A's top Dodgers behind Laureano's 9th-inning homer

Ramon Laureano hit a two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning to give the visiting Oakland Athletics a 6-4 victory Wednesday over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The long ball, Laureano's sixth of the season, came off former A's right-hander Blake Treinen (3-3), who was non-tendered by Oakland last offseason and signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers.

Laureano had two hits and drove in three runs while Oakland starter Sean Manaea gave up three runs on six hits over six innings. The left-hander walked one and struck out four.

Left-hander Jake Diekman (1-0) picked up the victory after throwing one inning despite giving up his first run of the season. Liam Hendriks pitched the ninth inning for his 14th save.

The Dodgers (39-17) tied the game 4-4 in the eighth inning when Edwin Rios hit a home run off Diekman, whose run of 18 2/3 scoreless innings this year came to an end.

The victory, in a matchup of teams that already have won their divisions, avoided a three-game losing streak for Oakland (34-21), which would have matched its longest of the season.

The Dodgers tried experimenting with a pitching plan for the upcoming playoffs, and it backfired. Instead of using Julio Urias to start the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had the left-hander give the team length out of the bullpen.

While Urias was up for the task with a solid outing, opener Joe Kelly gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk in his lone inning. Urias, in contention for the No. 3 starter spot during the opening round of the playoffs, gave up one run on two hits and two walks over six innings with five strikeouts.

Tommy La Stella and Robbie Grossman opened the game with consecutive doubles against Kelly to score a run. A Marcus Semien walk followed by a Jake Lamb groundout moved runners to second and third. A sacrifice fly from Mark Canha scored Grossman, and Semien scored on center fielder Cody Bellinger's wild throw to third base.

Max Muncy hit a two-run home run in the third inning, his 12th, to pull the Dodgers within 3-2. Urias shut down the A's until the seventh when Canha walked, Stephen Piscotty singled and Laureano hit a one-out RBI single.

Bellinger got the Dodgers to within a run again at 4-3 in the seventh inning with a home run to right field off Manaea, his 12th.

--Field Level Media