The 30-year-old Wolf was making his first big league appearance since Oct. 1, 2010, as a reliever with Oakland. He retired the first nine hitters and gave up one run with three strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Neal Cotts preserved Wolf’s lead by striking out the side with no outs and two runners on in the sixth. Joe Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for this 14th save.

Jarrod Parker (2-6) was down 3-0 just four batters into the game, but went seven innings.

Parker retired 11 of the next 12 Rangers after falling behind 3-0 and allowed six hits and five strikeouts and one walk in seven innings.

Elvis Andrus snapped an 0-for-10 slump with a leadoff single in the first, and Murphy followed with a homer about 10 rows into the lower porch in right field. Two batters later, Beltre hit his 10th of the season halfway up the lawn in center.

Wolf, who got his first big league win after 25 career relief appearances, was filling in for rookie Nick Tepesch, who was skipped because of a blister. It was the second time in three days a Texas pitcher has made his first major league start after previous stints as a reliever with other teams. Josh Lindblom lost to Oakland on Monday.

The A’s had runners at second and third with no outs in the fifth against Wolf when Andrus made a sliding catch over his shoulder on a blooper into left from Eric Sogard. Wolf then got Adam Rosales on an infield popup and Coco Crisp on a grounder.

Leury Garcia made two tough plays in the third inning. Garcia did enough to stop a tough short hop and scrambled to throw out Derek Norris by half a step, then went far to his right to get Sogard on a grounder.

Oakland scored on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Moss in the fourth.

Cotts was pitching a day after getting three outs on six pitches in his first major league appearance since May 25, 2009. He escaped more trouble in the seventh when he got Rosales on a lineout and Crisp on a foul pop with a runner at third.

Wolf spent the 2012 season in the Rangers’ system after signing a minor league deal in April. He was 1-2 with a 2.02 ERA, including a 1.85 ERA in six starts.

Notes: Rangers RHP Cory Burns was optioned to Round Rock to make room for Wolf. … Tepesch is scheduled to start Sunday at Seattle, and Yu Darvish will pitch the first game of a day-night doubleheader in Arizona on Monday. The second starter is undecided. … A’s SS Jed Lowrie didn’t start after getting hit by a pitch on his right foot Tuesday night. … Oakland OF Josh Reddick (sprained right wrist) was eligible to come off the DL Wednesday and will join the team Friday in Houston for limited batting practice.

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Now everyone can take notice of Straily, who on television before his latest start saw plenty of highlights touting Yu Darvish being on the mound.

Straily allowed only two two singles while facing 22 batters — just one over the minimum for his seven scoreless innings — and Yoenis Cespedes homered as the Athletics won their fifth straight game, 1-0 over the AL West-leading Texas Rangers and Darvish.

“My confidence was sky high to start the game,” Straily said. “The last few times out, I walked people, hit people, hurt myself. I wasn’t getting hit hard. I was hurting myself. The whole goal today was go out and fill up the strike zone.”

Darvish (7-2) struck out five, but walked three and hit a batter while giving up five hits in six innings. With the help of a couple of defensive plays, the only run he allowed came when Cespedes homered to straightaway center in the third.

Cespedes’ ninth homer went just beyond the reach of Craig Gentry’s outstretched glove. Darvish had turned and watched after the slugger took a big swing and connected.

“As soon as Cespedes hit that home run, I knew just keep it there, 1-0 our best chance,” Straily said.

“The best pitching performance we’ve seen out of him to date, in this ballpark, against a guy that’s probably not going to give up too many runs,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I think he just gained confidence as the game went along. Early in the game, he’s throwing strikes, he’s getting outs, they’re not hitting any balls hard really, and you just kind of grow from that.”

Darvish had won all five of his previous starts this season when pitching after a Texas loss. The ace from Japan had his last seven regular-season starts at Rangers Ballpark, going back to last season, and had entered the game getting a league-high 9.1 runs per nine innings pitched.

“I’ve been really pampered with all the run support I’ve been getting. You’re going to have games like this,” Darvish said through his translator.

Even with consecutive wins to start the three-game series, Oakland still trails the Rangers by 4 1/2 games in the AL West. The Athletics go for a sweep on Wednesday.

Grant Balfour pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save in as many chances this season, and his 27th in a row since April 2012, to close out Oakland’s third shutout of the season. Sean Doolittle pitched a scoreless eighth for the A’s.

Texas was held scoreless for the third time this season.

It was only the 13th 1-0 game ever at Rangers Ballpark, which opened in 1994.

A.J. Pierzynski, the Rangers catcher activated from the disabled list earlier Tuesday, had a one-out single in the third. Jurickson Profar had a single in the sixth, but the rookie was caught stealing when he took off toward second base before Straily threw his pitch.

“I think this can be a jumping off point for him,” Doolittle said of Straily. “That was pretty impressive.”

After winning his season debut April 5 with 11 strikeouts at Houston, Straily was optioned to Triple-A the next day when Bartolo Colon was reinstated from the suspended list. Straily returned in late April, and was 0-2 with an 8.84 ERA in four starts since until dominating Texas.

“I’ve never lacked confidence, but this is definitely the most confident I’ve felt out there,” Straily said.

Darvish, who raised his majors-best strikeout total to 91 in 66 2-3 innings, came out after 101 pitches. He had averaged 121 pitches his last three starts, including a career-high 130 five nights earlier against Detroit in a 10-4 victory.

“I was as usual, nothing affected from the last outing,” Darvish said. “I really begged Wash. I wanted to keep pitching.”

Notes: Rangers reliever Neal Cotts got three outs on six pitches in his first major league appearance since May 25, 2009. Texas purchased his contract from Triple-A Round Rock earlier Tuesday. The 33-year-old left-hander had ligament replacement surgery in 2009. … Oakland DH Jed Lowrie left the game with a bruise after fouling a pitch off his right foot. … 1B Daric Barton, designated for assignment Saturday when A’s outfielder Chris Young came off the disabled list, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento. … Right-hander Chris Resop also cleared waivers and was outrighted to Sacramento.

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Seth Smith homered and scored three times, Colon pitched seven strong innings for his first victory in nearly a month and the Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers 9-2 on Monday night.

Colon, who turns 40 on Friday, gave up two runs on six hits and struck out three. It was the first win for Colon (4-2) since April 23 at Boston, and he joined Bert Blyleven, Dennis Leonard and Jack Morris as the pitchers with the most wins over the Rangers at 19.

“I like to pitch here,” Colon, who has 175 wins in 16 seasons, said through a translator. “I don’t know why.”

Coco Crisp got three hits, and had the first of three straight Oakland doubles in a four-run fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. He scored when Yoenis Cespedes hit a line drive just over Adrian Beltre’s head with the third baseman playing in, and Cespedes came home on Brandon Moss’ line drive to the wall in right.

Josh Lindblom (0-1) lost in his 2013 debut and first major league start.

Lindblom was replaced by left-hander Joseph Ortiz after striking out Josh Donaldson in the fourth. Smith hit an RBI single and went to second when left fielder David Murphy dropped the ball trying to make a throw home. The error allowed Smith to score on a single by Chris Young for a 5-1 Oakland lead.

“The first four innings I was able to make pitches and work myself out of jams,” Lindblom said. “That fifth inning, I couldn’t make the pitch.”

Smith’s opposite-field homer to left for a 1-0 lead in the second was the 13th straight solo homer for the A’s, tying a franchise record set in 2007. Jed Lowrie had three hits, including one of five doubles for Oakland.

The two outs Smith made were with the bases loaded as the A’s stranded a season-high 15. Texas pitchers walked a season-high eight, although two were intentional.

Even Colon had problems with walks—by his standards. He matched his season total by walking Geovany Soto twice.

“Those don’t happen too often,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.

