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A's sweep Giants at home for 1st time in 5 years

May 24, 2010 - 12:04 AM By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer

OAKLAND, Calif.(AP) -- Bruce Bochy could take some solace in seeing more competitive at-bats from his slumping San Francisco Giants.

Still, that doesn't make getting shut out for the second straight day any easier to accept.

Jake Fox hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning and the Oakland Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the Giants in the Bay Bridge Series with a 3-0 victory Sunday.

The Giants, held to one run all series, stumbled to their season-high fifth straight loss despite Bochy shaking up his lineup in an effort to get out of this rut.

"It's really, really tough. It's frustrating," catcher Bengie Molina said. "It's very sad. Every day we go out there and don't score and this pitching staff pitches the way they do, it's a waste."

Adam Rosales led off the seventh with a single against Jonathan Sanchez (2-4), Mark Ellis sacrificed and Fox followed with the double. Kurt Suzuki and Ryan Sweeney each singled in an insurance run in the eighth.

Oakland swept San Francisco for the fourth time in the last 10 series between the clubs and first at the Coliseum since June 24-26, 2005. The A's earned a three-game sweep in San Francisco in 2008.

This marked the second straight pitcher's duel of the series after Oakland's Gio Gonzalez beat Matt Cain 1-0 on Saturday. Cain pitched a complete game and Oakland managed only an unearned run to win.

Sanchez received no run support for the fifth time in his nine 2010 starts.

"It's kind of hard when you're battling out there to win games for the team," Sanchez said. "We're going through a tough time. We have to come back Tuesday and the guys will start hitting. You've got to leave it in the past."

Ben Sheets struck out eight in six scoreless innings but left with the game scoreless. The A's $10 million ace faced the minimum through three, allowing Pablo Sandoval's two-out single in the first only to get the slugger on a caught stealing.

Michael Wuertz (1-0) relieved and pitched the seventh for the win. Andrew Bailey pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances.

"My arm is right, my eyesight is right and it feels like I'm starting to make adjustments in time instead of too late," said Sheets, who missed all of 2009 recovering from elbow surgery.

The Giants had two opportunities to bunt with a man on second and no outs following leadoff walks, in the fourth and seventh. Freddy Sanchez struck out in the fourth and Juan Uribe did so in the seventh. Bochy felt strongly about Sanchez's chances and said Uribe didn't face a favorable count with two strikes.

Oakland, meanwhile, took advantage of a similar situation to score its first run.

Bochy shuffled guys around to try to get the unproductive Giants offense going at last.

"We didn't get a run today - can't say that worked," Bochy said.

Andres Torres batted leadoff and Aaron Rowand dropped down to the sixth hole. Molina had the day off before his pinch-hit single in the seventh that ended an 0-for-17 funk.

"It feels good to get one," he said.

Bochy plans to stick with Torres at the top of the order.

Torres drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, then stole his sixth base. But San Francisco missed a chance to take the lead. Torres moved to third on Sandoval's flyout, then Aubrey Huff walked before Ellis made a leaping catch at second on Uribe's sharp liner to end the inning.

A's manager Bob Geren was ejected by first base umpire Greg Gibson in the seventh for arguing a foul tip call on Uribe that catcher Suzuki appeared to catch on the fly. Geren got in Gibson's face and yelled from close range down the first base line, past the dirt and into shallow right field before turning around and leaving - one of the most animated scenes of his managerial career.

It was his first ejection of the year and seventh of his career. A wild pitch then advanced Huff from first following a leadoff walk and Uribe struck out on the next pitch.

New A's center fielder Coco Crisp was held out of the lineup with a minor strain of a chest muscle the A's hope will heal in a couple of days. Crisp returned from the disabled list Friday night after being sidelined with a broken left pinkie finger. He drove in three runs in his first two games back.

NOTES: Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt felt a sharp pain in his left hamstring in the eighth and came out of the game. He was set to have an MRI Monday. ... Rosales made his first career appearance in LF. ... Injured A's RHP Justin Duchscherer headed to Arizona to try to throw off a mound for the first time since being scratched from his May 15 start because of an injury to his troublesome left hip. The two-time All-Star received an injection Thursday to lubricate the joint. ... Giants RF Nate Schierholtz missed his third straight start with a bruised left shoulder but entered in the eighth as a defensive replacement. ... San Francisco opted not to skip fifth starter Todd Wellemeyer in the Nationals series, meaning he will pitch Tuesday and two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum will have one extra day of rest before his outing Wednesday. ... The game drew 35,067 fans for the A's second straight sellout and second in all.