CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Andrew Abbott pitched into the seventh inning and the Cincinnati Reds held off a late Athletics rally for a 6-5 victory Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds won their third straight game and improved to 56-58, while the Athletics dropped to 45-70 with their fifth consecutive defeat. Abbott earned his sixth win of the season, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. He left with a three-run lead before Brock Burke recorded the final three outs for his second save.

The Athletics grabbed their first lead of the series in the fourth inning, scoring three times off Abbott. Henry Bolte singled and Tommy White followed with another base hit, putting runners at the corners. Jonah Heim walked to load the bases, and Tyler Soderstrom delivered a two-run single to center field that scored Bolte and White. Max Muncy then singled to load the bases again. Lawrence Butler grounded into a double play, but Heim scored from third to give the Athletics a 3-1 edge.

Cincinnati answered quickly in the bottom half of the inning. Sal Stewart led off with a home run to center field, his 25th of the season, cutting the deficit to 3-2. Two batters later, Tyler Stephenson homered to center as well, tying the score at 3. The Reds had a chance to take the lead when Eugenio Suárez walked and Héctor Rodríguez also walked, but Noelvi Marte grounded out to end the inning.

The Reds broke through in the fifth against Athletics starter Mason Barnett. Matt McLain was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. After Elly De La Cruz popped out, Stewart singled to put runners at first and third. J.J. Bleday walked to load the bases, and Stephenson struck out for the second out. Suárez then walked, forcing in McLain with the go-ahead run. Dane Myers followed with another walk, scoring Stewart to give the Reds a 5-3 lead. Barnett was removed after 4 1/3 innings, charged with five earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven.

The Athletics threatened in the sixth when Heim singled with one out, but Abbott retired the next two batters. In the seventh, Bleday provided an insurance run with a home run to right-center field, his 20th of the season, stretching the Reds’ lead to 6-3. Abbott allowed a one-out single to Jonathan Ornelas later in the inning but completed the frame without further damage. Pierce Johnson relieved Abbott in the eighth and retired the side in order, striking out one.

Cincinnati’s bullpen combination of Johnson, Sam Moll and Burke closed out the game, but not before the Athletics made it interesting in the ninth. Facing Burke, Max Muncy flied out to begin the inning. Lawrence Butler then reached on a ground ball to shortstop that Elly De La Cruz misplayed for an error, allowing Butler to advance to second. Brian Serven followed by homering to left-center field, his second of the season, pulling the Athletics within 6-5. Burke recovered by getting Alika Williams to ground out and striking out Jonathan Ornelas to end the game.

Serven finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Athletics. Soderstrom contributed two hits and two RBIs. Bolte and White each had two hits for Oakland, which managed nine hits total and grounded into two double plays.

For the Reds, Stewart went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, and Bleday went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Stephenson also homered and drove in a run. Cincinnati collected eight hits.

Seth Johnson pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Athletics, allowing three hits and striking out four. Brady Basso added a scoreless inning, and Elvis Alvarado struck out two in 2/3 of an inning. The Athletics pitching staff issued six walks, while Cincinnati pitchers walked three.

The Reds jumped ahead in the first inning when De La Cruz led off with a homer to left-center, his 19th of the season. He lifted a 1-0 pitch from Barnett over the wall for the early 1-0 edge. The Athletics put a runner on base in the opening inning when White singled, but Heim grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Cincinnati threatened again in the second when Bleday singled with two outs, but Stephenson was called out on strikes on a pitch that also saw Bleday caught stealing second. The Reds went quietly in the third.

The Athletics had a scoring opportunity in the fifth after Ornelas walked with one out, but Bolte was called out on strikes after a challenge confirmed the call. White grounded into a force out to end the inning.

Cincinnati’s defense turned a key double play in the fourth after the Athletics had taken the lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Butler grounded into a 4-6-3 double play that allowed Heim to score but ended the inning with the Athletics ahead 3-1. The Reds then tied the game in the bottom half of the inning.

The game was played before a crowd of 17,617 and lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cincinnati Reds 6, Athletics 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Cincinnati with a 61.60 percent probability to win. Cincinnati had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over/under line of 9.