Athletics finish three-game sweep of reeling Indians
Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif.
Jarrod Parker pitched eight sharp innings while Coco Crisp homered and drove in five runs, leading the Oakland Athletics over the Cleveland Indians 7-0 on Sunday for a three-game sweep.
Brandon Moss also homered and Cliff Pennington scored three times. The A’s won their fourth in a row and moved 10 games over .500, matching their high mark of the season.
Shin-Soo Choo singled twice for the Indians, who have lost five straight on their nine-game road trip.
Parker (8-7), possibly pitching to keep his spot in the rotation following three consecutive losses, gave up six hits, struck out two and walked one. He retired 16 of his final 18 batters.
Oakland scored in four consecutive innings against starter Justin Masterson (9-11).
Crisp and the hitters provided the biggest spark but Parker’s outing was equally important. The right-hander hadn’t won since going eight innings to beat the Yankees on July 21.
Parker (8-7) didn’t allow a run despite pitching with runners in scoring position most of the afternoon. The Indians put two runners on in the second, third and sixth but Parker worked out of trouble each time.
Crisp had RBI singles in the third and sixth, sandwiched around his three-run homer off Masterson in the fifth.
Cleveland was shut out for the sixth time this season. It was so bad for the Indians that Casey Kotchman got thrown out rounding first base after his high popup fell between a pair of Oakland infielders for a single.
Masterson, who had a 1.38 ERA over his previous two starts, allowed nine hits and struck out five.
The Indians haven’t had a winning road trip since taking two of three from the White Sox in early May. They fell to 1-5 on their current trip heading into a three-game series in Seattle beginning tonight.
LATE SATURDAY
Yoenis Cespedes homered and drove in three runs, Bartolo Colon (10-9) won his third consecutive start at home and the Athletics beat the Indians 8-5 on Saturday night.
Josh Donaldson had two hits and an RBI while Crisp added two-run triple for Oakland. Carlos Santana, Shin-soo Choo and Brent Lillibridge homered for Cleveland.