Kouzmanoff, Cahill lead A's to 3-2 win over Cards

[June 21, 2010]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Kevin Kouzmanoff had a season-high four hits, including a home run, and Trevor Cahill threw six strong innings to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

The A's snapped a four-game losing streak with their second win in nine games.

Matt Holliday hit two home runs for St. Louis, which went 4-2 on the six-game homestand. Holliday was 8 for 12 in the series with four home runs and eight RBIs.

Cahill allowed four hits and two runs in six innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.

Closer Andrew Bailey recorded four outs for his 13th save in 16 opportunities. He got Albert Pujols to fly out with runners on first and third to end the eighth.

Kouzmanoff, who broke out of an 0 for 9 slump coming in, ripped his seventh home run off St. Louis starter Jeff Suppan in the fourth to give Oakland a 1-0 lead.

A's pinch-hitter Mark Ellis snapped a 2-2 tie with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly that scored Conor Jackson.

Craig Breslow (2-1) picked up the win with 1 2-3 innings of hitless relief. Blake Hawksworth (1-4) took the loss.

Jackson and Kouzmanoff started the eighth inning rally with back-to-back singles with one out. Ellis then hit his sacrifice fly off reliever Trever Miller.

Suppan allowed seven hits and two runs in 4 2-3 innings in his second start for St. Louis.

Oakland outfielder Rajai Davis broke a 1-1 tie with a fielder's choice to right field that brought in Landon Powell in the fifth. Powell opened the inning with a double off the glove of center fielder Colby Rasmus and went to third on a single by Cliff Pennington. Cahill bunted into a fielder's choice before Davis hit a hard drive to Ryan Ludwick in right. Ludwick fielded the ball on one hop and forced Cahill out at second as Pennington scored.

Pennington had three hits for Oakland.

Pujols, who was 1 for 4 with two strikeouts, is hitting a league-best .349 for his career in interleague play.

NOTES: St. Louis has won 11 of 12 series at home this season. ... Oakland 1B Daric Barton has played in all 71 games, leading the AL. ... The A's are is 17-9 in day games and 17-28 at night. ... Suppan had a seven-game interleague hitting streak snapped with an 0 for 1 performance. He has 13 hits in interleague play, tied for second all-time behind C.C. Sabathia with 14. ... St. Louis C Yadier Molina, who is hitless in his last 19 at-bats, was given the day off. ... A crowd of 42,271, the 10th sellout of the season, watched the game in 90 degree temperatures.

[Associated Press]

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