Dietrich's latest costume: Home run hitter

OAKLAND -- Derek Dietrich has become the Major Leagues’ leading character actor in just the last few days. But he prefers the role that he played Thursday: Slugger.

Dietrich’s first-inning, two-run homer provided the necessary scoring for the Reds, who received commanding pitching from Tanner Roark and three relievers in a 3-0 Interleague triumph over the Oakland A’s, who were denied a sweep of the three-game series.

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You may recall that Dietrich somehow found a beekeeper’s outfit last Sunday at Cincinnati when a swarm of bees delayed that day’s game. On Tuesday, when a lighting malfunction delayed the game’s start for an hour and 38 minutes, Dietrich donned a cutoff T-shirt and scrounged up a utility belt, seemingly intent on being the handyman who would restore the light tower to its full strength.

Thursday, with the Reds having lost eight of their previous 12 games, Dietrich avoided wardrobe changes and concentrated on his primary job.

Mentioning that a friend texted him to ask what costume he’d wear next, Dietrich related his answer: “I want to go back to being a home run hitter today. Forget all the other outfits. Hitting a home run and being a good hitter is what I like to do most.”

Dietrich’s drive off Oakland starter Chris Bassitt (1-1) temporarily tied him for the team lead with Eugenio Suárez at 10 homers apiece. This deadlock lasted exactly two innings, as Suarez went deep in the third. Jesse Winker, who’s nursing a sore left quadriceps, also has been involved in the friendly power struggle, having hit nine.

“It hasn’t been a competition. More of a motivation,” Dietrich said. “Whatever helps the team.”

Roark (3-1) did his share to bolster the Reds with his second consecutive strong outing. The right-hander yielded three hits and walked two while striking out three. Combined with his previous start last Saturday against San Francisco, Roark has surrendered seven hits while walking four and striking out 10 in 12 2/3 innings.

Said Reds manager David Bell, “He was getting ahead and then making pitches with two strikes to get strikeouts or making tough pitches to get easier outs. He was able to put guys away.”

Roark explained that he relies on maintaining a quick tempo on the mound to keep generating strikes. For example, he felt himself decelerating in the fourth inning when Matt Olson rapped a two-out double. Roark escaped by retiring Kendrys Morales on a called third strike. The right-hander was never seriously threatened afterward.

“You have to know yourself,” Roark said. “Sometimes you work too fast, but that’s a better thing than working too slow. You don’t know when you’re working too slow or you’re wondering why certain pitches aren’t breaking the way you wanted. It’s because your tempo’s slow and your delivery’s slow.”

Oakland threatened in the ninth inning as Morales walked and Chad Pinder doubled. But Raisel Iglesias coaxed Ramon Laureano’s foul popup to record his seventh save.

The Reds, who will enjoy the luxury of remaining in the same hotel as they “travel” to San Francisco for their next series, lowered their National League-best ERA to 3.35 while ending a 10-game Interleague losing streak.