skid and accounted for the only A鈥檚 runs scored off Ryu (3-2), who allowed five hits and had five strikeouts with one walk. The loss was his first since Aug. 1, when he made his season debut.
Smith, called up from the minors before the game, added a three-run homer off Trevor Richards for the A鈥檚. Oakland had lost two straight to the Blue Jays after sweeping Shohei Ohtani and the Angels to begin its homestand.
鈥淚t feels great,鈥 said Smith, who is in his third stint with the A鈥檚 big league club this season. 鈥淓specially when you come up, you want to try to make as early of a contribution that you can. Obviously, I haven鈥檛 as well as I鈥檝e wanted to when I鈥檓 up here. You have to make some contributions or you鈥檙e going to find yourself back down. 鈥
Davis Schneider homered for Toronto. The Blue Jays started the day with a half-game lead over the Rangers for the third AL wild-card spot.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 really have too many games left,鈥 Ryu said through a translator. 鈥淚鈥檓 not speaking just for myself. Every game鈥檚 going to be very important for us moving on, and we need more wins than ever.鈥
A鈥檚 starter JP Sears (4-11) pitched five uneven innings and earned his first win since July 28. Sears, who leads the majors in hit batters, worked around four walks and allowed four hits and one run.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if he had his best stuff today, but that鈥檚 the competitor that we talked about,鈥 A鈥檚 manager Mark Kotsay said. 鈥淩eally not his best command probably, but really managed the game and walked off the mound with a 2-1 lead. That鈥檚 all you can ask, really.鈥
Ryu began the game by retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth, despite a great defensive play by first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
After Ryan Noda reached on a fielder鈥檚 choice, P茅rez slammed a 2-2 fastball into the left field stands.
P茅rez was also part of Oakland鈥檚 three-run sixth, when he and Jordan Diaz opened the inning with consecutive singles against Richards. Smith followed with his fifth home run, and first since June 11.
Sears pitched well enough to win, but the pitching highlight for the A鈥檚 was the return of top pitching prospect Mason Miller, who missed 105 games with a right forearm strain. Miller had three strikeouts and threw 27 pitches in two hitless innings.
鈥淢ason looked great. The juices were definitely flowing,鈥 Kotsay said. 鈥淚njuries have been a part of his career, and to see him overcome it this year, get back on the mound ... his last pitch of the game was (a 102.4 mph fastball), and he asked to go back out.鈥
Dany Jim茅nez followed Miller and allowed one run in one inning. Trevor May retired three batters in the ninth and picked up his 18th save.
VLAD-D
Guerrero is obviously well known for his bat, but the slugger is pretty good defensively as well, evidenced by his 2022 Gold Glove. Guerrero flashed some of that talent in the fourth inning against the A鈥檚. With a runner at second in the fourth, Guerrero stabbed Ryan Noda鈥檚 sharp liner and then threw across the diamond to get Brent Rooker sliding into third. Replays showed Guerrero smiling and taping his gloved hand after making the play.
ROSTER MOVES
Athletics: RHP Devin Sweet was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and LHP Easton Lucas was selected from Las Vegas. LHP Sam Long and RHP Zach Neal were optioned to Las Vegas. RHP Spencer Patton was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (9-5, 3.63 ERA) faces the Royals on Friday. Kikuchi got the win against Kansas City in his first start of the season April 4.
Athletics: RHP Paul Blackburn (4-4, 3.81) faces the Rangers on Friday seeking his first win in five career starts against Texas.
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