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 The Oakland center fielder warmed up with a sharp single in the
third inning, then lined a bases-loaded triple in the fourth,
sparking the Athletics to a 6-2 victory over the New York Mets at
the O.co Coliseum.
The A's snapped their season-worst, five-game losing streak.
"It's been tough," said Crisp, who had six hits in his previous 46
at-bats before Tuesday. "I haven't been hitting well at all. I'm
trying to figure out some things to try to be successful with
whatever I'm dealing with."
Left-hander Scott Kazmir pitched six strong innings for his
career-high 14th victory, and right fielder Josh Reddick launched a
two-run homer for Oakland.
The A's (74-51) remained a half-game behind the first-place Los
Angeles Angels in the American League West and six games ahead of
the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners for the top spot in the
wild-card race. Oakland won for just the second time in the past
nine games, and it was in desperate need of a huge hit to get
untracked.
With the bases loaded and the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the
fourth, Crisp delivered, drilling a triple down the right field line
off Mets right-hander Dillon Gee.
"That was big," A's closer Sean Doolittle said. "It seems like over
the last week or so, we were a hit like that away from winning some
ballgames and having some better outcomes. Hopefully that's one of
those things that can kind of jumpstart everybody."
Kazmir (14-5) allowed one run and four hits over six innings,
striking out six and walking three. Kazmir avenged a loss he took
against the Mets at Citi Field on June 24 when he gave up eight hits
and a season-high seven runs in only three innings.
He threw 25 pitches in the first inning Tuesday and 105 for the
game.
"I had to change my game plan a little bit," Kazmir said. "I had to
get them off the fastball a little bit. Threw a lot of off-speed
early in the counts. If I had a little bit better feel for it, I
think maybe I would have cut down the pitches a little bit."
Reddick made it 6-2 in the eighth with his ninth home run of the
season, sending right-hander Gonzalez Germen's first pitch over the
right field fence after Norris walked. Norris went 2-for-4 with a
double and scored twice. First baseman Stephen Vogt and second
baseman Alberto Callaspo each had two hits for the A's.
Gee (4-6) lost his career-high fifth consecutive decision, giving up
four runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.
"I lost command of my breaking ball for a couple of innings," Gee
said. "That really hurt me. It's difficult and it's frustrating. All
I can do is try and take the positives out of this, keep working
hard and try to turn it around."
Designated hitter Travis d'Arnaud hit a solo home run for the Mets
(59-68), who totaled seven hits and snapped their
franchise-high-tying streak of five games with four or fewer.
Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless eighth and Doolittle a scoreless
ninth for the A's. The Oakland closer allowed a hit but struck out
three.
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In the top of the fourth inning, d'Arnaud blasted a leadoff home run off
Kazmir over the right-center-field wall, going the opposite way and
giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. The home run was d'Arnaud's 11th of the
season and fourth in his past 11 games. He has eight home runs since
being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 24, including a three-run
shot that night off Kazmir in a 10-1 Mets victory at Citi Field.
"D'Arnaud going to right field, that was nice to see," Mets manager
Terry Collins said. "We've talked about that. He has power that way."
The A's answered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Vogt
started the rally by grounding an opposite-field single to left with one
out. Norris lined Gee's first pitch down the left field line for a
double, moving Vogt to third, and Reddick walked, loading the bases. Gee
gave up a sacrifice fly to Callaspo, as the A's pulled even, then walked
shortstop Eric Sogard, reloading the bases.
Crisp drilled Gee's belt-high, 90 mph fastball into the right field
corner, clearing the bases.
NOTES: Struggling RHP Jason Hammel's turn in the rotation will be
skipped Friday when the A's open a three-game series against the Los
Angeles Angels. The A's have an off day Thursday, which allows manager
Bob Melvin to skip Hammel and line up RHP Sonny Gray, LHP Jon Lester and
LHP Scott Kazmir for the series. Hammel will rejoin the rotation during
the three-game series at Houston that begins Monday. ... Mets RHP
Bartolo Colon was placed on the bereavement list before Tuesday's game
against Oakland. Colon was a late scratch Monday against the Cubs when
he returned to the Dominican Republic to be with his ailing mother,
Adriana, who died that night. RHP Gonzalez Germen was recalled from
Triple-A Las Vegas to take Colon's roster spot. ... Bud Selig, who is in
his final season as baseball's commissioner, made a stop Tuesday night
at the Coliseum during his farewell tour. Selig said he is frustrated
that the A's, unlike 22 other major league teams during his tenure,
weren't able to build a new stadium. "I'd like to resolve the issue like
we did everywhere else," Selig said. "This is unique in that you have
two teams that have dissimilar opinions," he said of Oakland and the San
Francisco Giants, who are using their territorial rights to block the
A's from moving to San Jose.
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