Top Texas prospect Jurickson Profar made his first appearance in the majors this year at second base and was immediately put to the test by Crisp, who had infield hits his first two times up despite Profar’s best efforts. The 20-year-old went far to his left to grab the first one and fielded the next almost behind the bag at second, but Crisp beat the throw both times.

Profar drove in both Texas runs without a hit, scoring Soto with a grounder in the third and Mitch Moreland with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

“The first one, we needed a groundball, he got the groundball,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “He handled his at-bats well tonight. We scored two runs, he got both of them.”

With Ian Kinsler on the disabled list because of bruised ribs, Profar is back with the Rangers after homering in his first big league at-bat as a 19-year-old last year.

“I’m feeling more comfortable in the box and on the field,” said Profar, who hit .424 during an eight-game hitting streak that included the first multihomer game of his career before getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock. “It starts from there.”

Colon was helped by three double plays in the first four innings, including a pair started by Moss at first base when he snagged hard grounders from Lance Berkman and Moreland, stepped on the bag and got the runners trying to go to second. He came out after throwing 95 pitches.

“I mean, he’s 40 and we’d like to try to get him through a season,” Melvin said. “So anything over 100 for me is starting to get a little uncomfortable for me. To give us seven, just short of 100, is terrific.”

Lindblom, who came to Texas as a reliever in the offseason trade that sent franchise hits leader Michael Young to Philadelphia, gave up seven hits and four runs in 4 2-3 innings filling in for Alexi Ogando, who’s on the disabled list with right biceps tendinitis.

The 25-year-old had 101 relief appearances over two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies but struggled in the Texas bullpen during spring training. The Rangers decided to try him as a starter at Round Rock, where he was 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA.

“Fastball command was a little off today,” Lindblom said. “I wasn’t able to command my heater in and out, which has kind of been my staple all year.”

NOTES: Rangers C A.J. Pierzynski (strained oblique) was the designated hitter in the final game of a two-game rehabilitation stint at Double-A Frisco on Monday. He went 1 for 3 with a single and is expected back in the Texas lineup Tuesday, when he’s eligible to come off the disabled list. … Athletics RHP Chris Resop cleared waivers and was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. Oakland designated him for assignment Friday.

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The A’s had just five hits and were held to two runs for the third consecutive game but made it hold up in front of a rare sellout crowd at the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s also beat Kansas City 2-1 on Friday.

Milone (4-5) wasn’t crisp and pitched with runners on base in all but one of his six innings. The left-hander allowed a run in the first inning then blanked the Royals the rest of the way to end his five-game losing streak.

Billy Butler singled twice and drove in the only run for Kansas City, which has lost nine of 12.

Moss was mired in a 4-for-30 slump before tripling over the head of center fielder Lorenzo Cain to drive in Coco Crisp, who had walked. Eric Sogard started the inning with a leadoff double and scored on Jed Lowrie’s sacrifice fly.

Oakland didn’t get much else but didn’t need it.

Milone walked three and had four strikeouts but overcame his uneven performance to win for the first time since April 15. Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle each pitched a scoreless inning of relief, and Grant Balfour worked the ninth for his eighth save.

Santana (3-3) pitched much more effectively than Milone but was denied in his third attempt at earning his 100th career victory. He allowed only three baserunners through the first five innings and gave up just four hits total but got little support.

The Royals failed to score after loading the bases against Milone with no outs in the second. They also stranded a runner at third with one out in the fourth.

Kansas City had the tying run on base in the ninth after Eric Hosmer drew a leadoff walk but Balfour retired the next three batters on flyouts.

Alex Gordon doubled with two outs in the first and scored on Butler’s bloop single to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead.

The Royals loaded the bases with no outs in the second but Milone got out of it without allowing a run. Elliott Johnson fouled out to Moss near the Kansas City dugout before Milone struck out Cain and Alcides Escobar.

Milone worked out of trouble again in the third when he gave up a leadoff double to Salvador Perez before retiring the next three batters.

Notes: Oakland OF Chris Young went 0 for 2 with a walk in his first game back from the disabled list. Young was activated before the game. … A’s 3B Josh Donaldson doubled in the second to extend his hitting streak to a career-best seven games. … To clear room for Young, Oakland 1B Daric Barton was designated for assignment. Barton hit .143 with one home run and three RBIs in eight games with the A’s. It’s the second time this season Barton has been designated for assignment. … RHP A.J. Griffin (4-3) starts the series finale for Oakland in his first career appearance against the Royals. … RHP Luis Mendoza (1-2), who pitches for Kansas City on Sunday, has a 3.48 ERA in five appearances against the A’s.

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Sean Doolittle (3-0) pitched the eighth for the win in relief of Jarrod Parker as the reigning AL West champions earned just their third victory in the last 11 games.

Oakland finally got to James Shields (2-4) in the late innings, nearly 10 months after he pitched a three-hit shutout here last July 31 for the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander matched his season high with nine strikeouts.

David Lough hit an RBI double hours after his promotion from the minors, and also made a great throw to get Brandon Moss at second as he tried to stretch a leadoff single in the fourth.

Donaldson homered leading off the seventh, tying it at 1. After that drive, Shields struck out the side on called third strikes.

Rosales then sent a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall in the eighth for his second home run.

Parker allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked two. Doolittle yielded Lough’s one-out single in the eighth but was aided by an inning-ending double play. Grant Balfour finished with a perfect ninth for his seventh save in seven chances and 25th in a row dating to last season.

Salvador Perez hit a one-out double in the third, and Lough knocked him home two batters later. But the Royals did little else in support of Shields.

After Lorenzo Cain drew a two-out walk in the fourth, Parker retired his next eight batters in order before Cain drew another free pass in the seventh.

Lough batted leadoff and played right field after his promotion from Triple-A Omaha to take the spot of center fielder Jarrod Dyson, placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle.

His two-out double in the third put Kansas City ahead. The Royals lead the majors in batting average with two outs.

The Royals stumbled in the series opener after taking two of three against the Angels in Anaheim following a three-game sweep at home by the New York Yankees.

Shields has had some memorable outings in the Coliseum, most recently that gem last summer for the Rays. That came after he was tagged for a career high-tying 10 runs in four innings — nine in the fourth frame alone — in a 13-4 loss here on July 27, 2011, during his 16-win season.

He has just one win over his last seven starts with three losses and three no-decisions. This marked just the second outing in Shields’ first nine that the opponent didn’t counter with a former All-Star.

Royals outfielder Jeff Francoeur, who last year had 20 personal pizzas delivered to a small but animated group of A’s fans above right field in section 149, stopped by a “Bacon Friday” tailgate outside the ballpark. In 2011, Francoeur tossed a ball wrapped in a $100 bill into the elevated bleacher seats above his outfield spot, instructing fans to use it to buy bacon or beer.

NOTES: Oakland OF Chris Young (strained left quadriceps) was removed from his rehab outing Thursday with Triple-A Sacramento after he experienced some cramping. Back in Oakland a day later, he worked with the strength coach on explosive bursts. He could be ready to return Saturday. “We took him out to be proactive,” manager Bob Melvin said. “If everything goes well today, we’ll activate him tomorrow.” … This marked the first of six meetings between the clubs this year. The Royals won the 2012 season series 5-4. … The Royals used the DL for the first time in season. … The A’s announced LHP and opening day starter Brett Anderson has a stress fracture in his right foot and could miss up to six weeks. He is in a walking boot, set to be re-evaluated when it comes off in about a month. “It’s pretty frustrating, disappointing and all the other similar adjectives,” Anderson said.

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Ogando (4-2) didn’t allow a hit until Eric Sogard’s leadoff double in the sixth. The right-hander won his second straight decision and earned only his second victory in seven outings since consecutive wins starting the season.

