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Athletics complete two-game sweep of Orioles

Apr 24, 2007 - 11:53 PM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Oriole Park at Camden Yards has apparently become the Oakland Athletics' home away from home.

Dallas Braden pitched six strong innings in his major league debut as the Athletics completed a two-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 4-2 victory.

Oakland has won 13 of the last 15 games it has played at Oriole Park and is 53-23 overall against the Orioles since 1999.

"When I get the first ball out of my hand, first out and out of the first inning I would just roll and be confident like I always try to be," Braden said. "It went that way for me today."

Braden (1-0) allowed one run and three hits, walked just one and struck out six. The 23-year-old lefthander was called up from Class AAA Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League on Monday when Rich Harden was placed on the disabled list.

Three Oakland relievers held the lead and Huston Street pitched a perfect ninth inning for his sixth save of the season.

Ahead 2-1 in the sixth inning, Oakland padded its lead due to some confusion in the Baltimore infield.

After reliever John Parrish recording the first out of the inning, Mike Piazza walked and Todd Walker singled. Bobby Crosby popped out for the second out of the inning and Mark Ellis walked to load the bases.

It appeared the inning would end when Jason Kendall hit a grounder to second baseman Brian Roberts, but shortstop Miguel Tejada was late covering second base, allowing Ellis to slide in safely. Piazza scored on the play and Danny Putnam then walked with the bases loaded, giving the Athletics a 4-1 lead.

"I have no idea, it doesn't matter what happened," Roberts said of the play. "We made two mistakes and we lost the game. It doesn't matter whose fault it is."

"I think if we had somebody covering, we would have been out (of the inning)," Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo said.

Baltimore's best chance to score off the Oakland bullpen came in the eighth inning with Justin Duchscherer on the mound. A two-out walk to Nick Markakis put runners on first and second for Tejada, the Orioles cleanup hitter. Duchscherer got Tejada to ground into a fielder's choice to end the threat.

Making his first start of the season for Baltimore, Jeremy Guthrie (1-1) allowed two runs - one earned - and four hits in five innings. The righthander also struck out three and walked one.

"I thought (Guthrie) threw the ball well," Perlozzo said. "I thought he did extremely well, he did exactly what we wanted him to do." Aubrey Huff had two hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who have dropped two straight after winning eight of nine. Jay Payton, facing his former team, also drove in a run for Baltimore.

Oakland center fielder Nick Swisher left the game in the first inning with a strained left hamstring.

"I'm a little tight, it's no big deal," Swisher said. "We will check it out tomorrow and I will be back in the lineup as quick as I can."