| SEASON | CAREER |
| W4 | 5 |
| L3 | 6 |
| G22 | 30 |
| IP89.1 | 124.0 |
| BB22 | 49 |
| SO58 | 79 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W0 | 0 |
| L2 | 2 |
| G5 | 8 |
| IP23.2 | 28.0 |
| BB9 | 12 |
| SO19 | 24 |
Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin might be putting together his starting rotation on the fly lately, but his pitchers have rarely disappointed - especially against the Cleveland Indians .
Travis Blackley is next in line for a spot start Wednesday as red-hot Oakland seeks a fifth consecutive victory overall and a three-game sweep of host Cleveland.
Melvin has had to get creative at times with his starting rotation following the return of Brett Anderson from injury and the sudden suspension of Bartolo Colon .
It's seemed to work out well of late, with the starters posting a 2.67 ERA while the Athletics (71-57) have won eight of 10. Oakland, which is tied with Baltimore atop the AL wild-card race, beat the Indians 7-0 on Tuesday with Tommy Milone earning his 11th victory.
"Another strong pitching performance and you can always live with that," Melvin said after Milone scattered seven hits through six innings.The A's have shut out Cleveland three straight times - including a 7-0 victory Aug. 19 in Oakland - and the pitching staff has posted a 1.67 ERA against the Indians while winning six consecutive meetings after dropping the first two in the season series.
"Just par for the course. Our guys are unbelievable," said A's outfielder Brandon Moss , who homered and drove in three runs Tuesday.Blackley (4-3, 3.52 ERA), who is 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts and has also spent time in the bullpen, will look to help keep the A's rolling.
He gave up five runs over five innings of Oakland's 9-7 win over the White Sox on Aug. 11 in his last start, then came on in relief Aug. 20 and gave up a run in 5 2-3 innings of the Athletics' 7-2 loss to Minnesota.
With the starting rotation constantly in flux, Melvin considered a number of factors when choosing Blackley for Wednesday.
"We just felt like we're better off going with a guy who's more stretched out at this point," Melvin told the team's official website. "He's been really good for us in a number of roles. Not only that, but he probably deserves the start."
The left-hander's only outing against Cleveland was his third major league start in 2004, when he gave up a career-worst seven runs in two innings for Seattle.
It may not matter who is on the mound against the Indians, who have lost 12 of 13 and haven't scored more than three runs in any of their last nine games.
Cleveland (55-74), which also has lost five of six at home, is hitting .207 over the past two weeks.
"A loss is a loss," manager Manny Acta said. "Every single one of them hurts. We couldn't execute at all."The Indians will look to salvage the series finale with help from rookie starter Corey Kluber (0-2, 5.32), who still is searching for his first major league win.
Kluber gave up one run in five innings of Cleveland's 3-1 loss to the Yankees on Friday, hitting Derek Jeter in the head in the process and getting a stern reprimand from the Yankees' captain. He'd allowed four runs - all unearned - over five innings in his previous outing Aug. 18 as the Indians fell 8-5 to Oakland.
The right-hander has received one run of support in 13 1-3 innings over his last three starts.
@
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Coco Crisp | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| Cliff Pennington | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| Anthony Recker | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Eric Sogard | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Travis Hafner | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
 Oakland Athletics |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 18, 2012 | Jordan Norberto | 15-Day DL | Left shoulder tendinitis |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | Day-to-Day | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 07, 2012 | Eric Sogard | 15-Day DL | Strained back |
| August 05, 2012 | A.J. Griffin | 15-Day DL | Strained right shoulder |
| August 04, 2012 | A.J. Griffin | Day-to-Day | Sore right shoulder |
 Cleveland Indians |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 27, 2012 | Roberto Hernandez | Day-to-Day | Left game - sprained right ankle |
| August 13, 2012 | Josh Tomlin | 15-Day DL | Right elbow inflammation |
| August 13, 2012 | Jason Kipnis | Day-to-Day | Stiff neck |
| August 06, 2012 | Travis Hafner | Day-to-Day | Back soreness |
| August 06, 2012 | Travis Hafner | 15-Day DL | Lower back inflammation |
| June 30, 2012 | Lonnie Chisenhall | 60-Day DL | Fractured right ulna - out 4-6 weeks |
CLEVELAND (AP) -- After consecutive shutouts, the Oakland Athletics ' pitching staff was OK with a little offensive outburst from their teammates.
