A's Tailspin Continues With 4-0 Loss In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (CBS/AP) - J.J. Hardy, Luke Scott and Adam Jones hit solo homers, Chris Jakubauskas pitched five shutout innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat Oakland 4-0 Tuesday night to stretch the Athletics' losing streak to a season-high eight games.
Jones had three hits for the Orioles, who will try to complete a three-game sweep Wednesday night. Baltimore had lost eight straight series to Oakland since July 2007.
Hardy and Scott connected against Guillermo Moscoso (2-2), and Jones made it 3-0 in the sixth with a drive off Michael Wuertz. Mark Reynolds added an RBI double in the seventh against Craig Breslow.
Oakland's skid is its longest since an eight-game slide from Sept. 27, 2009, to April 5, 2010. The A's are 5-15 since May 17.
Making his major league debut, Oakland second baseman Jemile Weeks went 0 for 4 in the leadoff spot. Weeks, the 12th overall pick in the 2008 draft, had his contract purchased from Triple-A Sacramento before the game. He is the younger brother of Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks.
Jakubauskas (1-0) came into the game with a 6.39 ERA over five appearances, all in relief. He was pressed into duty because the Orioles are carrying only four starters and were playing for a fifth straight day.
It was Jakubauskas' first start since April 24, 2010, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that game, the right-hander was struck in the head by a liner off the bat of Lance Berkman in the first inning and carted off the field.
This time, Jakubauskas had a two-hit shutout in the fifth inning when Cliff Pennington smacked a line drive that hit the pitcher on his left ankle. After consulting with trainer Richie Bancells and manager Buck Showalter, Jakubauskas took a few warmup tosses and finished his outing by retiring Weeks for the third out.
Clay Rapada retired two batters in the sixth, Jeremy Accardo worked 2 1-3 innings and Koji Uehara got the final three outs to complete the five-hitter.
Before the game, the Orioles learned that it will be at least two more weeks before leadoff hitter Brian Roberts can resume baseball-related activities. Roberts received the news in a consultation with concussion specialist Dr. Michael Collins in Pittsburgh.
Robert Andino and Felix Pie had been used atop the order in Roberts' absence, but Showalter decided to give Hardy a try "out of necessity."
The move paid immediate dividends. After a first-pitch strike, Hardy hit his first career leadoff homer, a drive to left that provided Baltimore with a lead it would not relinquish.
Scott hit his seventh homer of the season—the first since May 3 -- leading off the fifth. The drive traveled an estimated 418 feet and landed on Eutaw Street beyond the 25-foot wall in right field.
Moscoso allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. Coming into the game, he had not given up a home run this season over 14 innings.
(Copyright 2011 by CBSSan Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services may have contributed to this report.)
