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Ross Gives Up 3 Homers, A's Lose To Yankees

OAKLAND (CBS / AP) -- Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher hit two-run homers to help the New York Yankees win for the seventh straight time in Oakland, beating the Athletics 6-3 on Friday night.

Robinson Cano also homered and Ivan Nova (5-2) allowed three runs in seven innings to win his ninth straight road decision. The Yankees have won three straight following a stretch of six losses in seven games.

Tyson Ross (2-5) allowed the three long balls which proved to be too much for Oakland's struggling offense to overcome as the A's lost their third straight game. Josh Reddick and Kila Ka'aihue hit solo homers for Oakland.

The Yankees have overwhelmed the A's of late, especially in Oakland. Their last loss at the Coliseum came on April 22, 2010, in a game remembered for the dustup between Alex Rodriguez and Dallas Braden over A-Rod's jog across Braden's mound after a foul ball.

There were no such controversies this game as the Yankees bats show signs of waking up after scoring just 15 runs during that recent seven-game stretch. But some of their struggling high-priced stars have come through of late. Rodriguez homered twice in a win Wednesday against Kansas City to give him seven homers and Teixeira connected against the Athletics for his sixth of the season.

Home runs are a good sign for the Yankees, who are 24-11 when they go deep and winless in 10 games without a home run, and they had little trouble going deep against Ross.

Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his fourth save in as many opportunities.

New York scored three unearned runs in the third thanks to an error by center fielder Coco Crisp. Cano's drive with two outs and a man on first hit off Crisp's glove for a two-base error that scored Curtis Granderson. Teixeira followed with a drive into the seats in right field to make it 3-0.

The Yankees missed a chance to add on in the fourth when Rodriguez hit into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. The Yankees have just one hit in their last 26 plate appearances with the bases loaded.

After Reddick hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth for Oakland, the Yankees broke it open in the fifth with a solo shot by Cano and a two-run homer from Swisher to make it 6-1 and knock out Ross. Ross allowed six runs—three earned—and 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings as his struggles against lefties continued. He allowed nine hits in 15 at-bats against lefties and has allowed an AL-worst .425 average against them this season.

NOTES: The A's hope to get 3B Brandon Inge (strained right groin) back on Monday after he plays two games in Sacramento this weekend. OF Yoenis Cespedes (strained left hand) will try to take BP on the field Saturday and could start a rehab assignment next week if that goes well. ... Eric Chavez, who played with Oakland from 1998-2010, returned as a visitor for the first time. He lamented how close the A's were to winning it all in the early 2000s and then looked over at teammate Derek Jeter and said "they didn't practice that play," referring to Jeter's famous relay flip that helped the Yankees beat Oakland in the first round in the 2001 playoffs. ... Former Yankee Bartolo Colon (4-4) will start the middle game of the series for Oakland against Bay Area native CC Sabathia (5-2). ... The Yankees signed RHP John Maine to a minor league deal. Maine, a 15-game winner with the Mets in 2007, has not pitched in the majors since 2010.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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