Cruz greeted reliever Jesse Chavez in the fifth with a first-pitch drive to left for his 10th homer, highlighting the Rangers’ four-run inning.

Lance Berkman hit a two-run single and Adrian Beltre added an RBI single a day after hitting a 10th-inning home run. Elvis Andrus stole his ninth and 10th bases as the Rangers won their first series in Oakland since Sept. 20-22, 2011.

Derek Norris hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth for Oakland’s first run. Coco Crisp, fresh off the disabled list, added one of his own in the seventh.

Last Oct. 3, Ogando entered in relief of the Rangers’ 12-5 loss in Game No. 162 and was tagged for four runs in the eighth inning as the A’s rallied to grab the AL West crown away from the Rangers.

Now, with the AL West-leading Rangers on a nice roll in mid-May, Ogando’s first road win in his last six outings gave Texas some momentum heading home for a key four-game series with the Tigers starting Thursday.

The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits in six innings in his majors-leading seventh road start, his second ever against the A’s and first in the Coliseum.

Cruz’s home run gave the Rangers 14 in their last six games — including three Tuesday night, two of them by Moreland.

The Rangers wrapped up a 6-3 trip, and these clubs meet again for three games beginning Monday in Arlington. Texas played its majors-high 25th road game, but begins a four-game series against AL champion Detroit on Thursday night.

After losing the series opener 5-1, first-place Texas snapped a five-game losing streak in Oakland with a 6-5 win in 10 innings Tuesday night on the way to a third winning series in the last four.

The A’s loaded the bases with one out against Rangers reliever Michael Kirkman in the seventh, but got only Crisp’s sacrifice fly.

Oakland starter Dan Straily (1-2) had his problems, too.

He plunked Ian Kinsler and Andrus back to back to load the bases with two outs in the third, then Berkman’s single up the middle gave the Rangers the lead.

Straily avoided further damage in the fourth. After consecutive one-out walks to Mitch Moreland and David Murphy, and a wild pitch that advanced them both, Straily got a pair of flyball outs to escape unscathed. He walked four and struck out two in 4 1-3 innings of his second straight losing start and fourth consecutive winless outing.

Crisp returned from a strained left hamstring and went 0 for 3 in his usual leadoff spot and playing center field.

NOTES: Rangers C Geovany Soto got a day off. … A’s LHP Brett Anderson experienced further soreness in his sprained right ankle after going through pitcher’s fielding practice Tuesday. “Brett won’t pitch tomorrow and maybe not in the foreseeable future here,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re just not past the soreness that he’s getting.” … After getting a break Wednesday, Oakland OF Chris Young (strained left quadriceps) is scheduled to play one more rehab outing Thursday with Triple-A Sacramento with the hope he will be activated from the DL on Friday ahead of a home weekend series against the Kansas City Royals. … Melvin will spend Thursday’s off day next door at Oracle Arena cheering on the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio. … Texas RHP Yu Darvish (6-1) faces Tigers ace Justin Verlander (4-3) in an anticipated matchup Thursday. The Rangers won seven of 10 vs. Detroit last year for their most victories in the season series since going 8-3 in 1998. “I’m just looking forward to beating Verlander,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. … Rangers RHP Justin Miller is scheduled to be sent on rehab assignment Friday. He is on the 60-day DL recovering from elbow ligament-replacement surgery.

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Joe Nathan gave up a run in the bottom of the 10th but escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam to snap Texas’ four-game losing streak to Oakland.

Beltre sent a 3-0 pitch from Chris Resop (1-1) to center field with one out in the 10th for his ninth homer of the year. Moreland connected two batters later, giving him three of his nine home runs in the past two games. He also hit a two-run shot in the fourth.

Nathan needed 31 pitches to nail down his 12th save in as many chances this season.

After a pair of one-out walks and a mound visit from pitching coach Mike Maddux, Seth Smith doubled in a run. Nathan intentionally walked Brandon Moss before striking out Daric Barton on seven pitches. The closer then retired pinch-hitter Eric Sogard on a first-pitch groundout to end a game that took 3 hours, 43 minutes.

Tanner Scheppers (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Nelson Cruz’s second sacrifice fly of the game tied it in the eighth against Ryan Cook.

A’s manager Bob Melvin was ejected by first base umpire D.J. Reyburn for arguing a close call on Barton’s groundout that ended the eighth, the third time the reigning AL Manager of the Year has been tossed in 2013.

The AL West-leading Rangers (25-14) bounced back a night after having their four-game winning streak snapped in a 5-1 loss Monday to the 2012 division champions, who swept Texas in the final three regular-season games last fall to steal away the West crown.

Texas also stopped a five-game skid in the Coliseum with the club’s first victory here since July 17 last year. It marked the longest home unbeaten run for the A’s in the rivalry since winning eight in a row from June 17, 2003, to April 6, 2004.

Nate Freiman hit a go-ahead double in the sixth after Luke Montz’s tying sacrifice fly, but Cook couldn’t hold a one-run lead in the eighth.

Josh Donaldson doubled twice and drove in a run among his career high-matching four hits for the A’s.

Sean Doolittle took over for A’s starter Bartolo Colon in the seventh, and Oakland nearly gave up a run after second baseman Jed Lowrie dropped Geovany Soto’s one-out popup for an error. But Doolittle worked out of it, striking out Ian Kinsler to end the inning with the potential tying run on third — the pitcher’s ninth career scoreless outing against Texas.

Colon allowed three runs and four hits in six innings, but didn’t strike out a batter in an outing of at least four innings for the first time in his 16 big league seasons. He allowed just his second walk all year in 47 1-3 innings.

Yoenis Cespedes went 0 for 5 a night after he left before the fifth inning with a stomach bug that caused him to vomit twice in the dugout bathroom.

The A’s loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth against Rangers starter Derek Holland, who allowed consecutive singles to Smith and Freiman and walked No. 9 hitter Michael Taylor. Holland then induced a double play that brought home Smith, followed by Lowrie’s RBI double.

Donaldson doubled leading off the sixth and tied the game at 3 on Montz’s sacrifice fly. Smith then singled to chase Holland, who appeared on track for a third straight win until the trouble in the fourth and fifth.

NOTES: The Rangers had three sacrifice flies all season before Nelson’s two. … Moreland became the first Rangers player with a two-homer game this season. It was his fifth career two-homer game, and first since May 17 last year against the A’s in Texas. … Lance Berkman hit his 30th career triple in his 15th big league season. … Soto is scheduled to get a break behind the plate during Wednesday afternoon’s series finale. … A’s INF Hiroyuki Nakajima, on the disabled list all season with a strained left hamstring, played for a third consecutive game in a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento. He will have Wednesday off, then play four in a row. … A’s CF Coco Crisp is set to be activated from the disabled list Wednesday after working his way back from a strained left hamstring. Fellow OF Chris Young (strained left quadriceps) will be examined in Oakland, back from his rehab assignment with the River Cats. … Oakland pitchers have begun taking batting practice ahead of interleague play at San Francisco on May 29-30. … On a night when the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and NHL’s San Jose Sharks were each playing second-round playoff games on the road, announced attendance was 12,969.

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It was Texas’ first trip to Oakland since being swept in the final three games of the 2012 regular season and coughing up the AL West title to the surprising A’s.

Griffin (4-3) went seven innings and didn’t walk a batter for the first time this season, earning his second victory in six outings since he won back-to-back appearances to start the year.

Mitch Moreland homered to give the Rangers the lead in the second, then Eric Sogard and John Jaso hit RBI singles for the A’s in the bottom half.

Griffin faced either the minimum or one more batter in each of his final five innings, helped by a pair of double plays. He improved to 3-0 in four starts against division opponents.

