Brewers Dominate Athletics with Back-to-Back Homers

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers showcased their offensive prowess on Friday night, defeating the Oakland Athletics 11-3, fueled by a powerful five-run second inning. Rhys Hoskins and Joey Ortiz ignited the scoring with back-to-back home runs, helping the Brewers secure their seventh win in nine games. Hoskins, who had been struggling with a hitless streak of 21 at-bats, hit a three-run homer that put Milwaukee ahead early, following singles from Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez. The Brewers continued to build their lead in the fourth inning, with Chourio and Blake Perkins contributing runs to extend the score to 7-1. Sánchez further solidified the Brewers' dominance with a bases-clearing triple in the ninth, later scoring on a sacrifice fly from Hoskins. On the mound, Aaron Civale allowed three runs over four innings, while A’s pitcher JP Sears, who had been in strong form, struggled and exited the game after giving up five earned runs. Despite the loss, the Athletics had a bright moment when Lawrence Butler led off the game with a home run and added another RBI in the fourth, narrowing the gap to 7-3. The game drew a crowd of 14,031 at the Coliseum. Looking ahead, the A’s are set to start RHP Joe Boyle, while the Brewers will counter with RHP Colin Rea in the second game of the series.