The Oakland Athletics try to string back-to-back wins
together this evening when they continue their four-game series against the
Tampa Bay Rays at the Coliseum.

Oakland drew first blood in this series on Monday, as Conor Jackson hit the
go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning, boosting the A’s to a 7-5 win.
Coco Crisp added an insurance RBI double in the eighth for Oakland, which
bounced back from losing two of three games to the Yankees over the weekend.

Guillermo Moscoso gave up eight hits and five runs over five-plus innings
before the A’s came to the rescue by rallying from a 5-2 deficit. Michael
Wuertz, Brian Fuentes (2-8), Grant Balfour and Andrew Bailey combined to shut
down the Rays the rest of the way. Bailey escaped a jam in the ninth to get
his 12th save.

Cliff Pennington smacked a two-run homer in the second inning for the A’s.

“It can be contagious when you’re not swinging well and it can be contagious
when you’re swinging well,” A’s interim manager Bob Melvin said. “If you get
one or two guys going, sometimes guys follow suit.”

Ben Zobrist and Kelly Shoppach homered for the Rays, who lost for the seventh
time in 10 contests.

Jeremy Hellickson was charged with four hits and three runs in the start for
Tampa Bay. J.P. Howell (2-2) suffered the loss.

Getting the call for the Rays tonight will be lefty David Price, who has lost
two of his last three decisions. Price absorbed the loss on Wednesday against
the Yankees, as he surrendered two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 frames to fall
to 9-8 on the year to go along with a 3.67 ERA.

Price has faced the A’s twice and is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA.

The Rays will tie a major league record tonight when they start a pitcher
under the age of 30 for the 704th consecutive game. The 1913-1917 Washington
Senators, led by Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, set the record.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Price. “It’s pretty special and good to be a part
of something like that.”

Oakland, meanwhile, will hand the ball to righty Brandon McCarthy, who is 2-5
with a 3.74 ERA. McCarthy did not get a decision on Wednesday in Detroit, as
he allowed four runs and six hits in five innings of his team’s 7-5 win.

McCarthy is 1-2 in seven games (six starts) against the Rays with a 4.18 ERA.

The Rays took five of nine from the A’s last season, but have dropped seven of
their last 11 in Oakland.

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NEW YORK —
For just an instant, when the ball came off David DeJesus’ bat, the Oakland Athletics had visions of finishing off a rare comeback against Mariano Rivera at Yankee Stadium.

Then suddenly — game-ending double play.

In the end, nothing ever seems to go right for Oakland on the road. Or against the Yankees, for that matter.

DeJesus lined into a rally-killing double play when pinch-runner Ryan Sweeney got trapped off first base, and New York held on to beat the Athletics 7-5 Sunday.

“Obviously deflating,” interim manager Bob Melvin said. Hideki Matsui’s fifth hit, which matched a career high, loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning. Josh Willingham cut it to 7-5 with an RBI single, the only run Rivera has allowed at home this season.

DeJesus then hit a liner to first baseman Mark Teixeira, and Sweeney broke immediately for second. He had no chance to get back before Teixeira stepped on the bag.

“My run doesn’t mean anything. I just kind of got overanxious. I didn’t even realize he was playing on the line,” Sweeney said.

The 41-year-old Rivera earned his 116th career save of more than one inning, but first this year. He reached 25 saves for the 15th consecutive season, extending his major league record.

“I’d be surprised if someone could outdo that,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Bartolo Colon pitched seven effective innings to end a three-start skid and Curtis Granderson had a two-run homer for the Yankees. Eduardo Nunez hit a two-run double and catcher Russell Martin was in the middle of everything all afternoon.

New York chased All-Star Gio Gonzalez and returned to its winning ways against the A’s when Rivera staved off a ninth-inning uprising with a touch of good fortune.

“Broken bat, base hit. Line drive, double play. Figure it out,” he said.

A one-run loss Saturday snapped New York’s 11-game winning streak against Oakland. But the Yankees rebounded behind Colon, taking two of three in the series. The Athletics have lost 10 straight series to New York, an Oakland record against any club. Matsui tormented his former team again, going 5 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI for the A’s. The day before, he homered and scored twice in a 4-3 victory.

