A’s Sweep Memories of Awful Start Away

After sweeping the World Series champions out of Network Associates Coliseum, the Oakland Athletics are fairly certain their season is headed back in the right direction.

Ramon Hernandez drove in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning double as the resurgent A’s defeated the New York Yankees, 8-3, Thursday for a three-game sweep and their 10th victory in 14 games.

“I think we’re back,” said Hernandez, who caught all 31 innings of the series. “It was very important we won these three games. This should be a big turning point for us.”

Oakland, which fell far behind Seattle in the American League West with a terrible start, also got some payback for New York’s three-game sweep of the A’s last month at Yankee Stadium. Those three losses ended Oakland’s miserable April, and the A’s are 10-5 since.

Miguel Tejada added a two-run double in the A’s four-run seventh inning as Oakland sent the Yankees to their fourth loss in a row.

Six players drove in at least one run for the Athletics. They reached base in every inning against Mike Mussina (4-4), who was uncharacteristically wild, and New York’s weary bullpen.

Chad Bradford (2-1), who got the victory in two scoreless innings of work, rescued the A’s from a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

Minnesota 5, Boston 3--David Cone’s abbreviated Boston debut was spoiled by Brad Radke, who became baseball’s first seven-game winner as the Twins won at Minneapolis.

Radke (7-1) pitched his third complete game in nine starts, giving up six hits--including Manny Ramirez’s 250th career home run. Radke walked none and struck out six.

Cone, making his first start in the majors since Sept. 30 for the New York Yankees, gave up two runs, two hits, four walks and hit a batter in three-plus innings. He threw only 37 strikes in 76 pitches.

Ramirez’s two-run homer in the third inning gave him a major league-leading 50 runs batted in after 40 games.

Seattle 5, Chicago 1--Ichiro Suzuki had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 22 games and Bret Boone hit a three-run homer to extend the Mariners’ winning streak to eight games with the victory at Seattle.

The Mariners swept their fifth series to improve their record to a major league-leading 31-9. They are 11-4 in May after going 20-5 in April, the most victories ever by a team in the opening month.

Suzuki had his sixth consecutive multi-hit game and 21st of the season to raise his average to .371. His streak is the longest in the majors this season.

Texas 12, Cleveland 7--Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro hit back-to-back homers in a 10-run second inning at Arlington, Texas, as the Rangers ended Cleveland’s 11-game road winning streak.

Indian starter Chuck Finley (4-3) couldn’t retire any of the six batters he faced in the second inning and had his shortest outing in nearly 10 years.

Nine straight Rangers hit safely in the inning, setting a team record while falling one short of the major league mark accomplished seven times.

Detroit 7, Baltimore 5--Robert Fick went three for four with a homer and four RBIs as the Tigers avoided a three-game sweep at Baltimore.

Fick, starting at catcher for the first time this season, hit a two-run homer in the third inning and doubled in two runs in the fifth.

Kansas City 4, Tampa Bay 2--The Royals scored twice on wild pitches by Brian Rose, including the go-ahead run in the fourth inning, as they finished a three-game sweep of the Devil Rays at Kansas City, Mo.

Tampa Bay fell to 11-29, the worst start by an American League team since the 1994 Oakland Athletics began with the same record.