A’s swept by Reds as losing streak reaches 8

The lead did not last.

Barnett gets burned by power

Mason Barnett allowed three home runs during his 4 1/3 innings.

Sal Stewart opened the fourth with a solo shot, and Tyler Stephenson followed with another homer two batters later. As a result, Cincinnati quickly tied the game at 3.

Barnett ran into more trouble in the fifth. Matt McLain was hit by a pitch before Stewart singled and JJ Bleday walked.

Elvis Alvarado entered with the bases loaded and one out. He struck out Stephenson, but consecutive walks to Eugenio Suárez and Dane Myers forced home two runs.

Barnett was charged with five earned runs on five hits. He walked three, struck out seven and fell to 1-2.

Serven makes it interesting

Brady Basso worked a clean sixth before Seth Johnson made his Athletics debut in the seventh.

Johnson struck out Stewart to open the inning. Then Bleday hit a solo homer, extending Cincinnati’s lead to 6-3.

Johnson ultimately allowed one run on three hits over two innings while striking out four.

Still, the Athletics had one final rally.

Butler singled with one out in the ninth and advanced to second on a throwing error by De La Cruz. Serven then drove Brock Burke’s pitch 391 feet to left-center for his second homer of the season.

Suddenly, the A’s were within 6-5.

However, Burke retired Alika Williams on a groundout before striking out Jonathan Ornelas to end the game.

Serven finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Soderstrom also drove in two, while White collected two hits.

Overall, the Athletics finished with nine hits and went 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Another series slips away

The one-run loss completed Cincinnati’s three-game sweep and continued a brutal stretch for the Athletics.

The A’s have now lost eight straight games and 12 consecutive series. After a 5-19 July, August has yet to provide a change in direction.

At 45-70, the Athletics sit one game ahead of the 44-71 Angels in the AL West. They also share the second-worst record in the majors with Colorado.

Up next

The Athletics head to Fenway Park to open a series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. PDT.