The right-hander got a scare when he ducked out of the way of Adrian Beltre’s sharp single up the middle leading off the seventh, and the pitcher patted his hand on his pounding heart once back on his feet. Sean Doolittle struck out the side in order on 12 pitches in the eighth.

Cespedes hit an 0-1 pitch just over the center-field wall above leaping Leonys Martin in the third. But the Cuban slugger came out of the game in the top of the fifth with a stomach illness.

The Rangers (24-14) arrived in the Bay Area having won seven of nine and began the day with the best record in the majors, but again ran into their division nemesis.

Oakland became the first team in major league history to win a division or pennant after trailing by five games with fewer than 10 to play, stunning the two-time reigning AL champion Rangers in game No. 162. Oakland trailed by 13 games on June 30.

“We’re not in here for any revenge,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “They beat us, we understand that, but there’s nothing we can do about that. … I’m not coming up in here thinking about what happened in the past. Learn from that, but that certainly isn’t fueling us. What’s fueling us is we’re healthy and we’re playing good baseball, that’s it.”

The Rangers had their four-game winning streak snapped. They haven’t won five in a row since June 26-30 last year.

Texas righty Justin Grimm (2-3) lost his third straight after receiving one extra day of rest between outings. He gave way to Joseph Ortiz after plunking Daric Barton to begin the sixth. Ortiz immediately allowed Derek Norris’ double.

Moss struck out on four pitches to start the second after fanning four times on 14 total pitches in a 6-1 loss at Seattle. Then, he connected for his sixth home run with a drive to nearly the same spot as Cespedes moments before. It marked the second time this season the A’s hit back-to-back homers, also done by Jed Lowrie and Chris Young on April 3 against Seattle.

Moss’ homer was the 7,000th in Oakland history, and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson hit the first on April 10, 1968.

Back home, Oakland looked refreshed after losing six of seven on a 3-7 road trip through New York, Cleveland and Seattle. The A’s avoided dropping a season-low two games below .500 for the first time since Game 2 on April 2.

NOTES: Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis, a former A’s prospect who had surgery last July to repair a torn flexor tendon, was examined by team doctor Keith Meister in Texas and diagnosed with mild tendinitis in his triceps. He is scheduled to throw again this weekend in Arlington and pitch his next rehab outing for Double-A Frisco as soon as Monday. … Oakland Gold Glove RF Josh Reddick is yet to swing a bat to test his injured right wrist, but hopes to do so soon. There is no tear, so he is encouraged he can avoid surgery, which he had on the left wrist two years ago. … A’s CF Coco Crisp (strained left hamstring) ran, hit and shagged flies. If all goes well, he will be activated from the disabled list Wednesday. Fellow OF Chris Young (strained left quadriceps) went 1 for 5 with a home run in an extended spring training game, but didn’t feel that good. He is set to play again Tuesday. “He wasn’t 100 percent,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Probably a little bit of soreness.” … Announced attendance was just 11,030, a far cry from those lively sellouts to end last season. … Texas SS Elvis Andrus stole his eighth base in the ninth.

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Iwakuma (4-1) took a one-hitter into the sixth inning before running into trouble, putting together another impressive outing to help cement himself and Felix Hernandez as one of the top rotation duos in baseball. Iwakuma has allowed five earned runs over his last five starts, and the number could have been even smaller if not for a scoring change that ended up tagging him with two earned runs against the A’s.

Iwakuma pitched ahead nearly from the start after Seattle scored twice in the first off Oakland starter Dan Straily (1-1). Seattle broke the game open with Ibanez’s three-run homer in the third inning that came with two outs.

Oakland lost its season-high fifth straight and dipped below .500 since starting the season 1-2. The A’s fell to 2-6 on their current 10-game road trip and only once has Oakland scored more than three runs.

Overshadowed by Hernandez, the ace of the Mariners staff, Iwakuma has been nearly as solid this season. He’s pitched at least six innings in seven of eight starts despite being bothered by a lingering blister on his pitching hand, and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any start.

Iwakuma gave up a solid leadoff single to right field to John Jaso and then was unhittable for the next five innings. He set down 15 straight with remarkable ease, through a combination of broken bats, weak groundballs and lazy flies. He struck out Yoenis Cespedes to close the first, struck out Derek Norris and Jaso in the third and retired Josh Donaldson and Daric Barton swinging to end the fifth.

Iwakuma’s streak finally ended at 16 straight retired when Eric Sogard reached on an infield single — originally ruled an error — with one-out in the sixth inning. His groundball bounced off the arm of shortstop Brendan Ryan and Sogard reached without a throw. Jaso followed with a bloop single, and the A’s finally got to Iwakuma on Jed Lowrie’s two-out, two-run double into the right-field corner. Lowrie had just one RBI in his previous 17 games before the double.

The scoring change cost Iwakuma a chance to have his ERA dip below Hernandez’s for the best in the American League. Instead, Iwakuma’s ERA rose from 1.61 to 1.74. He gave up four hits, struck out nine and walked none. Tom Wilhelmsen pitched the ninth for his 10th save.

Making just his fourth start, Straily struggled to get through five innings, but didn’t get help from his defense starting in the first inning that led to two runs. Kendrys Morales’ chopper to left side bounced past both third baseman Josh Donaldson and Lowrie at shortstop to put runners at the corners with one out instead of a possible inning-ending double play. Michael Morse followed with an RBI single and Justin Smoak lined an RBI double to give Iwakuma an early lead.

Seattle’s runs in the third also came thanks to a fortunate bounce. Seager reached on an infield single that spun awkwardly off the end of his bat. Straily gave up a two-out walk to Smoak that proved costly when Ibanez turned on a 1-1 pitch for his third homer of the season and first since April 14.

NOTES: Seattle improved to 16-8 this season when its starting pitcher works at least six innings. They are 1-11 when the starter fails to get through six. … Seager scored three of the four times he reached base. … Oakland’s Derek Norris hit a solo homer, his first of the season, in the eighth off Seattle reliever Oliver Perez.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

There was a small group who differed: the umpires.

“Probably the only four people in the ballpark,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.

Rosales’ apparent homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Chris Perez was ruled a double by umpires—even after a video review—Wednesday night, giving Cleveland a 4-3 win over the Athletics, who left Progressive Field feeling robbed.

“Our whole team thought it was the wrong call,” Rosales said. “The replays showed it hit the railing. With six eyes on it (three umpires), you would have thought they’d make the right call.”

With the Indians leading 4-3, Rosales sent a drive off Perez that appeared to clear the left field wall by several feet and clanged off a metal railing. However, second base umpire Angel Hernandez called it a double, and the crew concurred with the original ruling after three umpires left the field to review the videotape.

When the umpires returned and told Rosales to stay at second, Melvin sprinted onto the field and was immediately ejected by Hernandez.

“Everybody else said it was a home run, including their announcers when I came in here later,” a miffed Melvin said. “I don’t get it. I don’t know what the explanation would be when everybody else in the ballpark knew it was a home run.”

“Clearly, it hit the railing. I’m at a loss, I’m at a complete loss,” Melvin added.

Perez initially thought the ball hit the yellow line above the 19-foot-high wall and dropped. But after watching a replay in the clubhouse, he was convinced the Indians got away with a win.

“Coming back in here, I saw different, “ Perez said. “Off the bat, I thought it was a homer. It sounded like a homer. Luckily, the call went in our favor. I don’t think I’ve ever been on the other side of a replay like that.

“It’s part of the game and we’ll definitely take it,” Perez said

Hernandez told a pool reporter there was not enough clear proof to overturn the original call.

“It wasn’t evident on the TV we had it was a home run,” Hernandez said. “I don’t know what kind of replay you had, but you can’t reverse a call unless there is 100 percent evidence and there wasn’t 100 percent evidence.”

