A's rally, clobber Baez for 8-5 win



The Tribe led 5-0 after seven innings.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Flawless bullpen work bought time for the Oakland Athletics to find their hitting stroke.
Eric Byrnes hit a tie-breaking RBI single in a five-run ninth off Cleveland closer Danys Baez as the Athletics avoided a three-game sweep with an 8-5 victory Sunday.
"What a comeback," Oakland manager Ken Macha said. "The purpose of a bullpen is to not let a game turn into a blowout."
Relievers Chad Bradford, Jim Mecir and Keith Foulke (2-0) combined for 10 strikeouts and allowed only one of Cleveland's final 16 batters to reach base -- on a sixth-inning error by second baseman Mark Ellis.
Held hitless for six innings by Indians starter Brian Anderson and with just nine hits over the first 25 innings of the series, the Athletics had 12 hits in the final two innings.
"Their guy was a half-step away from a no-hitter," Macha said. "Then we got one big hit after another. This is a huge lift."
Five-run ninth
With the A's trailing 5-3, Erubiel Durazo doubled to open the ninth and scored on Ellis' one-out single. Following a single by Terrence Long, pinch-hitter Chris Singleton tied it with a single.
"Our bats had been switched off and we did something to switch them on," Singleton said. "I just wanted to do something positive, a walk, a base hit, anything. If I hit into a double play, it's all over."
Byrnes then singled to right-center to give Oakland a 6-5 lead and extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
"They hit the ball everywhere," said Baez, who was seeking his third save in three days. "It's tough, but I have to learn. I feel very bad for my team."
More runs
Carl Sadler replaced Baez (0-4) and gave up an RBI single to Scott Hatteberg and an RBI groundout to Miguel Tejada.
Baez gave up five hits and five runs, while retiring only one batter, to blow his third save in 11 chances.
Foulke struck out four in two innings of hitless relief and kept the Indians from winning three straight for the first time this season.
Anderson didn't allow a hit until Ellis opened the sixth by lining a double past a diving Casey Blake at third base.
The left-hander got a standing ovation when he left after yielding four straight one-out singles and one run in the eighth. He allowed five hits and three runs overall.
"I didn't think I lost that much in the eighth," Anderson said. "My velocity and location were the same. They made some adjustments and hit some good pitches."
Reliever Jason Boyd came on with the bases loaded and yielded two more runs on a sacrifice fly by Byrnes and Hatteberg's RBI single.
Cleveland scored twice in the first, and made it 5-0 in the fifth, helped by one of three Oakland errors.
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