Jul 30, 2008 4:32 pm US/Pacific
Royals Beat A's In 10 Innings, Complete Sweep
OAKLAND (AP) ―
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Huston Street of the A's gave up the go-ahead run in the 10th inning against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
MLB
Jose Guillen drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the Athletics 4-3 on Wednesday to complete their first three-game sweep in Oakland in 20 years.
The Royals last swept the A's in a series in 1999 in Kansas City, but had not done so in Oakland since June 14-16, 1988.
The slumping A's fell to 2-10 since the All-Star break, the worst record in the majors, and fell under .500 for the first time since April 6.
Esteban German led off the inning with a pinch-hit single against A's closer Huston Street, then took third when Mike Aviles doubled just beyond the glove of diving right fielder Ryan Sweeney. After an out and an intentional walk of Alex Gordon, Guillen's fly ball to center field scored German.
Ramon Ramirez (2-1) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings to earn the win, while Joakim Soria pitched a perfect 10th for his 30th save in 32 opportunities.
Kansas City starter Brian Bannister gave up eight hits, walked four and pitched in and out of trouble in his five innings. He matched his career high of seven strikeouts and was in position to win for the first time in more than a month, but Kansas City's bullpen couldn't hold the lead.
The Royals' right-hander, who makes his offseason home in nearby San Ramon, has not won in his last six starts and lost for the second time in Oakland this year. Bannister's last road win came on June 18, in St. Louis.
A's starter Sean Gallagher didn't fare much better. He scattered five hits over five innings and struck out four, but was tagged for two runs in the third and gave up another in the sixth on Guillen's RBI single that gave the Royals a 3-2 lead.
Oakland took a 2-0 lead on RBI singles from Bobby Crosby and Ryan Sweeney in the second.
Kansas City tied the game an inning later when Mike Aviles doubled in Miguel Olivo and then scored on Mitch Maier's single.
The Athletics tied the game in the seventh on another RBI single by Crosby.
The Royals threatened again in the eighth and ninth, getting a runner to second base with less than two outs but failed to move him over. They finally capitalized in the 10th off Street (2-4).
Oakland reliever Brad Ziegler pitched three shutout innings to extend his major league record for scoreless innings to start a career. The righty has not allowed a run in 30 innings since being called up from the minors on May 30, smashing the previous mark of 25 set by Philadelphia's George McQuillan in 1907.
Ziegler got plenty of help from the A's defense, which turned three inning-ending double plays behind him. The streak is the second-longest scoreless streak by a reliever in Oakland history.
Notes:@The A's are expected to activate DH Frank Thomas from the DL on Friday in time for the team's trip to Boston. Thomas, out since May 29 with right quadriceps tendinitis, faced reliever Keith Foulke in a simulated game Wednesday and afterward declared himself ready. ... Gordon drew five walks in all, two intentional, to set a franchise single-game record. ... Oakland's Mark Ellis played in his 721st game at second base for the A's, matching Dick Green's team record.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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