Athletics Finish Sweep Of Rangers Behind Strong Chavez Outing
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Jesse Chavez allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings, Eric Sogard matched his season total with three RBIs on Wednesday night and the Oakland Athletics completed a three-game sweep with a 12-1 rout of the sloppy Texas Rangers.
Yoenis Cespedes had two doubles, scored twice and drove in two runs for the A's, who scored 10 runs combined in the third and fourth innings to answer a three-game sweep by the Rangers in Oakland last week.
The Rangers matched a season high with four errors, including one of two by shortstop Elvis Andrus on what could have been an inning-ending double play in Oakland's seven-run third.
Chavez (2-0) walked one and struck out eight, allowing only Prince Fielder's soft line-drive single to right-center field in the first inning.
Robbie Ross (1-2) gave up 11 hits and 10 runs in 3 1-3 innings, the shortest outing of the left-hander's first season as a starter. Just six runs were earned because of Andrus' second error in Texas' fourth straight loss.
Alberto Callaspo and Derek Norris had three hits each among a season-high 17 for Oakland. Two of Norris' hits were infield singles on choppers to Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre and played big roles in Oakland building a 10-0 lead.
The burly catcher hustled to beat Beltre's throw for the fifth straight Oakland hit in the third. An inning later, Craig Gentry scored as Beltre's throw skipped past Fielder for an error, and right fielder Alex Rios was charged with an error trying to get Cespedes at home when his throw went to the backstop.
Andrus, who went 0 for 2 and has one hit in his past 28 at-bats, had his other error in the first inning when his throw went several feet over Fielder's head on a routine grounder by Josh Donaldson.
Cespedes had a two-run double for a 3-0 Oakland lead in the third before the first of Norris' infield hits. Callaspo followed with an easy grounder to Andrus, but the ball went between his legs into center field. Sogard later made it 7-0 with a two-run single and added an RBI single in the fourth.
Coco Crisp hit his third homer of the season, a solo shot to right field in the sixth for a 12-0 lead. It was the only homer of the series in a ballpark that's never had a three-game set without at least one home run.
Texas ended the shutout in the eighth when Josh Wilson's double off reliever Luke Gregerson scored Leonys Martin.
NOTES: A's RHP A.J. Griffin had elbow ligament replacement surgery in Houston on Wednesday, becoming the second Oakland starter lost to the season-ending procedure this year. Jarrod Parker underwent the same surgery before the season. ... Rangers manager Ron Washington said Shin-Soo Choo would return to LF on Friday at the Los Angeles Angels. Choo was DH for the second straight game after being out of the starting lineup for a week with a sprained left ankle. ... Josh Reddick walked in the third to snap Ross' streak of 21 1-3 innings without a walk.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.