The broiling heat subsided a bit, with a game-time temperature of 85 degrees following readings of 93 on Saturday and 100 on Friday night.

A brief shower in the eighth cooled off the crowd of 45,586, just as Oakland mounted a comeback with three doubles off All-Star setup man David Robertson. Kurt Suzuki’s second two-bagger of the game cut it to 6-4, but Rivera retired Cliff Pennington on a broken-bat grounder to end the inning.

Nunez manufactured an insurance run in the eighth, scoring without a throw on Derek Jeter’s RBI groundout against a drawn-in infield.

Andruw Jones had a pair of RBI singles for New York, a big league-best 29-6 in day games. The Yankees have won 16 of 18 against Oakland and 26 of 31 matchups overall since the start of the 2008 season.

The A’s are 7-26 in their last 33 road games.

“It’s frustrating, but we didn’t give up,” DeJesus said. “A lot of teams, when Mariano comes in, everyone hangs their heads. Like all right, the game’s over. But we didn’t feel that way. Just little by little, hit after hit, believed in ourselves. Hit one right at him.”

Colon (7-6) allowed two second-inning runs and scattered eight hits in his first win since July 2.

Gonzalez (9-7) lasted 4 2-3 innings, the second time in three starts that he’s failed to get through five. Before that, he had pitched into the sixth in every outing this year.

The left-hander yielded a season-high six earned runs and fell to 0-4 with a 5.59 ERA in five starts against the AL East this year.

“You’ve got to go out there and attack the zone. You can’t be hitting people or putting them on base on walks,” Gonzalez said. “Just no explanation for what happened.”

Nunez’s two-run double over Willingham’s head in left put the Yankees ahead 3-2 in the fourth. An athletic play by Martin helped them protect that slim lead in the fifth.

With a runner on first and two outs, Matsui doubled to right-center. Granderson cut the ball off just in front of the warning track and started a long relay. Second baseman Robinson Cano’s throw home was high, but Martin made a leaping grab and came down in time to tag a sliding Eric Sogard on the thigh.

Martin also singled twice, stole a base and threw out a runner attempting to steal. He scored on Nunez’s double and Jones’ two-out single in the second.

Notes: Oakland RHP Tyson Ross, on the disabled list since May 20 with a strained left oblique, was slated to throw 65-70 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento. Melvin, however, wouldn’t commit to putting Ross back in the rotation once he’s healthy. “We’ll see how it plays out. We have five guys right now,” Melvin said. “These things have a way of working themselves out. But certainly there’s some time before we get there and once we get there, we’ll see where we’re at.” … Matsui also had five hits for the Yankees on July 22, 2007, against Tampa Bay. … Oakland tied a season high with 15 hits. … The A’s are winless in their past 11 road series. … 3B Scott Sizemore was rested and replaced by Sogard, who gave up on a very playable popup with a shift on against Teixeira.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

NEW YORK (AP) — For just an instant, when the ball came off David DeJesus’ bat, the Oakland Athletics had visions of finishing off a rare comeback against Mariano Rivera at Yankee Stadium.

Then suddenly — game-ending double play.

In the end, nothing ever seems to go right for Oakland on the road. Or against the Yankees, for that matter.

DeJesus lined into a rally-killing double play when pinch-runner Ryan Sweeney got trapped off first base, and New York held on to beat the Athletics 7-5 Sunday.

“Obviously deflating,” interim manager Bob Melvin said.

Hideki Matsui’s fifth hit, which matched a career high, loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning. Josh Willingham cut it to 7-5 with an RBI single, the only run Rivera has allowed at home this season.

DeJesus then hit a liner to first baseman Mark Teixeira, and Sweeney broke immediately for second. He had no chance to get back before Teixeira stepped on the bag.

“My run doesn’t mean anything. I just kind of got overanxious. I didn’t even realize he was playing on the line,” Sweeney said.

