AL ROUNDUP : Bullpen Fails A’s in 5-4 Loss to Twins

The Oakland Athletics’ bullpen, a patchwork of castoffs and rookies that has struggled to keep the team in the playoff chase, fell apart at the seams Wednesday.

The Minnesota Twins scored three times on bases-loaded walks in a five-run seventh to prevail, 5-4, at Oakland, further dimming the A’s eroding playoff hopes.

The A’s remained five games behind the Boston Red Sox in the American League wild-card race and 5 1/2 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West.

“It was a tough one because we handed it to them. They didn’t even have to swing the bat,” A’s Manager Art Howe said. “We just couldn’t find the strike zone. It was just a tough day for the bullpen.”

The Twins scored all of their runs with two outs in the seventh, an inning in which the A’s used five pitchers. An Oakland error, a hit batsman and four walks led to the Minnesota runs.

Jacque Jones and Matt Lawton had run-scoring singles in the inning, while Marty Cordova, Ron Coomer and pinch-hitter Brent Gates all walked with the bases loaded against Tim Worrell and Buddy Groom. The Twins were down to their last strike five times in the inning.

The attendance of 9,895 brought the total for the three-game series to 22,905. The A’s drew 59,958 for a six-game homestand.

Baltimore 7, Texas 4--The victory at Arlington, Texas, was the Orioles’ 13th in a row.

Baltimore’s winning streak matches the second-longest in team history, trailing only a 14-game string from Aug. 12-27, 1973. The Orioles also won 13 in a row from May 31-June 14, 1978.

Toronto 14, Boston 9--Shawn Green hit his 40th home run and the Blue Jays combined 22 hits and five Red Sox errors at Boston.

The Blue Jays, who had lost six in a row at Boston, maintained their slim playoff hopes. They’ll be eliminated if they lose a game or the Red Sox win one.

Cleveland 9, Detroit 1--Jaret Wright gave up two hits in seven innings and Jim Thome’s two-run double keyed a four-run first inning for the Indians at Detroit.

Wright (8-9), who was winless in six starts since July 6, gave up one unearned run. He walked one and struck out eight.

New York 5, Chicago 4--Paul O’Neill walked with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, forcing in the winning run at New York.

Kansas City 12, Seattle 6--Ken Griffey Jr. hit his league-leading 48th home run, but Jermaine Dye homered and drove in four runs to lead the Royals at Seattle.