Josh Donaldson hit a three-run homer and five pitchers combined to beat the struggling Cleveland Indians 8-4 on Wednesday night.
"We did what we needed to win," manager Bob Melvin said after Oakland took over the AL wild-card lead by one game over Baltimore with its 11th win in 13 games.
"We didn't close it out in the fashion we usually do," Melvin said. "The offense was good to see. Our at-bats got better as the game went along."
Yoenis Cespedis and Josh Reddick each had three of Oakland's 15 hits as the Athletics moved to 7-0 against the Indians since April 22, outscoring them 44-14.
Travis Blackley (5-3) gave up two runs over 5 2-3 innings. Ryan Cook got four outs for his 13th save.
"Travis was little out of sync, but overall did well," Melvin said. "Our starters have gotten into a little competition. It is like, `You set the bar and I want to raise it the next day.' "
The Athletics are 8-4 in the left-hander's starts. Oakland starters are 9-2 with a 2.70 ERA over the past 13 games. Blackley walked two, extending the starting staff's streak of two or fewer walks to 25 games.
"They have a very good pitching staff," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "They're tough. We can see why they're playing the way they are playing."
Donaldson connected off rookie Corey Kluber (0-3) in the fourth for a 3-2 lead. Shoddy fielding by the Indians, losers of 13 of 14, helped Oakland later extend the lead.
Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was ejected in the first by plate umpire Gary Darling, who took exception to the All-Star arguing a called third strike. The whiff made Cabrera 4 for 36 (.111) in his last 10 games.
"Everybody knows (Darling) missed the pitch," Acta said. "What's hard is we spent a lot of time today talking to Cabrera about his struggles as of late because he's been chasing a lot of pitches out of the zone and how he has to be more patient. He worked a tremendous at-bat there and the guy missed the pitch."
Cleveland, scoreless in 52 of its last 57 innings, scored more than three runs for the first time in 10 games.
Jason Donald 's homer in the third broke the Indians' 24-inning scoreless streak, but they fell to 5-26 since July 27. It was the Indians' first run against the Athletics in 29 innings. They hadn't scored against them since the ninth inning of an 8-5 loss in Oakland on Aug. 18.
Ezequiel Carrera then tripled and scored on a groundout by Jason Kipnis .
Donaldson made it 3-2 in the fourth, hitting a two-out, 3-2 pitch for his third homer.
"My first thought was fastball," Donaldson said. "He had shown me all his breaking balls. He hung one and I was able to hit it out."
Kluber's defense deserted him in the sixth. With Reddick on first with a one-out infield single, the right-hander got Donaldson to ground to third. Jack Hannahan fielded the ball and threw to second to start a possible double play, but his toss went through second baseman Donald's legs, putting runners on first and third. Donald was charged with the error for failing to get the low but accurate throw.
Derek Norris followed with an RBI grounder to first baseman Matt LaPorta , who stepped on first for the out. LaPorta turned to throw to second for an inning-ending double play, but instead held the ball before throwing home, too high and too late to get Reddick sliding in.
Seth Smith doubled home a run and scored on Carter's single in the seventh to make it 6-2.
Cleveland got two unearned runs in the eighth after an error by Donaldson at third.
"It was one of the weirdest things I've ever had happen to me on the field," he said after the ball slipped out of his glove on a rundown play.
Kluber struck out a career-high seven without issuing a walk over six innings.
NOTES: Indians RHP Jeanmar Gomez worked one scoreless inning after being recalled from Triple-A Columbus when OF Shelley Duncan was designated for assignment. Duncan had exactly 11 homers and 29 runs in each of his three years in Cleveland. ... Indians 3B Lonnie Chisenhall , out since June 30 (broken right forearm), could begin a minor-league rehab assignment this weekend. ... Oakland 3B Brandon Inge , out since Aug. 12 (sprained right shoulder), may not be recalled from his rehab until rosters are expanded Saturday. ... Indians RHP Roberto Hernandez threw 35 pitches in a bullpen session and is set to start Saturday against Texas. He left Monday's start with a sprained right ankle. ... There were 366 dogs in the stands on tickets bought by fans for a "Puppypalooza" promotion.
.
Oakland Athletics