Orioles Hit 3 Homers, Beat Athletics 4-0
BALTIMORE (AP) -- J.J. Hardy, Luke Scott and Adam Jones hit solo homers, Chris Jakubauskas pitched five shutout innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat Oakland 4-0 Tuesday night to stretch the Athletics' losing streak to a season-high eight games.
Jones had three hits for the Orioles, who will try to complete a three-game sweep Wednesday night. Baltimore had lost eight straight series to Oakland since July 2007.
Hardy and Scott connected against Guillermo Moscoso (2-2), and Jones made it 3-0 in the sixth with a drive off Michael Wuertz. Mark Reynolds added an RBI double in the seventh against Craig Breslow.
Oakland's skid is its longest since an eight-game slide from Sept. 27, 2009, to April 5, 2010. The A's are 5-15 since May 17. Making his major league debut, Oakland second baseman Jemile Weeks went 0 for 4 in the leadoff spot. Weeks, the 12th overall pick in the 2008 draft, had his contract purchased from Triple-A Sacramento before the game. He is the younger brother of Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks.
Jakubauskas (1-0) came into the game with a 6.39 ERA over five appearances, all in relief. He was pressed into duty because the Orioles are carrying only four starters and were playing for a fifth straight day.
It was Jakubauskas' first start since April 24, 2010, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that game, the right-hander was struck in the head by a liner off the bat of Lance Berkman in the first inning and carted off the field.
This time, Jakubauskas had a two-hit shutout in the fifth inning when Cliff Pennington smacked a line drive that hit the pitcher on his left ankle. After consulting with trainer Richie Bancells and manager Buck Showalter, Jakubauskas took a few warmup tosses and finished his outing by retiring Weeks for the third out.
Clay Rapada retired two batters in the sixth, Jeremy Accardo worked 2 1-3 innings and Koji Uehara got the final three outs to complete the five-hitter.
Before the game, the Orioles learned that it will be at least two more weeks before leadoff hitter Brian Roberts can resume baseball-related activities. Roberts received the news in a consultation with concussion specialist Dr. Michael Collins in Pittsburgh.
Robert Andino and Felix Pie had been used atop the order in Roberts' absence, but Showalter decided to give Hardy a try "out of necessity."
The move paid immediate dividends. After a first-pitch strike, Hardy hit his first career leadoff homer, a drive to left that provided Baltimore with a lead it would not relinquish. Scott hit his seventh homer of the season -- the first since May 3 -- leading off the fifth. The drive traveled an estimated 418 feet and landed on Eutaw Street beyond the 25-foot wall in right field.
Moscoso allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. Coming into the game, he had not given up a home run this season over 14 innings.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)