Perez wound up loading the bases before getting the final out as the Indians won for the ninth time in 10 games.

Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana homered for Cleveland, which improved to 12-4 since April 20.

Following the game, a few Indians players scrambled to find a remote so they could turn up the TV volume and hear Melvin’s comments.

“If it hit the pad, it would have just hit the pad and come down softly,” Melvin said. “Clearly there was a ricochet.”

Under Major League Baseball rules, once the replay is requested and the review is made, the call stands.

Adam Rosales #17 of the Oakland Athletics hits an apparent home run called a double during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on May 8, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Athletics 4-3. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Before the umpires returned to the field, Perez seemed resigned that he had blown the lead. Indians manager Terry Francona, too, checked his scorecard perhaps thinking about some moves he might have to make because the game was now tied.

As the umpires emerged from watching the video, Rosales leaned off the bag at second ready to resume his home run trot. He never got started.

With the umpires satisfied they got the call correct, the A’s were forced to try to tie it another way.

They nearly did as Perez hit Eric Sogard and John Jason walked after a nine-pitch to load the bases. But Perez got Seth Smith to hit a comebacker and ran the ball to first base and stepped on the bag to end the controversial ninth.

“Wet ground, the way the game had been going, I made sure he (Smith) wasn’t gaining on me,” Perez said, smiling. “It’s a lot easier to go over there myself.”

Before the dramatic finish, the Indians trailed 3-0 until scoring twice in the fifth and getting the homers from Swisher and Santana off A.J. Griffin (3-3) in the sixth.

Justin Masterson (5-2) allowed three runs in seven innings and got his second career win over Oakland.

Cleveland is 12-4 since April 20 and three games over .500 for the first time this season. The Indians will try to sweep the four-game series on Thursday.

The aching A’s fell to 6-13 against the AL Central and East. They are 13-3 inside their own division. Oakland has seven players on the disabled list, including three outfielders.

Down 3-2 in the sixth, Swisher and Santana connected off Griffin and the Indians held on to improve to 7-1 on this homestand. About the only thing that isn’t climbing for Cleveland is the attendance. The Indians are averaging just 14,411 fans per game—last in the majors.

With one out in the sixth, Swisher launched his fourth homer into the right field seats. He was still slapping hands with some teammates, when one out later, Santana ripped his seventh homer over the center-field wall, a shot that had the excitable Swisher doing a little dance in Cleveland’s dugout.

It was the 10th time this season that Cleveland, which leads the AL with 46 homers, has hit two homers in one inning.

Masterson continued Cleveland’s run of stellar starting pitching. In the last nine games, Indians starters are 8-1 with a 2.64 ERA.

NOTES: The Indians will re-evaluate OF Michael Bourn’s status following his game with Triple-A Columbus. Bourn has been on the disabled list since April 15 after slicing open his right index finger and needing stitches. He could be activated for this weekend’s series in Detroit. “We’ll do whatever is in his best interest,” Francona said. … Melvin believes RHP Jarrod Parker is on track to make his next start Saturday despite a chronic sore neck. He left Monday’s start after five innings—and giving up four homers. “It’s something he’s worked through before and my guess is he’ll work through it again,” Melvin said. … A’s LHP Brett Anderson (sprained ankle) threw a bullpen session that Melvin said went well. Anderson will go on a rehab assignment before he’s activated. … The A’s released LHP Jordan Noberto to make room on the 40-man roster for Barton.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

McAllister, Rich Hill and Chris Perez limited the highest-scoring offense in the majors to six hits and did not allow a runner to reach second base.

McAllister (3-3) struck out four and walked one in 7 2-3 innings. The right-hander was pulled after John Jaso’s two-out single in the eighth. Hill then retired pinch-hitter Luke Montz to end the inning and Perez pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

Tommy Milone (3-4), who lost a career-worst fourth straight start, was done in by shoddy defense and no run support. The Indians managed only five hits, but errors by first baseman Brandon Moss and second baseman Eric Sogard on the same play in the fifth led to the only run, which scored on Yan Gomes’ sacrifice fly.

The Athletics have scored a total of five runs during Milone’s losing streak after putting up 28 in his first three outings. The left-hander struck out five and walked none in seven innings.

Yoenis Cespedes singled with one out in the ninth, but was thrown out trying to steal second by Gomes. Moss struck out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.

The unusual fifth inning started when Carlos Santana’s ground ball glanced off Moss’ glove and rolled to Sogard, whose throw to Milone covering first was wild. The ball skipped past Oakland’s dugout and rolled behind home plate. Santana ended up at second and Moss and Sogard were charged with errors.

Santana moved to third on Mike Aviles’ single and scored on Gomes’ sacrifice fly to deep center.

The inning took another strange turn when Aviles broke for second and was caught off first by Milone’s throw. Sogard appeared to tag Aviles, but second base umpire Paul Nauert ruled the runner was safe. Aviles was credited with a stolen base.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin angrily argued the call with Nauert and gave a disgusted wave to first base umpire John Tumpane on his way off the field, but he wasn’t ejected.

McAllister retired the first seven hitters before Sogard beat out an infield hit. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera circled to the ball and his long throw pulled Santana off the bag at first, but Sogard beat the play.

Milone sent down the first six hitters before Ryan Raburn doubled to lead off the third. Raburn took third on a groundout, but was stranded when Gomes grounded out and Drew Stubbs struck out.

Jason Kipnis started the fourth with a double, but his bid to steal third went awry when he broke too early from second. Instead of throwing to the plate, Milone threw to third baseman Josh Donaldson, who tagged Kipnis. Nick Swisher singled with two outs, but Mark Reynolds hit into a fielder’s choice.

McAllister threw a 1-1 pitch at Donaldson’s feet with two outs and nobody on in the second. Donaldson glared at McAllister over the pitch, which could have been a response to Reynolds being hit by Jarrod Parker following two home runs by the Indians on Monday.

Oakland outfielder Josh Reddick, in a 3-for-27 slump and batting .152, missed the game with a sore right wrist.

NOTES: OF Michael Bourn (lacerated right index finger) played his first rehab game at Triple-A Columbus, going 1-for-3 with a walk, two strikeouts and a stolen base Tuesday. … OF Michael Brantley, who started 28 of the first 29 games, wasn’t in the lineup against Millone. Drew Stubbs batted leadoff for the third time this season and Mike Aviles started in left field. … Indians manager Terry Francona said a scan of RHP Vinnie Pestano’s sore elbow came back clean. Pestano was placed on the disabled list Monday, retroactive to May 1. … OF Ezequiel Carrera, designated for assignment Sunday, cleared waivers and was sent outright to Columbus. … Athletics RHP Jarrod Parker (sore neck) will throw Wednesday and a decision will then be made on whether he makes his next start. He was pulled after allowing four home runs in five innings Monday because of the injury. … LHP Brett Anderson (sprained right ankle) will join the team in Cleveland and throw a bullpen session Wednesday. … RHP A.J. Griffin (3-2) takes on RHP Justin Masterson (4-2) in the third game of the series Wednesday.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Jason Kipnis and Cabrera hit consecutive homers in the first inning off Jarrod Parker (1-5). In the fifth, Cabrera homered again and Reynolds launched a 460-foot shot — his 10th this season — that nearly cleared the left-field bleachers.

The four homers backed Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2), who had his second straight solid outing. Jimenez struck out a season-high eight in 5 2-3 innings as Cleveland won for the seventh time in eight games.

Jason Giambi hit a clutch, two-run single and Ryan Raburn doubled home a run in the seventh for the Indians, who had their six-game winning streak stopped Sunday.

Yoenis Cespedes homered and hit a sacrifice fly for the A’s, who had won eight in a row over the Indians.

