A's beat Red Sox 6-5 in 12 innings

[April 15, 2009]  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Travis Buck barely beat out an infield single with the bases loaded and two outs in the 12th inning, scoring pinch-runner Rajai Davis to end the Oakland Athletics' 6-5 victory over the struggling Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Sean Gallagher (1-0) pitched the 12th inning for the A's in their second straight win over the Red Sox, who dropped to 2-6 in their worst start since 1996.

Jason Giambi led off the 12th with a walk from Javier Lopez (0-1) and advanced to second on a groundout by Matt Holliday, who hit a two-run double nearly four hours earlier. Lopez then walked Jack Cust and Bobby Crosby to load the bases.

Kurt Suzuki struck out, but Buck chopped a high grounder over the mound and sprinted to first, beating Dustin Pedroia's throw by an instant to end the 4 hour, 24 minute game.

Until Lopez fell apart, the previous five Boston relievers had held the A's scoreless for 10 innings after their five-run first against Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had his second sub-par start of the season after starring for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

J.D. Drew had three hits and scored two runs for the Red Sox, who have lost six of seven. Only Cleveland has a poorer record in the AL.

Matsuzaka lasted just one inning for the Red Sox before leaving with arm fatigue, giving up five runs on five hits while matching the shortest start of his career. The Red Sox faithful who packed the Coliseum grumbled with worry about Matsuzaka, the MVP of the World Baseball Classic with three victories for the champions.

Matsuzaka, who went 18-3 last year, has given up nine runs in 6 1-3 innings in his first two starts of 2009.

Oakland battered Matsuzaka after Dana Eveland barely survived his own first inning against Boston, yielding three runs on four hits. Eveland, the wizened veteran of the A's painfully young rotation with just 37 career starts, survived into the fifth inning before Mike Lowell's second RBI single tied it at 5.

Neither team really threatened to score again until the 10th, when Boston loaded the bases with two outs -- but slugger David Ortiz, who still doesn't have an extra-base hit this season, popped harmlessly into shallow right field, completing an 0-for-5 effort that dropped his average to .172.

A frigid, blustery evening with wind gusts exceeding 35 mph turned out to be ideal conditions for pitchers at the Coliseum in Oakland, where the ball carries poorly for hitters even on the prettiest nights. Yet early on, both starters were tagged repeatedly in a 41 minute first inning featuring 83 pitches.

After Drew's RBI double off the wall, Lowell drove him home, but Nick Green struck out with the bases loaded.

Five of Oakland's first six batters then reached base against Matsuzaka, with Holliday's double driving home Ryan Sweeney and Orlando Cabrera. Cust, Buck and Mark Ellis all added RBI singles before Matsuzaka got Sweeney on a grounder with his 43rd pitch.

Justin Masterson looked sharp after replacing Matsuzaka to start the second inning, giving up just two hits and striking out six during four scoreless innings.

Oakland third baseman Nomar Garciaparra also didn't make it out of the first, giving way to Crosby to start the second because of tightness in his right calf. Crosby, the former starting shortstop who's now a utility player, finally got his first hit of the season for Oakland in the seventh after an 0-for-7 start, including two strikeouts earlier in this game.

Garciaparra, who spent 8 1/2 years as Boston's beloved shortstop, was facing the Red Sox for just the second time. He homered Monday night while filling in for Eric Chavez, who's probably out until the weekend after jamming his surgically repaired shoulder last week.

Notes: Cust reached base in his 37th straight game, tying Chavez for the fifth-longest streak in Oakland history. It's also the longest active streak in the AL, nine more than Youkilis. ... Chavez, who underwent an MRI, had surgery last year to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Manager Bob Geren hopes he'll return Friday when the A's visit Toronto. ... Boston RHP Ramon Ramirez had his fourth straight outstanding relief appearance with his new team, pitching 1 1-3 scoreless innings after rescuing Manny Delcarmen from a seventh-inning jam. Ramirez, acquired from Kansas City for Coco Crisp last November, has pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings for the Red Sox.

[Associated Press; By GREG BEACHAM]

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