Athletics avenge loss with 12-4 rout

Wednesday night Cleveland had pounded Oakland 14-3.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- This time, the Oakland Athletics produced the decisive big inning and provided an offensive show.
What a different team than one day earlier.
Nick Swisher drove in three runs with two doubles and the A's scored five times in the first inning, splitting a two-game series with Cleveland by beating the Indians 12-4 Thursday.
Cleveland turned a nine-run seventh Wednesday night into a 14-3 rout of the A's, who had their five-game winning streak snapped with that defeat.
Tribe walks 11
They quickly bounced back with their bats, patiently working counts and drawing 11 walks.
"It shows the character of this team coming back from the whipping last night," said Swisher, off to a sensational start in his second big league season with a .330 average, 10 home runs and 28 RBIs.
Eric Chavez drove in three runs with an RBI single, an RBI double and a sacrifice fly. Adam Melhuse hit a two-run double in the first for the A's, whose big day on offense helped fill-in starter Kirk Saarloos to his first win of the year in his first 2006 outing as part of the rotation.
Hafner homers again
Indians slugger Travis Hafner homered to center leading off the ninth for his fourth homer in four games and 11th of the season. He has a seven-game hitting streak and is batting .393 with the four homers and 14 RBIs during that stretch.
Mark Kotsay had two RBIs, including one on a bases-loaded walk after Cleveland reliever Guillermo Mota walked the first four batters of the seventh.
Bobby Crosby hit a two-run double in the seventh, becoming the last starter on both teams to reach base. Mark Ellis and Swisher -- who got aboard in all five plate appearances -- drew three walks each and Jay Payton had two free passes and doubled.
First start for Saarloos
Saarloos (1-0) allowed one run and eight hits in five innings, struck out five and walked two in an impressive start only six days after coming out of the bullpen to earn his first career save at Kansas City. It didn't hurt that the A's put up their second-most runs of the season behind the 13 they scored in a rout at Kansas City last Sunday.
"I did that in college as well. Whatever the team needs, you try to be available," Saarloos said of changing roles. "They got eight hits, but minimal damage was the big thing."
Chad Gaudin pitched four innings for his first major league save.
Tribe's standouts
Grady Sizemore hit a solo homer in the eighth for his second of the season and Ronnie Belliard had three hits and drove in a run for the Indians, who continue their eight-game road trip this weekend in Seattle having lost four of six. Victor Martinez singled twice, extending his streak for reaching base safely to 43 games dating to last Sept. 17.