The 41-year-old Rivera earned his 116th career save of more than one inning, but first this year. He reached 25 saves for the 15th consecutive season, extending his major league record.

“I’d be surprised if someone could outdo that,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Bartolo Colon pitched seven effective innings to end a three-start skid and Curtis Granderson had a two-run homer for the Yankees. Eduardo Nunez hit a two-run double and catcher Russell Martin was in the middle of everything all afternoon.

New York chased All-Star Gio Gonzalez and returned to its winning ways against the A’s when Rivera staved off a ninth-inning uprising with a touch of good fortune.

“Broken bat, base hit. Line drive, double play. Figure it out,” he said.

A one-run loss Saturday snapped New York’s 11-game winning streak against Oakland. But the Yankees rebounded behind Colon, taking two of three in the series. The Athletics have lost 10 straight series to New York, an Oakland record against any club.

Matsui tormented his former team again, going 5 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI for the A’s. The day before, he homered and scored twice in a 4-3 victory.

The broiling heat subsided a bit, with a game-time temperature of 85 degrees following readings of 93 on Saturday and 100 on Friday night.

A brief shower in the eighth cooled off the crowd of 45,586, just as Oakland mounted a comeback with three doubles off All-Star setup man David Robertson. Kurt Suzuki’s second two-bagger of the game cut it to 6-4, but Rivera retired Cliff Pennington on a broken-bat grounder to end the inning.

Nunez manufactured an insurance run in the eighth, scoring without a throw on Derek Jeter’s RBI groundout against a drawn-in infield.

Andruw Jones had a pair of RBI singles for New York, a big league-best 29-6 in day games. The Yankees have won 16 of 18 against Oakland and 26 of 31 matchups overall since the start of the 2008 season.

The A’s are 7-26 in their last 33 road games.

“It’s frustrating, but we didn’t give up,” DeJesus said. “A lot of teams, when Mariano comes in, everyone hangs their heads. Like all right, the game’s over. But we didn’t feel that way. Just little by little, hit after hit, believed in ourselves. Hit one right at him.”

Colon (7-6) allowed two second-inning runs and scattered eight hits in his first win since July 2.

Gonzalez (9-7) lasted 4 2-3 innings, the second time in three starts that he’s failed to get through five. Before that, he had pitched into the sixth in every outing this year.

The left-hander yielded a season-high six earned runs and fell to 0-4 with a 5.59 ERA in five starts against the AL East this year.

“You’ve got to go out there and attack the zone. You can’t be hitting people or putting them on base on walks,” Gonzalez said. “Just no explanation for what happened.”

Nunez’s two-run double over Willingham’s head in left put the Yankees ahead 3-2 in the fourth. An athletic play by Martin helped them protect that slim lead in the fifth.

With a runner on first and two outs, Matsui doubled to right-center. Granderson cut the ball off just in front of the warning track and started a long relay. Second baseman Robinson Cano’s throw home was high, but Martin made a leaping grab and came down in time to tag a sliding Eric Sogard on the thigh.

Martin also singled twice, stole a base and threw out a runner attempting to steal. He scored on Nunez’s double and Jones’ two-out single in the second.

Notes: Oakland RHP Tyson Ross, on the disabled list since May 20 with a strained left oblique, was slated to throw 65-70 pitches in a rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento. Melvin, however, wouldn’t commit to putting Ross back in the rotation once he’s healthy. “We’ll see how it plays out. We have five guys right now,” Melvin said. “These things have a way of working themselves out. But certainly there’s some time before we get there and once we get there, we’ll see where we’re at.” … Matsui also had five hits for the Yankees on July 22, 2007, against Tampa Bay. … Oakland tied a season high with 15 hits. … The A’s are winless in their past 11 road series. … 3B Scott Sizemore was rested and replaced by Sogard, who gave up on a very playable popup with a shift on against Teixeira.

Read More: al west standings, Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics season has taken a wrong turn down a dark alley as they are now sitting seven games back of first in the American League West. The A’s have lost six straight games while the first place Texas Rangers have won five straight. While it may only be June and seven games is a manageable deficit, the A’s are not playing event remotely well.