Jimenez pitched seven shutout innings in his previous start last week at Kansas City. It was the type of performance the Indians have been waiting to see from the right-hander, who has been a major disappointment since coming over in a 2011 trade from Colorado.

“It flew past encouraging and went right to exciting,” Indians manager Terry Francona said before Jimenez faced the A’s.

Jimenez wasn’t as dominant, but he was good enough to slow down the A’s, who came in leading the majors in runs, doubles and extra-base hits. Jimenez allowed two runs and four hits.

Jimenez was helped by the long ball as Cleveland clouted the four solo shots — they lead the AL with 44 homers — totaling 1,581 feet off Parker.

The Indians gave Jimenez a quick 2-0 lead, jumping on Parker in their first at-bat as Kipnis and Cabrera hit their back-to-back homers.

Kipnis hit his third homer into the left-field seats, and Cabrera followed with a rocket that skipped off the roof of Cleveland’s bullpen in center. One out later, Parker drilled Reynolds and plate umpire Angel Hernandez warned both benches before things escalated.

Jimenez didn’t need to buzz any Oakland hitters. He was too busy blowing fastballs past them. He recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in the third, when he fanned the side.

Cespedes connected in the fourth for his sixth homer to bring the A’s within 2-1.

Jimenez, though, who has had a tendency to unravel at the first sign of trouble, settled down and struck out three in a row and carried a tenuous one-run lead into the bottom of the fifth.

That’s when Cabrera and Reynolds teed off on Parker. Cabrera led off with his second homer of the night, a high fly that looked like a routine out but carried over the right-field fence.

One out later, Reynolds delivered a no-doubt-about-it blast that landed three rows from the top of the left-field bleachers. Reynolds’ long homer caused several Indians players to lean over the dugout railing and point to where they thought the ball touched down.

The A’s pulled within 4-2 in the sixth on Cespedes’ sacrifice fly and loaded the bases with two outs before Francona pulled Jimenez for Nick Hagadone. The left-hander, recalled before the game when Vinnie Pestano went on the 15-day disabled list, struck out Josh Reddick on three pitches.

After looking at strike three, a disgusted Reddick flipped the bat behind his head and was shooed into the dugout by Hernandez, who probably had every right to toss him.

Giambi and Raburn gave the Indians come cushion with their two-out hits in the seventh.

NOTES: Raburn was chosen the AL’s Player of the Week after batting .591 with four homers and nine RBIs in five games. “Awesome,” said Raburn, who signed with Cleveland as a minor league free agent in January. … Pestano will be out at least 10 days with elbow tendinitis. …. The A’s are 13-3 against the AL West and 5-12 against everyone else. … Oakland LHP Brett Anderson, on the DL with a sprained ankle, could rejoin the team in the next few days to throw a bullpen session if he continues to progress. … Indians CF Michael Bourn had the first game of a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus rained out. He has been on the DL since slicing open his right hand on a dive into first last month. As long as there are no setbacks, the plan is to recall Bourn for this weekend’s series in Detroit. … A’s OF Seth Smith is in a 3-for-18 slump and has been battling tonsillitis. Oakland manager Bob Melvin praised Smith for playing sick. “I was just trying not to shake his hand, I didn’t want to get it,” Melvin joked. “He’s a tough guy.”

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Hughes fired eight shutout innings of four-hit ball for his first win of the season, leading the New York Yankees past Colon and the Oakland Athletics 4-2 on Saturday.

Chris Stewart and Lyle Overbay went deep against Colon, sending the A’s to their only loss in his six starts this year. Hughes (1-2) struck out nine and outpitched his former New York teammate for his first victory since Sept. 20 against Toronto.

“Two homers and a bloop hit, so he didn’t pitch poorly,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said about Colon. “For the most part, that’ll keep you in a game and give you a chance to win.”

Travis Hafner and Brett Gardner each had an RBI single for the Yankees, who bounced back from a 2-0 loss to A.J. Griffin in the series opener and improved to 7-2 on their 10-game homestand.

Oakland has dropped 10 of 15 after opening the season 12-4. The A’s, who had won six of eight against New York, are 13-3 against AL West teams and 4-11 vs. everyone else.

Colon (3-1) gave up three runs and six hits over 5 1-3 innings in his shortest start this season. The 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner, who pitched for the Yankees in 2011, has walked only one in 37 1-3 innings.

“His two-seamer was riding pretty good when it was down, but I think it was just a couple of spots missed,” catcher John Jaso said. “His off-speed stuff was awesome.”

Hughes, hit hard while losing his first two starts of the season, turned in his fourth consecutive strong outing. This one was probably the best of the bunch.

Showing late life and plenty of zip on his heater, Hughes struck out five in the first three innings and induced a double-play grounder in the fourth. He retired Jed Lowrie with two on to end the fifth and fanned Yoenis Cespedes with a 93 mph fastball to begin the sixth.

“He was attacking the zone with his fastball. He was getting ahead with it and he was able to use it to put guys away, too,” Stewart said. “We didn’t throw too many off-speed pitches. Kind of mixed them in there when we needed to, to get them off balance. But for the most part it was just pounding with the fastball.”

Hughes shut down an Oakland offense that began the day leading the majors in runs (164) and extra-base hits (105). The 26-year-old righty walked two against a team that entered with 142 bases on balls — 25 more than any other team.

“Better fastball than we’ve seen from him. Had a tough time laying off the high fastballs,” Melvin said. “Started working for him, and he stuck with it.”

Hughes threw 82 of 118 pitches for strikes. Shawn Kelley gave up a leadoff single in the ninth and Oakland scored twice with Mariano Rivera on the mound in a non-save situation before he finished the six-hitter.

“I feel like I’m kind of clicking right now,” said Hughes, who can become a free agent this fall. “I’m just happy that I’m starting to find my stride and hopefully we can maintain what I’m doing throughout the course of the season.”

Robinson Cano opened the sixth with his 344th career double, tying Mickey Mantle for eighth place in Yankees history. Cano later scored when Hafner blooped a single well beyond a drawn-in infield.

That made it 3-0 and ended Colon’s afternoon. Eduardo Nunez tripled off Chris Resop in the seventh and scored on Gardner’s two-out single.

Stewart, batting ninth, led off the third with a drive to left for his sixth major league home run. Overbay sent Colon’s first pitch of the fifth into the second deck in right for his fifth of the season and third in six games.

“When hitters know the pitchers throw a lot of strikes, they’ll be ready to swing,” Colon said through a translator.

One day after Adam Rosales hit a leadoff homer for the A’s, Jaso nearly duplicated the feat. His drive was caught by a leaping Ichiro Suzuki at the right-field fence.

Josh Reddick made a similar play for Oakland — in almost the same spot — against Gardner in the third.

Reddick went 0 for 3 with a walk and an RBI. He has one hit in his last 22 at-bats and is 0 for 33 in 11 career games at the current Yankee Stadium.

NOTES: Oakland put OF Chris Young (strained left quadriceps) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 30, and recalled OF Michael Taylor from Triple-A Sacramento. Taylor is likely to get playing time against left-handed pitching, Melvin said. … LHP Andy Pettitte (3-2, 3.86 ERA) starts Sunday for New York against RHP Dan Straily (1-0, 6.35) in the series finale. The 40-year-old Pettitte was roughed up by last-place Houston in a 9-1 loss Monday. He earned his first major league win against the A’s in June 1995 and is 11-6 with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts against Oakland.

The team says Taylor took a redeye flight to New York and is available for Saturday’s game against the Yankees.

Young was injured during Monday night’s 19-inning victory over the Angels and was placed on the DL retroactive to April 30. He is batting .172 with four homers and 15 RBIs in his first season with Oakland.

