Roberts' heroics lifts D'Backs over A's

Phoenix, AZ – Ryan Roberts hit a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Diamondbacks defeated the Athletics, 9-8, on Friday in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Oakland jumped out to an early lead with a six-run second inning but Arizona chipped away, getting a two-run homer from Jason Kubel and a solo shot from Paul Goldschmidt along the way.

In the ninth, Chris Young drew a two-out walk and Aaron Hill singled before Roberts lifted a 2-1 sinker from Brian Fuentes (2-2) into a sea of frantically jubilant arms in the left-field stands.

"The main thing is the win. For this team, that's what the goal is. There are no heroes in this game," said Roberts.

J.J. Putz (1-3) tossed a scoreless top of the ninth for the Diamondbacks, who have won six of their last eight games.

Seth Smith had a two-run homer in the sixth inning for the A's, who had just taken three of four from the Rangers.

Daniel Hudson escaped with a no-decision after allowing six runs on eight hits in just 1 2/3 innings. Oakland starter Tommy Milone went five frames, gave up four runs and helped his cause with a two-run single in the second.

Cliff Pennington and Coco Crisp both added RBI doubles in the inning while Josh Reddick and Brandon Inge capped it with run-scoring singles.

The Diamondbacks promptly answered with three runs in the bottom half, sparked by Roberts' one out double. He scored on Willie Bloomquist's base hit and Kubel followed with a two-run blast to center.

Goldschmidt extended his career-high hit streak to 15 games with a solo shot in the fifth but Smith answered with his two-run homer a half-inning later.

Kubel doubled home Bloomquist in the sixth and later scored on Justin Upton's single, setting the stage for the ninth.

"That's a tough one to lose," Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. "It was one of those games where some runs were going to be scored, but we have got to find a way to put it away in the ninth."

Game Notes

Bloomquist has reached safely in 17 straight games...Prior to the game, the Diamondbacks reinstated infielder Lyle Overbay from the paternity list...Inge has 23 RBI in 21 games with the A's.