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 Clevenger hit a three-run homer and Chris Tillman won his seventh
straight decision as the Baltimore Orioles completed a sweep of
their four-game series against the Oakland Athletics with a 4-2
victory on Monday night.
Baltimore (61-56) has won four straight games and Oakland (51-69)
has dropped seven in a row. The Orioles banged out 11 homers in the
series and scored 34 runs.
Clevenger played a big role in the offensive outburst during the
past few games. He was 4-for-6 in Sunday's 18-2 rout of the A's, and
his three-run blast off right-hander Sonny Gray (12-5) on an 0-2
pitch in the fourth inning on Monday night gave the Orioles the lead
for good at 3-1.
"(Gray) is a premier pitcher in the league, and that's why his
numbers don't lie," Clevenger said. "He got me down 0-2 (and) made a
really good pitch. I just put a good swing on it."
Clevenger has been hot in both of his brief stints with the Orioles
this season. The designated hitter now has a .417 average with one
homer and five RBIs in seven games in 2015, and this was Clevenger's
first home run as an Oriole and the second of the Baltimore native's
major league career.
He also serves as a third catcher, behind Matt Wieters and Caleb
Joseph, and Orioles manager Buck Showalter loves how hard Clevenger
worked at Triple-A Norfolk to make himself a better ballplayer.
Clevenger truly is catching the attention of the right people while
he's up to give the Orioles an extra catcher until Wieters comes
back from a sore hamstring -- which could be Tuesday.
"I'm real proud of the way he went down there and did what he had to
be a good option and a contributor for us," Showalter said. "It
bodes well for him. It's always a good time for someone who can
contribute like he did yesterday and today."
That proved enough for Tillman (9-7) to win his seventh straight
decision. The right-hander gave up two runs -- homers by third
baseman Danny Valencia and left fielder Mark Canha -- and three hits
in seven innings.
Tillman last lost on May 31.
Right-hander Darren O'Day threw a scoreless eighth and left-hander
Zach Britton took care of the ninth to post his 29th save of the
season.
For Oakland, Gray had given up just nine homers in 161 2/3 innings
and led the American League in ERA (2.06) coming into the game.
The right-hander allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings but just one was
earned -- and that came on catcher Caleb Joseph's RBI double that
gave the Orioles a 4-2 lead in the sixth --- because of a costly
fourth-inning error from second baseman Eric Sogard that led to
Clevenger's homer.
"They put some good swings on some balls and we just couldn't
overcome that three-run homer," Gray said. "I felt like I made a
good pitch."
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Gray had been slated to start Friday's series opener, but back
spasms pushed the All-Star back to Monday. He's now 1-3 against the
Orioles, having lost all three decision at Camden Yards.
The A's took an early lead when Valencia homered on Tillman's first
pitch of the second to give Oakland a 1-0 edge.
Baltimore took the lead thanks to three unearned runs in the fourth.
First baseman Chris Davis came up with two outs and hit a grounder
that Sogard fielded but lost momentarily.
That let Davis reach first, and he went to third when second baseman
Jonathan Schoop lined a single to right center. Clevenger then
crushed his three-run homer to right on that 0-2 pitch from Gray to
give the Orioles a 3-1 lead.
The A's lost center fielder Sam Fuld and manager Bob Melvin after
the top of the fifth. Fuld had been called out on batter's
interference -- for running out of the baseline -- when Joseph's
throw on a grounder in front of the plate hit him.
Home plate umpire Brian Knight made the call and then threw out both
when they argued again after the top of the inning ended.
The Canha homer cut the lead to 3-2, but the A's finished the night
with just three hits and ended a frustrating road trip 0-7.
"Not to be able to get a win, that's embarrassing," Melvin said.
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter said C Matt Wieters had a good
day running on Monday, and if Wieters feels good Tuesday, the
skipper would consider playing him. Wieters has been out since Aug.
11 with a strained hamstring, leaving that game in Seattle early.
... The team announced the start time of its home game with the
Royals on Sunday, Sept. 13, has been moved from 1:35 p.m. to 8:05
p.m. The game is now going to be on ESPN that night. ... Oakland
manager Bob Melvin confirmed Monday that LHP Felix Doubront will
start Tuesday's game at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with
RHP Jesse Chavez going Wednesday. ... Melvin also said he took CF
Billy Burns out of the starting lineup to give him a break. The
rookie is developing into a strong outfielder but was just 3-for-15
in the first three games of the series. He came in after CF Sam
Fuld's ejection and robbed 1B Chris Davis of a homer in the seventh
inning with a leaping catch at the fence.
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