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OAKLAND, Calif.(AP)
Mark Ellis
has a strong bond with former Oakland infielder
Dick Green
because the two men have a lot in common, from growing up in the same home town to playing the same position with the Athletics.
He was honored to pass him for the franchise record for homers by a second baseman.
''I actually forgot until (A's announcer)
Ray Fosse
said something,'' Ellis said after homering and scoring twice in Oakland's 8-4 win over Cleveland on Saturday. ''It's neat
whenever we're in the same sentence together. There are a lot of things that are similar between us, so it's pretty cool.''
Ellis homered in the second inning off Indians starter
Jeremy Sowers
, the 79th of his career and the 77th he's hit while playing second base for the A's. That's one more than Green, who played
for the team from 1968-74.
Every A's starter had at least one hit and five relievers combined to allow one run over the final 5 1-3 innings while helping
Oakland extend its second-longest winning streak of the season to six games.
''We're playing good baseball and we're finding ways to score runs up and down the lineup,'' Ellis said. ''Our bullpen has
just been incredible. They've been our most consistent asset this year, without a doubt.''
Kurt Suzuki
had three hits, including a solo homer in the fourth, and scored three runs. Suzuki doubled and scored in the first, singled
and scored in the second then homered leading off the fourth. Oakland's catcher walked and flew out to center in his final
two at-bats.
Matt LaPorta
had two hits and scored in the fourth when the Indians scored three of their four runs. Cleveland has lost 10 straight on
the road and 17 of 21 overall.
''They're battling and still making some mistakes, but that's part of a young team,'' Indians manager
Eric Wedge
said. ''You take the good and learn from the bad, and you try to press forward.''
Oakland rookie
Brad Kilby
(1-0) struck out three in 1 2-3 innings for his first major league win. Kilby, who replaced starter
Gio Gonzalez
in the fourth, retired the first five batters he faced before giving up a one-out single in the sixth.
Jeff Gray
,
Jerry Blevins
,
Brad Ziegler
and
Michael Wuertz
completed the nine-hitter for Oakland, which can match its longest winning streak of the season by beating completing the
series sweep Sunday.
Ellis is a big reason why the A's have that chance. He's hitting .400 in the series against the Indians and has committed
just one error in his last 82 games at second base.
''If you could just see a person that you'd want to be really successful, that would be the guy you root for just because
that's who he is,'' Geren said. ''He's very consistent in the clubhouse and off the field. He does everything the right way.''
After
Rajai Davis
struck out leading off the first, the next six Oakland batters had hits, including Ellis who got the rally started with his
home run to right center.
Scott Hairston
,
Bobby Crosby
and
Cliff Pennington
all had RBI singles to help the A's to a 4-0 lead.
Ellis scored on a wild pitch and Crosby singled in Suzuki to make it 6-0 in the second when Oakland chased Sowers (6-10) after
one-plus innings. The Cleveland lefty allowed nine hits and walked one in the shortest start of his career.
''He just didn't have it today,'' Wedge said. ''He didn't have much on his fastball, he was up a little bit (and) didn't have
that late life, that action over the plate like we've seen from him recently.
Gonzalez allowed just one hit through the first three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth. Shin-Soo Choo doubled leading
off the inning and later scored along with LaPorta when
Kelly Shoppach
's grounder went between the legs and under the glove of third baseman
Bobby Crosby
for an error.
Trevor Crowe
added an RBI single to cut the A's lead to 6-3 but Suzuki homered in the fourth and Oakland added another run in the fifth
to pull away.
Crowe and
Jamey Carroll
, who singled in Shoppach in the eighth, had two hits apiece for the Indians.
Notes: Oakland OF Matt Carson singled to right in the fifth for his first major league hit. He finished 2 for 4. ... Suzuki
has 79 RBIs and is attempting to become the first catcher to lead the A's in that category since
Frankie Hayes
in 1944 when the club was still in Philadelphia. ... Indians CF
Michael Brantley
walked twice and has reached base safely in 16 of 17 games since being called up from the minors on Sept. 1.
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