By Eric Gilmore, The Sports Xchange

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Pittsburgh Pirates reached the midpoint of the season with their third straight victory, beating the Oakland A's 4-2 in 10 innings on Saturday night at Oakland Coliseum.

The Pirates, who went 9-19 in June, moved within one game of .500 at 40-41. They trail the Chicago Cubs by 11 1/2 games in the National League Central, but they're just 3 1/2 games out in the race for the second wild-card spot in the NL.

"We're right in the middle of it," said David Freese, who hit a tie-breaking single in the top of a two-run 10th. "Obviously, the division is separated a little bit, but you got to get in. There's an opportunity to get in.

"Crazy things happen. We're going to keep fighting and see if we can close the gap."

Erik Kratz lined a leadoff single in the 10th off A's left-hander Daniel Coulombe and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jordy Mercer. Freese grounded an RBI single to left, just out of the reach of third baseman Danny Valencia.

"We just kept fighting," Freese said. "Kratz started off with a big knock. Mercer did his job to move him over. I was trying to roll over something and get it though. Not really what I wanted to do there, but it got through."

After Coulombe intentionally walked Andrew McCutchen, Adam Frazier singled to left, but Coco Crisp threw out Freese at the plate. Gregory Polanco followed with an RBI single to center, driving in McCutchen.

Right-hander Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 19th straight save and 23rd overall, but it didn't come easily. Josh Reddick singled with one out and went to third on Khris Davis' two-out single before Melancon struck out Stephen Vogt to end the game.

The Pirates beat the A's for the second straight night and will go for a sweep of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon. The A's fell to 35-46 through 81 games.

Reddick went 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and an RBI for the A's. He matched his career high for hits.

Pirates rookie right-hander Chad Kuhl made his second career major league start and allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out two, walked none and threw 91 pitches. Kuhl, who beat the Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw in his major league debut on Sunday, got a no-decision.

After giving up two runs in the third, Kuhl threw three more shutout innings.

"It's baseball," Kuhl said. "You're going to give up runs, you're going to give up hits. From that point on, you've got to do your best to try to put up zeroes."

A's left-hander Rich Hill came off the disabled list after missing more than a month with a strained groin and pitched six strong innings. Making his first start since May 29, Hill (8-3) allowed two runs, both in the fourth inning, and four hits and got a no-decision but left with his five-game winning streak intact. Hill struck out six, walked two and left after throwing 83 pitches.

"Everything was good command," Hill said. "Breaking ball was good, changeup was good, slider was good. I just expect more out of myself going out there. When we go out there and score two runs, we (need) a shutdown inning and keep us ahead and let them work. That's one thing that didn't sit well with me."

The A's and Pirates were deadlocked after four innings, but Oakland appeared ready to break that tie in the fifth. With two outs, Jed Lowrie singled and Reddick sent a long drive off the right-field wall. But the ball settled in a small hole at the base of the fence for a ground-rule double. Lowrie had to stay at third and Kuhl retired Valencia for the third out.

"It was very frustrating," Reddick said. "Could have won the game. Over the years I’ve obviously seen (the hole) but never really paid attention to it. After it happened, I went out there and it was literally a three-inch gap to put a baseball in. Never hit a hole-in-one before even in golf, so I guess this is going to have to count."

A's relievers John Axford, Ryan Dull and Ryan Madson each pitched a scoreless inning. Madson pitched his way out of jam in the ninth.

Neftali Feliz pitched a scoreless seventh, Tony Watson a scoreless eighth and Juan Nicasio (6-6) a scoreless 10th for the victory.

The A's jumped ahead in the third. Burns lined a leadoff single and moved to third on Crisp's 300th career double, a drive to deep right.

Lowrie brought Burns home with a sacrifice fly to right, and Reddick lined an opposite-field single to left, driving in Crisp for his first RBI since coming off the disabled list Tuesday.

McCutchen led off the fourth with a sharp single to left and moved to second when Hill hit Junk-Ho Kang in the left foot with a pitch. After Polanco grounded into a double play, Starling Marte drove in McCutchen with an infield single. Josh Harrison followed with an RBI double to left.

NOTES: A's catcher Josh Phegley missed the game with a sore right knee and might have to go on the disabled list for the second time this season, A's manager Bob Melvin said. ... The A's agreed to contract terms with five international players, including 17-year-old Cuban OF Lazaro Armenteros, whose deal is for $3 million. They also agreed to terms with four prospects from the Dominican Republic: SS Marcos Brito and SS Yerdel Vargas, CF Kevin Richards and 3B George Bell, the son of former Toronto Blue Jays slugger George Bell. ... The A's optioned RHP Andrew Triggs to Triple-A Nashville. ... Pirates RF Gregory Polanco (sore left leg) started in the outfield on Friday night for the first time since June 23, but he was the designated hitter Saturday for the third time in Pittsburgh's past four games.