Saenz Takes One for Athletics in Victory

Dave Burba hit Olmedo Saenz with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth to score the winning run as the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5, Saturday night at Oakland.

“The bottom line is win the game,” Saenz said. “Get the job done. Get the runner in from third base. It doesn’t matter how I get it done. I’ll take it.”

It was the Rangers’ eighth consecutive loss, the longest current streak in the majors and their most since a nine-game streak from June 6-16, 2000.

Rafael Palmeiro homered off A’s closer Billy Koch in the ninth inning to tie the score. The shot to right was Palmeiro’s 25th.

With two out in the ninth, Burba (4-5) walked Eric Chavez and Jermaine Dye. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Burba intentionally walked John Mabry to load the bases for Saenz.

Saenz was hit in the upper left side on a 0-and-1 count.

“When you lose the game and they didn’t have to hit the ball, it’s embarrassing,” Burba said. “If I was an ostrich, I’d have my head in the sand right now.”

The A’s have won nine of 11, improving to a season-high 18 games over .500.

In honor of the 1972 World Series champion Athletics, the A’s wore bright gold and green jerseys.

Several of the players from the 1972 squad were on hand, including Vida Blue, John “Blue Moon” Odom, World Series most valuable player Gene Tenace and manager Dick Williams.

Known for their infighting as well as their mustaches, the 1972 A’s beat the Cincinnati Reds in seven games to win the first of three consecutive World Series titles.

Toronto 12, Tampa Bay 10--Shannon Stewart hit a three-run homer in a seven-run fifth inning as the Blue Jays sent the Devil Rays to their 15th loss in 16 games.

Tampa Bay, with the worst record in the majors at 29-66, has lost a team-record 13 in a row on the road and seven consecutive overall. The Devil Rays have the major leagues’ longest road skid since Philadelphia dropped 14 in a row in 1997. Toronto has won four in a row and eight of nine.

The Devil Rays committed four errors for the second consecutive game, tying a season high.

Minnesota 14, Detroit 4--Bobby Kielty, playing center field in place of suspended Torii Hunter, went four for four with a home run, a triple and three runs batted in at Detroit.

David Ortiz homered twice, rookie Michael Cuddyer had his first major league home run and four RBIs, and Kielty scored four times as the Twins won their fourth in a row.

Minnesota’s Joe Mays came off the 60-day disabled list to make his first start since April 14. An All-Star last season, Mays gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings to send the Tigers to their fifth consecutive loss.

Baltimore 4, Chicago 3--Tony Batista led off the 14th inning at Baltimore with a double and scored on a one-out single by Brook Fordyce.

Gary Matthews Jr. had four hits for Baltimore, which forced extra innings with a run in the ninth and improved to 2-41 when trailing after eight innings.

It was the fifth time that Chicago lost when taking a lead into the ninth. The White Sox are a major league-worst 5-17 in one-run games.

Kansas City 7-3, Cleveland 5-5--Ellis Burks’ second homer of the game, a three-run shot in the 10th inning, led the Indians in the second game of a doubleheader, ending the Royals’ nine-game winning streak.

Brandon Berger and A.J. Hinch drove in two runs each and Runelvys Hernandez earned his first career victory as Kansas City won the opener.