Sat Apr 19 01:35:56 2008

Comment | Email | Print

A's hammer Royals

---

Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Bobby Crosby went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, driving in five runs on the night, and the Oakland Athletics thumped the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game weekend set, 13-2, at McAfee Coliseum.

Emil Brown was also 3-for-5, totaling three RBI and scoring two runs, while Ryan Sweeney had three hits as well for Oakland, which ended a three-game skid. Chad Gaudin (1-1) tossed seven solid innings, allowing two runs -- one earned -- on four hits while striking out eight.

Gaudin and A's relievers Santiago Casilla and Andrew Brown combined to retire 18 straight Kansas City hitters over the final six innings, and were aided by a breakout performance from the offense, which exploded late to post a four- run sixth inning and an eight-spot in the eighth.

Brian Bannister (3-1) was saddled with his first loss of the season, getting charged with five runs on nine hits in five-plus innings. The Kansas City bullpen didn't help the cause, as Yasuhiko Yabuta and Hideo Nomo combined to allow a combined eight runs on four hits and four walks during an excruciatingly slow eighth inning.

"I expect a couple of times out of every 10 starts, not to feel good," Bannister said. "And my body was sluggish tonight and my secondary pitches weren't sharp. (My) slider especially wasn't the same tonight. I could tell in the first inning that it wasn't going to be one of my electric nights where I felt really sharp, so I battled through it."

Billy Butler had the lone RBI for the Royals, losers of three of four.

Kurt Suzuki led off the home first with a single to right, and eventually came home on a two-out single by Andrew Brown, giving Oakland the early 1-0 lead. The Royals answered right back in the top of the second, as Alex Gordon doubled to right with two outs and scored when A's third baseman Jack Hannahan overthrew first trying to throw out Ross Gload, who was given an infield single.

Tony Pena Jr. roped a leadoff single up the middle in the third, and the Royals had a 2-1 advantage when Butler came through with a two-out hit to left, though Butler was cut down at second trying to stretch it in into a double.

Bannister settled in after his shaky first, holding Oakland in check over the next four frames before running into trouble again in the sixth. Jack Cust, Emil Brown and Sweeney hit consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs. Crosby then scorched his second double of the night, a line drive off the base of the wall in left that just eluded the reach of Mark Teahen. Cust and Emil Brown scored, giving the A's a 3-2 lead, and Bannister's night was done.

Left-hander Ron Mahay entered the game for KC, inheriting runners on second and third with nobody out. Travis Buck launched a fly ball to the warning track in left, accounting for the first out, but scoring Sweeney from third. Hannahan then ripped an single to right, scoring Crosby for a 5-2 count. After striking out Suzuki and allowing a two-out single to Daric Barton, Mahay was lifted for Joel Peralta, who retired Mark Ellis to finally end the inning.

Gaudin, meanwhile, sat down 12 straight Royals from the fourth through the seventh before turning the ball over to Casilla in the eighth. Casilla tossed a 1-2-3 frame, making it 15 in a row.

Yabuta loaded the bases in the eighth by walking Crosby, Suzuki and Barton. Oakland plated one run when Pena couldn't come up with Ellis' ground ball into the hole at short, and another when Yabuta walked Cust to force in Suzuki. Nomo then relieved Yabuta, and despite falling behind Emil Brown 3-0, appeared to escape the jam when he induced a sky-high pop-up. But Pena misplayed it in shallow left, allowing both Barton and Cust to come home, and Sweeney followed with an RBI infield single for a 10-2 Oakland lead.

Crosby blew the doors wide open by slamming a Nomo offering well over the left-field fence, driving in Sweeney and Emil Brown for an 11-run bulge before Buck struck out to end the inning.

"Tonight I just saw the ball well," Crosby said. "I was looking for fastballs away because (Bannister) has that cutter so you look for hitting the ball the other way, and if you can react on the cutter, that's what I tried to do off him."

Andrew Brown then took care of Kansas City in the ninth, completing the bullpen perfection with another 1-2-3 inning.

Game Notes

Bannister entered the game with a 3-0 record and an earned-run average of 0.86; he finished the night 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA...Gaudin, on the other hand came in with marks of 0-1 and 7.20, and left at 1-1, 4.76...Crosby's homer was the first by an Oakland player in six games...Oakland had one run on five hits through five innings, then mashed out 12 runs on 10 hits over the final four frames...Buck made the first and third outs in the eighth.