Sonny Gray settles down, A’s beat Giants to end losing streak

After allowing a two-run homer to Matt Duffy in the first inning, though, the A’s All-Start starter shifted back into his usual reliable form to help Oakland beat the Giants 5-4, ending the A’s five-game losing streak.

“I didn’t want to mess with that, he’s had a lot of innings this year,” manager Bob Melvin said.

“The next inning he came back and stuck out the side,” Melvin said.

Gray said that the right-on-right changeup to Duffy probably wasn’t the best pitch in the situation and he reverted to his usual repertoire of curveball-slider-sinker-four-seam fastball thereafter.

In his previous two starts, Gray surrendered 12 runs in 8 1/3 innings and in his first four September starters, he’d allowed 18 runs in 20 1/3 innings.

The A’s scored their first run in the second inning thanks to some speed from Eric Sogard, who was able to stay out of a double play and allow Danny Valencia to score from third on a one-out grounder.

Asked about Burns’ approaching some of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco’s rookie multi-hit game marks with the A’s, Melvin joked, “What’s that now? .., I thought we were talking about home runs.”

Billy Butler added a solo homer in the sixth; he has five homers and 22 RBIs in September.

The Giants got their second home run of the game in the seventh when Jarrett Parker hit a monster shot over the suites and into the second in center, a drive measured at 454 feet.

In the bottom of the inning, Fuld singled and he took second on Burns’ flyout to center, a heady bit of baserunning that paid off when he scored from second on Josh Reddick’s two-out single to center, pushing Oakland’s lead to 5-3.

Doolittle walked Parker to load the bases but he said he got a little breather and a reset when Vogt and pitching coach Curt Young made a mound visit.