The 27-year-old Taylor, once a highly touted prospect, was hitting .329 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 18 games with the River Cats. He went 0 for 6 with the A’s last month, and manager Bob Melvin says he is likely to get playing time against left-handed pitching.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Derek Norris hit an RBI single in the sixth inning to help Oakland open its 10-game road trip with its fourth win in five games.

Griffin (3-2) serenaded his teammates in the visiting clubhouse with guitar and song in English, Spanish and French before preparing for his sixth start of the season. Coming off two losses in which he allowed 11 earned runs and 13 hits in 11 innings, Griffin was smooth on the mound, too.

The Yankees had two runners on base only once, in the third inning, and Griffin needed only nine pitches in the each of the fourth through sixth innings. He struck out four, walked one and was removed for Sean Doolittle after Gardner’s bunt single to start the eighth.

Grant Balfour got the final out for his fourth save this season and 22nd in a row since blowing one on April 29, 2012, securing Oakland’s first nine-inning shutout of the year.

Rosales was batting leadoff for the first time in his career because Coco Crisp is on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He hit an 89 mph fastball from Sabathia (4-3) deep into the to left field stands.

The A’s didn’t threaten again until the fifth, when Nate Freiman, who had three hits, and Rosales singled. But Seth Smith hit a lazy fly to left field for the second out. Robinson Cano kept it a one-run game when he ranged far behind second base to field Jed Lowrie’s bouncer and threw across his body to just nip Lowrie at first to end the inning. A’s manager Bob Melvin briefly let his objection to the call be known to first base umpire Chris Conroy, filling in for Tim McClelland, who was delayed.

The Yankees lost for just the second time in eight games on a 10-game homestand. They mustered only six hits in Joe Girardi’s 1,000th game as a big league manager.

With Joba Chamberlain having gone on the disabled list before the game with an oblique strain and David Robertson unavailable this series because of soreness in the area where the knee meets the hamstring, Girardi was counting on Sabathia to go deep in the game. He was at 93 pitches through five innings, though, and showed signs of fatigue in the sixth.

Yoenis Cespedes walked leading off and went to third base on a line drive by Josh Donaldson that right fielder Ichiro Suzuki appeared to lose in the lights. Suzuki stopped tracking the ball as it zipped by and hit off the wall. Donaldson was nailed trying to stretch at second base for the first out.

Sabathia gave up eight hits and two runs in six innings. He walked two and struck out six.

NOTES: Oakland INF Hiro Nakajima (strained left hamstring) was scheduled to play seven innings for Triple-A Sacramento on Friday night. … Yankees CF Curtis Granderson (broken right forearm) worked out on the field at the team’s complex in Tampa, Fla., but the extended spring training game was canceled by weather. … The Yankees announced Robertson would be their spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project. …. The Yankees purchased the contract of RHP Preston Claiborne from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. … Freiman is married to LPGA Tour player Amanda Blumenherst.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

C.J. Wilson (3-0) remained undefeated despite walking a season-high five hitters. He allowed two runs on six hits in 6 1-3 innings. Wilson struck out five and stranded six Oakland runners in scoring position.

Josh Donaldson, Nate Freiman and Luke Montz each had an RBI double for the A’s, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Adam Rosales also drove in a run.

Tommy Milone (3-3) gave up four runs on seven hits over seven innings. He did not walk a batter and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts. Milone has lost three consecutive starts.

Kendrick gave the Angels a 1-0 lead when he homered over the center field fence with two outs in the second.

Donaldson and Freiman hit back-to-back doubles to give the A’s a 2-1 lead in the third but J.B. Shuck singled in a run to tie it in the fifth.

Trout led off the sixth with a home run and Trumbo hit a ball off the top of the out-of-town scoreboard one out later. It was originally ruled a double but following a television review he was awarded the home run.

Trout tripled to center — Yoenis Cespedes slipped on the warning track — and scored on Luis Pujols’ sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it 5-2.

Michael Kohn walked a hitter to lead off the eighth and was replaced by Scott Downs, who got an out and then gave up Montz’s RBI double and Rosales’ run-scoring single before exiting the game with an injury to his right side.

Closer Ernesto Frieri came in to record the final five outs for his fourth save in five chances.

The Angels avoided being swept by the A’s in Oakland for the first time since June 29-July 1, 2004.

The A’s lost for the first time in 23 games against the Angels when scoring at least four runs.

Frieri hit Cespedes to open the ninth but Hank Conger threw him out trying to steal. After Donaldson walked, Monday night hero Brandon Moss came up as a pinch hitter and flied out to left field.

Frieri walked Josh Reddick but got pinch hitter Eric Sogard to foul out.

NOTES: OF Coco Crisp (strained left hamstring) and LHP Brett Anderson (sprained right ankle) were both placed on the 15-day DL before the game. … Montz and RHP Dan Straily were recalled from Triple-A Sacramento to fill their spots on the 25-man roster. … The Angels recalled RHP Ryan Brasier from Triple-A Salt Lake City to replace LHP Michael Roth, who was optioned to Double-A Arkansas following Tuesday night’s loss. … RHP A.J. Griffin (2-2, 4.65) gets the start for the A’s when they open a 10-game road trip with the New York Yankees on Friday night. … The Angels send RHP Joe Blanton (0-4, 7.09) to the mound at home Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles. … The Angels used 18 pitchers in April, the most since August of 2000 and the most ever for April. … The A’s and Angels played a combined 10:11 in the first two games of the series, an Oakland record for a two-game stretch.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

One night after outlasting the Angels 10-8 in a 19-inning classic that lasted 6 1/2 hours, the A’s had a few problems defensively but looked just fine at the plate while beating Los Angeles for the fifth consecutive time this season.

Jarrod Parker (1-4) pitched into the seventh inning and Derek Norris scored twice for Oakland, which has won 13 straight against AL West teams.

Mike Trout drove in four runs and Mark Trumbo homered for the second straight game for the Angels. Los Angeles fell to 9-17, the worst start in franchise history.

The Angels are 0-5 against Oakland for the first time since 1990.

Playing in his third game since coming off the disabled list, Cespedes had an RBI double in the fourth, a two-run triple in the fifth and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

The A’s are 3-0 since getting their cleanup hitter back. Before his return, Oakland had dropped eight of nine.

Unlike Monday’s game in which the teams combined to use 16 pitchers, neither manager had to go too deep into the bullpen despite shaky outings from both starters.

Parker allowed four runs and walked three while the Angels’ Garrett Richards (1-2) gave up seven runs in 5 2-3 innings.

Both teams were also sluggish on defense early.

Oakland committed two errors in the third inning leading to the Angels’ first run. J.B. Shuck reached on an infield single and went to second when third baseman Josh Donaldson threw wildly to first. Erick Aybar’s groundout moved Shuck to third and he scored when shortstop Adam Rosales made a throwing error on Trout’s grounder.

Los Angeles returned the favor in the fourth.

Cespedes doubled in Smith and went to third when Aybar’s throw home bounced past catcher Hank Conger and went to the backstop. Aybar was activated from the disabled list before the game.

Cespedes then scored on a wild pitch by Richards to put Oakland ahead 2-1.

Trout put the Angels in front 3-2 with a two-run double in the fourth. Shuck reached on a one-out infield single and Aybar also singled before Trout hit a line drive just inside the third base line.

Richards, a reliever at the start of the season, couldn’t make it hold up.

John Jaso hit an RBI double in the fifth to drive in Norris with the tying run. After Rosales walked, Cespedes tripled off the wall in left-center to give the A’s a 5-3 lead.

Oakland loaded the bases in the sixth to chase Richards. Nick Maronde’s wild pitch allowed Norris to score from third, and Smith followed with his bases-clearing double to right that made it 9-3.

Parker threw in the A’s bullpen to stay warm during the top of the sixth but left after giving up a leadoff walk to Aybar in the seventh.