They’ve played fairly against bad teams (Baltimore Orioles), but over the long haul they’ll need to figure out ways to beat the good teams. When you’ve got a multi-year losing streak against a team like the Yankees, you’re not going to get over the hump, or even really approach the hump, without figuring out ways to beat them. Playoff teams find ways to beat good teams and the A’s are more frequently finding ways to lose to good teams. Part of it is a lack of a serious hitting threat, and part of it is what seems to be a general malaise at times. Of course, more quality offensive talent might be what is needed to actually overcome that malaise.

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OAKLAND, CALIF. The Oakland Athletics had the AL’s best pitching last season. They also had one of the league’s worst offences. So both areas figured to even out this year, if only because there was almost no other way to go.

Instead, the A’s have defied common logic again.

In what was supposed to be a season with improved offence, the gap between pitching and hitting has never seemed wider. Oakland heads into a three-game series at Boston beginning Friday tied for the best ERA in the majors, an impressive feat for a banged-up pitching staff — outdone only by its anemic run support.

“If the offence can start rolling with the pitching that we have, we’ll definitely be on the top of the division at the end of the year,” two-time All-Star closer Andrew Bailey said.

Maybe true.

If only it were that easy.

The strikeouts and hitless innings pile up about as quickly in Oakland for the pitchers as the hitters, an unbalanced production almost unrivaled in the majors. In its own way, each has been equally surprising this season.

Three of the five starters in the rotation are injured. Lefty Dallas Braden won’t be back at all this year after surgery to repair a torn capsule in his shoulder, Bailey just returned from a strained right forearm and Rich Harden hasn’t gotten off the disabled list with a strained muscle under his right shoulder.

All the injuries have still done little to slow A’s pitchers.

Oakland is tied with Atlanta with a majors-best 3.01 ERA despite playing in the hitter-heavy American League. The bullpen is finally at full strength and fill-in starters Josh Outman and Guillermo Moscoso are undefeated in four combined starts.

“We feel like we’ve weathered the storm a little bit as far as the injuries,” reliever Brad Ziegler said. “But we know there are more storms coming, hopefully not with injuries, but other challenges to overcome.”

Easily the biggest hurdle to clear is the lack of offence.

Oakland ranks 25th in batting average, 26th in runs scored and 29th in home runs this season, underwhelming even the typically tepid crowds at the Coliseum. The pitching-to-hitting disparity wasn’t supposed to happen this year, at least not to this extreme.

The A’s signed sluggers Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham and David DeJesus in the off-season to give the middle of the lineup some pop. But it has been a quiet offensive output from new and old faces alike.

“With the pitching that we have, we’re a tough team to beat when the offence is there,” manager Bob Geren said.

But the offence just hasn’t been there.

Matsui (.222) and DeJesus (.254) have been perhaps the most disappointing. Willingham (.240) has always hit for power not average, and his 10 home runs might be the lone bright spot among the newcomers.

Daric Barton (.206) is the only regular starting first baseman in the majors without a home run, Kurt Suzuki (.242) has been inconsistent and Mark Ellis (.214) is off to an usually slow start.

With the pitchers producing with baseball’s best, the lack of offence has weighed heavily on hitters.

“We haven’t helped them as much as we should have so far this year, but hopefully we can start coming around and putting some consistent games together,” Willingham said.

Hitting struggles are not exactly a new concept in Oakland.

General manager Billy Beane has built the A’s on pitching for years, although hitting was never so scarce in the most recent playoff runs. Oakland hasn’t played into October since being swept by Detroit in the 2006 AL championship series, and even those teams found a way to manufacture runs when it counted.

The A’s showed in a three-game sweep of Baltimore last weekend how dangerous they can be when the offence erupts, scoring 16 runs in a lopsided series. Oakland followed that up by showing how quickly its bats can go cold, getting swept by the Yankees after being outscored 19-5 in the three-game series.

“We didn’t score runs,” Oakland’s Conor Jackson said after the series finale. “It’s a recipe for losses.”

The Associated Press