Streaking A’s Get Another Victory

The younger brother and expectant father gave the Oakland Athletics everything they needed Wednesday night at Minneapolis.

Jeremy Giambi, the younger brother of American League most valuable player Jason Giambi, drove in a career-high six runs as the A’s beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-2, for their fourth consecutive victory.

Tim Hudson (11-5) scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and walking one. He will be on an airplane today to be with his wife, Kim, who is expecting their first child.

Hudson and Giambi led the A’s to their 15th victory in 19 games. The AL Central-leading Twins dropped their fourth in a row.

Jeremy Giambi set the tone by working Brad Radke for 12 pitches before hitting a run-scoring infield single in the first inning.

“That’s one you send to your minor leaguers and say, ‘This is how you battle with two strikes, gentlemen,’ ” A’s Manager Art Howe said.

“We made Radke throw about 35 pitches in the first inning. After that, you can work the count through the rest of the game and know he won’t be there at the end.”

Radke (10-6) had thrown 113 pitches when he left after 5 2/3 innings, having given up five runs and 10 hits. He is 3-5 with four no-decisions and a 4.73 earned-run average in his last 12 starts.

“They gave Radke all he could handle,” Twin Manager Tom Kelly said. “Foul off. Foul off. And then get a hit.”

Giambi had the third four-hit game of his career, his most recent coming on July 5, 2000. He has hit safely in all seven games since the all-star break. He said patience--and having his big brother hit behind him in the cleanup spot--has been the key to his recent success.

“Batting in front of Jason, they’ve been coming after me, and I’ve had a chance to drive in some runs and do some things,” Giambi said.

Cleveland 9, Chicago 4--Jim Thome hit a three-run homer to key a five-run fourth inning at Chicago.

Rookie C.C. Sabathia (9-3) leads the Indians in victories. He was helped when center fielder Kenny Lofton reached over the wall to rob Carlos Lee of a home run.

Mark Buehrle (7-5) lost for the second time in 14 starts.

He held the Indians hitless for three innings before they broke loose in the fourth.

Boston 5, Toronto 4--Trot Nixon hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning for the Red Sox at Toronto.

Billy Koch (1-3) hit Darren Lewis with a pitch leading off the ninth. Koch argued the ball hit Lewis’ bat on a checked swing, but plate umpire Jim Wolf and first-base umpire Matt Hollowell ruled otherwise.

Replays showed the ball hit Lewis’ bat.

Lewis then stole second. Koch got the next two out, but Nixon followed with his double down the left-field line, giving Boston the lead.

Seattle 2, Kansas City 0--Bret Boone’s RBI single off Roberto Hernandez with two out in the 10th inning broke a scoreless tie at Kansas City, Mo.

Starters Chad Durbin and Jamie Moyer battled for eight innings, each giving up only four hits.

Dan Wilson singled with one out in the 10th and went to second on Mark McLemore’s two-out single.

Boone then slapped an opposite-field single off Hernandez (2-3) for his league-leading 89th run batted in. David Bell added an RBI single.

The Royals have lost 12 of 14.

Moyer, who has only one win in his last seven starts, gave up one walk and did not have a strikeout. Jeff Nelson (4-1) pitched the ninth for the victory and Kazuhiro Sasaki finished for his 31st save.

New York 8-4, Detroit 5-12--Roger Cedeno couldn’t quite win the opener with his legs, but he homered twice and drove in six runs in the second game to give the Tigers a split of a day-night doubleheader at Detroit.

Roger Clemens, pitching on three days’ rest, became the American League’s first 13-game winner in the opener, despite Cedeno’s season-high three stolen bases.

In the second game, Cedeno hit a leadoff home run in the first off Ted Lilly (3-3), a three-run shot in the second inning, a double in the fifth and a two-run triple in eighth. The six RBIs are a career high.

Cedeno, who turned down a three-year, $13.5-million contract extension last week, went six for eight with six runs, six RBIs and four stolen bases in the two games.

Clemens (13-1) didn’t know he was pitching the opener until about 90 minutes before the game, when scheduled starter Adrian Hernandez got sick. Clemens volunteered to take the start a day early.