Evan Scribner, Sean Doolittle and closer Grant Balfour pitched the final three innings for Oakland.

Trout hit an RBI triple off Scribner and scored on Albert Pujols’ groundout. Trumbo — whose mammoth home run a night earlier still had Coliseum security guards buzzing 24 hours later — followed with his fifth of the season, a solo shot that cut the gap to 9-6.

Eric Sogard singled leading off the eighth for Oakland and scored on Cespedes’ sacrifice fly.

NOTES: Trout has 14 RBIs over his last 13 games after driving in just two through the Angels’ first 13 games. … The Angels placed OF Peter Bourjos (left hamstring strain) on the 15-day disabled list and optioned LHP Michael Roth to Double-A Arkansas. The team also selected the contract of OF Scott Cousins from Salt Lake. … Scribner was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento before the game when Oakland optioned RHP Dan Straily to the minors. … Angels INF Alberto Callaspo (right calf strain) could come off the DL as early as Thursday. … Los Angeles RHP Jared Weaver (left elbow) is playing catch every day but there is no timetable for when he’ll get back on a mound. … A pair of lefties square off in the series finale. C.J. Wilson (2-0), who has a career ERA of 3.70 against the A’s, pitches for the Angels while Tommy Milone (3-2) goes for Oakland.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

And, of course, not every sports fan stayed up to watch.

“No, I didn’t,” John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew. “But I saw the highlights of it this morning.”

“It’s good it wasn’t like a kid having a birthday party there last night, on a school night,” Madden joked. “And what if the kids wanted to stay?”

Only a handful of most hardiest of fans stayed until the end among the original 11,000 or so at the game.

The game lasted so long, the A’s went through all their pitchers and outfielder Seth Smith was on tap to pitch the 20th and 21st inning if the game had continued.

“That’s why in baseball they call them (the head coaches) managers … they have to manage all those things.”

“You never know what’s gonna come in extra innings … you have to be able to manage it through its entirety.”

Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Moss hit his second home run of the night with two outs in the bottom of the 19th inning to give Oakland a 10-8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels early Tuesday in the longest major league game of the season.

“It was a crazy game and I’m glad it’s over,” Moss said. “That was exhausting, it really was.”

The teams were on the field for 6 hours, 32 minutes in a marathon game that ended at 1:41 a.m. on the West Coast. By time, it was the longest game ever played in Oakland—and the longest in Angels history.

Oakland slugger Yoenis Cespedes singled off the left-center wall against closer Ernesto Frieri to drive in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Los Angeles went ahead 8-7 in the 15th on Brett Anderson’s bases-loaded walk to J.B. Shuck, but the A’s tied it in the bottom half on Adam Rosales’ two-out single off Jerome Williams after a costly error by Angels first baseman Albert Pujols.

Pujols homered twice earlier in the game and finished with four hits and three RBIs. Mark Trumbo also went deep for the Angels and added a two-run double.

As the game dragged on deep into the night, fans who remained in the scattered crowd of 11,668 chanted the names of Oakland’s radio announcers, Ray Fosse and Ken Korach. One player in the Angels dugout wore a rally cap folded in half, with the bill sticking straight up like a mohawk.

But it was the A’s who finally pulled it out on Moss’ two-run shot.

“It’s one of those things where you just want to quit, but at the same time you don’t want to lose so you’re not going to quit,” Moss said. “You just keep fighting through and keep hoping they throw a ball into your bat. I don’t even know how I hit it. I was so late on everything after the 10th inning on. If it was thigh-high or up I couldn’t catch it, so I was just trying to get anything down in the zone. Both teams tonight battled so hard.”

Seth Smith drew a leadoff walk from Barry Enright (0-1) in the 19th and, two outs later, Moss drove an 0-1 pitch to right for his fourth homer of the year.

Josh Hamilton jumped at the fence, but the ball sailed well beyond his reach.

“You’re always going to have your share of frustrating games over the course of a season. This one was extremely frustrating,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Everybody gave it everything they had. It’s frustrating when you don’t put the outs together to hold the lead.”

Enright, normally a starter, was called up from the minors Thursday and was making his first big league appearance of the season.

“It was a changeup,” he said. “He swung through the first one and I wanted to make it more down but it hooked over the middle. I was trying to extend the game and I made a bad pitch.”

Jerry Blevins (2-0) worked 1 2-3 scoreless innings for the victory.

It was the longest game in the majors since the Pittsburgh Pirates won 6-3 in 19 innings at St. Louis on Aug. 19 last year, according to STATS. But it wasn’t the only baseball marathon of the night.

The Miami Marlins beat the New York Mets 4-3 in 15 innings in a game that took 5 hours, 31 minutes, and ended about 12:45 a.m. on the East Coast.

Turned out, that was a breeze compared to what the Angels and A’s had in store.

And all that baseball took a toll on both teams.

Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos was removed with a strained left hamstring and is headed to the disabled list. Third baseman Luis Jimenez came out with a bruised left shin.

Oakland lost center fielder Coco Crisp to a strained left hamstring and outfielder Chris Young to a strained left quadriceps.

Brett Anderson was originally scheduled to start for the A’s but was scratched with a sore right ankle in favor of Dan Straily. Anderson entered to start the 13th and pitched 5 1-3 innings before hobbling off the field with an apparent foot injury.

Blevins, the last reliever in the Oakland bullpen, was given as much time as he needed to warm up. He retired Mike Trout and Pujols to end the top of the 18th inning.

“Good game to win, bad game to lose,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “I mean, we exhausted everything we had obviously. Blevins probably has one more inning, then you might be looking at Seth Smith on the mound.”

Moss hit a solo homer in the sixth and the A’s scored four times in the eighth, two on Josh Donaldson’s single, to close the gap to 7-6.

Angels reliever Jerome Williams did not allow an earned in six innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out two.

Tommy Hanson pitched six strong innings for Los Angeles, allowing two runs and five hits. He walked one and struck out a season-high six in his first start since being activated from the bereavement list.

Called up to fill in for Anderson, Straily lasted 4 2-3 innings. He gave up six runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out six.

Pujols homered for the first time in three weeks, when he also hit two at Texas on April 7, a span of 74 at-bats. He had three hits in his previous 31 at-bats.

Hanson pitched for the first time in 10 days. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 11 before allowing a run in the fourth.

Pujols homered with two outs in the first and Trumbo led off the second with his fourth of the season. He hit it with such force—the drive was estimated at 475 feet—that every A’s player remained stationary, not even bothering with a cursory glance.

John Jaso’s RBI single brought the A’s to 2-1, but the Angels rallied for four runs in the fifth, with Pujols and Hamilton driving in runs and Trumbo knocking in two with a double. Pujols homered again in the seventh.

Bourjos went 0 for 4, was hit by a pitch and added a sacrifice bunt, ending his 10-game hitting streak. He was injured running out the bunt in the 10th.

“It (stinks) to play this long into the night and come out on the wrong end,” Bourjos said.

NOTES: Angels INF Erick Aybar (bruised left heel) had two hits, a double and a home run, in his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Salt Lake. … RHP Mark Lowe (neck strain) and INF Alberto Callaspo (tight right calf) will start a rehab assignment with Inland Empire on Tuesday. … RHP Garrett Richards (1-1, 3.65 ERA) starts Tuesday night for the Angels against RHP Jarrod Parker (0-4, 8.10), whose four losses match an Oakland record for April. … Donaldson was chosen AL player of the week. … Pujols had his 46th career multihomer game. … RHP Jesse Chavez was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento to make room for Straily. … Joe Rudi, in 1972, was the last A’s player to end a game with a home run in the 19th inning. … There were 138 at-bats and 589 pitches thrown.