Back-and-forth game ends with Reds winning

Eight innings at the Coliseum on Monday night went quietly as the Reds and A’s managed a run apiece. Each team produced a run in the ninth to send the game to extra innings at 2-2.
Ah, then came the 10th. Nothing quiet about three homers in an inning.
Long balls by former Oakland catcher Ramon Hernandez, Joey Votto and Scott Rolen propelled Cincinnati to a 6-4 victory.
Hernandez led off the 10th by taking Michael Wuertz off the left-field foul pole. With one out and a man aboard, Votto greeted Cedrick Bowers with a bolt to left-center for a 5-2 game.
That was Votto’s 15th homer of the season. Rolen followed Votto with his 15th of the season, and Cincinnati owned a four-run edge.
Wuertz (2-1) would take the loss, ending his personal winning streak at seven games. He had not collected an “L” since May of last year.
The first three A’s hitters reached base in the bottom of the 10th. Groundouts by Ryan Sweeney and Kevin Kouzmanoff each brought home a run.
Jordan Smith, the Reds’ third pitcher of the inning, struck out Jack Cust to end the proceedings. Smith picked up his first major-league save.
In the ninth, pinch-hitter Jay Bruce’s two-out, RBI single off Andrew Bailey put the Reds up 2-1.
That lead lasted about as long as it takes public-address announcer Dick Callahan to say Kouzmanoff’s name.
The Oakland third baseman led off the bottom of the ninth by driving the first pitch from Francisco Cordero the opposite way. The ball had just enough carry to clear the fence in the right-field corner.
Kouzmanoff’s eighth homer of the season got the A’s even. He went 2-for-5 and is 33-for-79 (.418) in June. Oakland, though, is 6-14 this month.
Besides Kouzmanoff, the A’s other encouraging sign Monday night was the performance of starter Gio Gonzalez.
The left-hander took losses in each of his previous two starts, against the Giants and Cubs, but his line Monday: seven innings, four hits, one unearned run, one walk and nine strikeouts.
The K’s were one shy of his career high, set against the Angels on Oct. 2.
“Just trusting my stuff, building my confidence back up,” Gonzalez said, “and just believing I could throw my curveball for a strike.”
Manager Bob Geren called it “a real good swing-and-miss curveball.”
Reds manager Dusty Baker got another solid outing from rookie right-hander Mike Leake. Cincinnati took Leake with the eighth overall pick in last year’s draft. Leake, who went to Arizona State, did not pitch an inning in the minors.
Leake worked six innings, allowing one run on five hits. He walked four and struck out two.
Before the game, Baker talked about how Leake (5-1, 2.92 ERA) has been able to thrive without a minor-league education.
“He knows how to make adjustments,” Baker said. “The guy studies. He pays attention.”
Baker, who managed the Giants for 10 seasons (1993-2002), earned career win No. 1,352, tying him with Chuck Tanner for 26th place.