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Chavez stellar as A's rout Rangers for series sweep

May 1, 2014 - 5:32 AM Arlington, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Jesse Chavez struck out eight over seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball and the Oakland Athletics smacked a season- high 17 hits to complete a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers with a 12-1 triumph on Wednesday at Globe Life Park.

Backed by a seven-run third inning, Chavez (2-0) stifled the Rangers throughout his stellar start, permitting only a single to Prince Fielder in the first and a walk to Fielder in the fourth while not allowing a baserunner to move past first.

Yoenis Cespedes and Eric Sogard drove in two runs apiece during Oakland's third-inning rally, while Derek Norris finished with three hits, an RBI and two runs scored for the A's, who outscored Texas 25-4 in the series.

Coco Crisp added a solo home run and scored twice, while Alberto Callaspo contributed three hits, an RBI and a run scored in the win.

Texas starter Robbie Ross Jr. (1-2) was reached for 10 runs -- six earned -- on 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings to absorb the loss.

"The line doesn't look like it, but I like the way he hung out there trying to fight," Texas manager Ron Washington said of Ross. "It just didn't work out."

Leonys Martin singled in the eighth and scored the lone run of the game for the Rangers, who have lost four straight and five of their last six games.

Ross held the A's to one hit over the first two frames before running into all kinds of trouble in the third.

With runners on second and third following Crisp's one-out single and Craig Gentry's ground-rule double, Josh Donaldson scorched a single to left to plate Crisp for a 1-0 lead.

Cespedes cleared the bases with a two-run double into the gap in right-center field and after Norris singled, Callaspo smacked a grounder to short that snuck past Elvis Andrus, allowing Cespedes to score for a 4-0 lead.

After Josh Reddick walked to load the bases, Norris scored on Nick Punto's fielder's choice groundout and Sogard followed with a single to left to plate Callaspo and Reddick for a 7-0 lead.

"We love continuing to get it to the next guy," Sogard said of his team stringing together hits in the third. "And if you give us extra outs, we're going to take advantage of it."

The A's added three more in the fourth, as Gentry started the frame with a single and Cespedes doubled two batters later to put men on second and third for Norris, who slapped a chopper down the third-base line. Adrian Beltre smothered the ball, but his throw to first skipped under the glove of Fielder, allowing both runners to score for a 9-0 game.

Ross then served up a single to Callaspo to spell the end of his outing, as Alexi Ogando was summoned from the bullpen to clean up the mess. Reddick then worked a walk off Ogando and after Punto flied out, Sogard drilled a single to center to score Norris for a 10-0 lead.

Callaspo stroked an RBI single to right in the fifth to make it 11-0 before Crisp cleared the wall in right-center field with two away in the sixth to give the visitors a 12-0 lead.

Josh Wilson's two-out double off Luke Gregerson in the eight scored Martin to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Oakland went 18-9 in April, marking the team's 11th consecutive winning month dating back to June of 2012, which ties for the second longest suck streak in Oakland history (July, 1989-May 1991) ... Texas second baseman Daniel Robertson singled in the ninth for his first major league hit ... Oakland has won all six of Chavez's starts this season ... The Rangers have lost six straight at home against Oakland, matching their longest home losing streak ever against the A's ... Texas has not homered in six straight games and hit just 13 homers in April, the team's fewest in any full April since 1983.