Thu May 29 10:57:47 2008

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A's close out homestand vs. Jays

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(Sports Network) - The Oakland Athletics conclude a successful nine-game homestand this afternoon, as they play the final test of a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays at McAfee Coliseum.

Oakland's stand didn't get off to the best of starts, as it lost two straight to Tampa Bay before rebounding to win five in a row. That streak included a three-game sweep of Boston and a victory in this series opener.

However, the Athletics dropped a 2-1 decision to the Blue Jays on Wednesday, allowing the winning run in the ninth frame. Oakland's Keith Foulke (0-1) walked Shannon Stewart to start the frame, and after a sac bunt, Stewart scored on Alex Rios' double to left.

B.J. Ryan then worked around two walks in the bottom of the frame for his 12th save of the season.

Rich Harden allowed just one run on five hits over seven innings for the Athletics in the start. Jack Cust went 3-for-4 and drove in the only run for Oakland, while Bobby Crosby doubled and scored.

Kurt Suzuki had hit safely in each of the first seven games of this homestand, going 9-for-24 (.375) before yesterday's 0-for-4 effort. Also, Frank Thomas did not play due to a strained right quadriceps he suffered in Tuesday's opener. Thomas, who was released by Toronto earlier this year after a disagreement over his playing time, might land on the disabled list because of the ailment.

Roy Halladay (6-5) gave up just one run over eight innings for the Blue Jays, scattering eight hits while matching a season-high with nine strikeouts for the Blue Jays, who have won six of seven.

Scott Rolen went 0-for-4 to end his hitting streak at eight games. He batted .321 (9-for-28) over that run but is now just a career .192 hitter (5-for-26) against Oakland in eight games against the club.

Toronto has scored just three runs over the first two games of this set after plating at least six in three of its four games against Kansas City last weekend, a series that ended with a Blue Jays sweep.

The Jays have also split the first two games of a nine-game road trip that next takes them to Los Angeles for three tests against the Angels.

Jesse Litsch will take the hill today for Toronto after tossing the first shutout of his career last time out. The 23-year-old held Kansas City in check over nine innings, yielding only seven hits and one walk in a 6-0 victory. Litsch improved to 6-1 with a 3.57 earned run average after the win, which was also the first complete game of his career.

Litsch's walk in the ninth inning of that test on Saturday halted his streak of innings without a free pass at 38 2/3 frames, a new club record.

The right-hander has struggled a bit on the road, where he has a 4.38 ERA on the season compared to 2.97 at home. Litsch is 0-1 in two career starts against Oakland despite a 1.38 ERA. Both of those starts have come at McAfee Coliseum.

The A's counter with Dana Eveland, who is also coming off the first complete game of his career. The 24-year-old faced Tampa Bay last Wednesday and held the club to a run on three hits and a walk while striking out five. The victory improved Eveland to 4-3 with a 2.90 ERA.

The left-hander has a solid outing when he faced the Blue Jays for the first time in his career on April 10, tossing 6 1/3 shutout frames in what ended up being a no-decision. Eveland gave up three hits and three walks in addition to six strikeouts, and left the game with a 1-0 lead, only to watch Toronto tie things up in the eight inning.

Oakland had won five straight versus Toronto before yesterday's setback, having swept a three-game set at the Rogers Centre from April 8-10. The Athletics are 8-3 in their last 11 matchups against the Jays.