PHOENIX (AP) — Zack Gelof tripled to key a three-run eighth and the Oakland Athletics snapped a five-game losing streak, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 on Friday night.
The A’s also halted an 11-game road losing streak. They hadn’t won away from home since June 1 in Atlanta and had lost 15 of their previous 18 games overall.
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Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, left, scores ahead of a tag by Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, right, during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel Jr., left, scores as Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, right, looks on for the baseball during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Slade Cecconi throws against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, right, celebrates his double as Oakland Athletics shortstop Max Schuemann (12) holds the ball during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher JP Sears throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, center, avoids Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, right, to score as umpire Alex Tosi, left, moves during the play during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker, right, connects for a run-scoring single as Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Tucker Barnhart, left, reaches for the ball during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof (20) slaps hands with teammate Shea Langeliers (23) after scoring against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
“Overall it was a great game," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "We’ve hit a lot of home runs as an offense, but we haven’t built innings that way; walks, couple hits, it’s nice to see.”
Gelof was 3 for 4 with the RBI triple, a walk and a stolen base.
“The month of June has been a lot better for him and he’s finishing up really strongly," Kotsay said.
Gelof's average went from .196 to .205 on Friday. He hit .267 with 14 homers as a rookie second baseman last season, but has found it tougher in his second year.
“All around we put it together,” he said. "It just feels good to win on the road.”
Tyler Soderstrom’s home run off Ryan Thompson (3-3) leading off the eighth tied it at 4. Thompson then walked rookie Armando Alvarez before Gelof hit a line drive to the gap in right-center, scoring the go-ahead run. Max Schuemann followed by chopping a single over the head of shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to make it 6-4.
The A's hit three homers in the ninth off Brandon Hughes to put it out of reach. Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers went back-to-back, each for their 15th homers, of the season and Daz Cameron hit his third.
Scott Alexander (1-2) gave up a tie-breaking single to Ketel Marte in the seventh, but picked up the victory. Mason Miller, in a non-save situation, struck out two in the ninth to preserve the win.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit his 11th homer leading off the sixth for Arizona off JP Sears.
Arizona has lost three straight and is 1-3 on its homestand.
Diamondbacks starter Slade Cecconi threw 88 pitches in four innings, allowing three runs. He struck out seven and walked two.
“We’ve got to pitch better,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “You can’t make assumptions because the Oakland A’s are here that we’re going to beat them three games. That’s a well-run team, they got a good manager with young players that are very enthusiastic.”
Sears went six innings for Oakland, allowing five hits and three runs. Only two hits came after the first inning; he walked one and struck out six.
Sears bounced back from his previous start against Minnesota, in which he pitched just 1 1/3 innings, giving up nine hits and eight runs and hitting three batters.
Before the game, Arizona called up RHP Humberto Castellanos from Triple-A Reno and sent down RHP Scott McGough.
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Lovullo said after the game that RHP Zac Gallen will be activated from the injured list. Gallen (5-4, 3.12 ERA) has been sidelined with a right hamstring strain since he left one batter into a May 30 start against the New York Mets. Oakland’s starter will be LHP Hogan Harris (1-1, 2.72).
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Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, left, scores ahead of a tag by Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, right, during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel Jr., left, scores as Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, right, looks on for the baseball during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Slade Cecconi throws against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, right, celebrates his double as Oakland Athletics shortstop Max Schuemann (12) holds the ball during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Oakland Athletics starting pitcher JP Sears throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, center, avoids Oakland Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, right, to score as umpire Alex Tosi, left, moves during the play during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Oakland Athletics' Brent Rooker, right, connects for a run-scoring single as Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Tucker Barnhart, left, reaches for the ball during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Oakland Athletics' Zack Gelof (20) slaps hands with teammate Shea Langeliers (23) after scoring against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, June 28, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge will decide Monday whether new evidence warrants a re-examination of the convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez in the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home more than 30 years ago.
The brothers were found guilty of murdering Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. While their defense attorneys argued at trial that they had been sexually abused by their father, prosecutors denied that and accused them of killing their parents for money. In the years that followed, they repeatedly appealed their convictions without success.
Now, at 53 and 56, Erik and Lyle Menendez are making a new bid for freedom. Their lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition — a request for a court to examine whether someone is being lawfully detained — in May 2023, asking a judge to consider new evidence of their father's sexual abuse. “Newly discovered evidence directly supports the defense presented at trial,” the petition said.
The recent releases of the Netflix drama “ Monsters: Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and the documentary “The Menendez Brothers" in 2024 brought renewed public attention to their plight. Members of the public will be given the opportunity to win a seat in the courtroom to catch a glimpse of the brothers, who will be appearing virtually.
Prosecutors recommended resentencing for the brothers last month, saying they have worked on redemption and rehabilitation and demonstrated good behavior inside prison.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón held a news conference less than two weeks before Election Day, asking for new sentences of 50 years to life. This could make them immediately eligible for parole because they were less than 26 years old when they killed their parents.
Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic is scheduled to consider the resentencing request on Dec. 11, but on Monday, he'll first address the abuse evidence raised in the habeas petition. Immediate freedom is one possible result; the judge also might weigh in on the merits of the evidence. And if the brothers don’t get relief in court, they can hope California’s governor will grant them clemency.
The new evidence includes a letter Erik Menendez wrote in 1988 to his uncle Andy Cano, describing the sexual abuse he had endured from his father. The brothers asked their lawyers about it after it was mentioned in a 2015 Barbara Walters television special. The lawyers hadn't known of the letter and realized it had not been introduced at their trials, making it effectively new evidence that they say corroborates allegations that Erik was sexually abused by his father.
More new evidence emerged when Roy Rossello, a former member of the Latin pop group Menudo, recently came forward saying he had been drugged and raped by Jose Menendez, the boys’ father, when he was a teen in the 1980s. Menudo was signed under RCA Records, where Jose Menendez was chief operating officer.
Rossello spoke about his abuse in the Peacock docuseries “Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed," and provided a signed declaration to the brothers’ lawyers.
Had these two pieces of evidence been available during the brothers' trial, prosecutors would not have been able to argue that there was no corroboration of sexual abuse, or that their father Jose Menendez was not the “kind of man that would” abuse children, the petition argues.
While clemency might be another pathway to freedom for the brothers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that he won't decide until incoming Los Angeles district attorney Nathan Hochman reviews the case. Hochman, a Republican-turned-Independent who unseated the progressive Gascón on Dec. 2, has said he wants to carefully look at the evidence before making any decisions.
FILE - Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in the Municipal Court in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles, during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
FILE - This combination of two booking photos provided by the California Department of Corrections shows Erik Menendez, left, and Lyle Menendez. (California Dept. of Corrections via AP, File)