Hernandez, Cavan Biggio lead Dodgers past A's
OAKLAND -- Kiké Hernandez had two doubles and two RBIs and Cavan Biggio added a run-scoring single as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2 on Sunday and snapped a streak of six road series losses.
Dodgers rookie starter River Ryan allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks in 4 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old right-hander did not figure in the decision and remained unbeaten through three career starts.
Alex Vesia (2-3) struck out two batters in the seventh inning and earned the victory. He was one of five Los Angeles relievers who combined for six strikeouts and no walks in 4 1/3 innings of one-hit ball. Anthony Banda pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save in his second opportunity.
Evan Phillips entered in relief of Ryan and inherited a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the fifth inning. He struck out Brent Rooker looking to end the threat.
Rooker hit his 28th homer of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning, for Oakland, which had won five of its last eight games going into Sunday.
Oakland's series loss snapped a run of 4-0-1 in its previous five series against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Los Angeles Angels (twice) and Houston Astros, with a split of a two-game set with San Francisco.
Oakland starter Osvaldo Bido (2-3) allowed three runs, two earned, in six innings with six strikeouts and three walks.
Hernandez's two-out, two-run double in the top of the first inning scored Gavin Lux and Teoscar Hernandez and gave Los Angeles an early lead. He added a double in the sixth inning.
Oakland tied the score at 2 when Rooker turned on first-pitch fastball from Ryan for a 429-foot homer that also scored JJ Bleday, who had singled.
The Dodgers scored the go-ahead run in the third inning when Biggio singled in Jason Heyward, who reached on a one-out single and took second on Lawrence Butler's throwing error.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: 1B Freddie Freeman could rejoin the team in Los Angeles this week after leaving the team due to a family emergency, manager Dave Roberts said. Freeman's 3-year-old son, Maximus, is suffering from Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, and returned home after eight days in the hospital, the All-Star and his wife said in a social media post Sunday.
UP NEXT
Athletics: LHP JP Sears (8-8, 4.53) will open a series against the Chicago White Sox in Oakland. Sears is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in two career starts against Chicago. RHP Jonathan Cannon (1-5, 4.11) starts for the White Sox, who lost their 20th consecutive game Sunday, the majors' longest skid in 36 years and one short of the American League record.
