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Pirates-Athletics Preview

Jun 27, 2010 - 5:58 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Pittsburgh (25-49) at Oakland (36-40), 4:05 p.m. EDT

The Oakland Athletics couldn't get much offense going in their last series. A matchup with the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates has helped change that.

The A's go for the three-game sweep Sunday afternoon when the Pirates try to snap a 16-game road losing streak.

After scoring six total runs and getting swept by Cincinnati to open its six-game homestand, Oakland (36-40) has found its hitting stroke in two games against the Pirates, totaling 19 runs and 25 hits. The A's won 5-0 on Saturday to improve to 23-1 this season when they score at least that many runs.

Coco Crisp has been a sparkplug at the top of the lineup in this series. After coming a homer shy of the cycle in Friday's 14-4 win, Crisp scored three runs for the second straight game Saturday and went 2 for 3 with a walk. He has at least one hit in each of his four games since coming off the disabled list.

With Crisp getting on base directly in front of him in the order, A's first baseman Daric Barton is enjoying his best series of the season. He drove in two runs Friday, then matched a career high with four RBIs on Saturday when he tied a franchise record with three doubles.

"Coco has been getting on base a lot and it's helpful to me," said Barton, who had two RBIs in the 21 games before the Pirates arrived. "I get a lot of pitches to hit and I'm slowing everything down."

While the A's are seeking their first three-game winning streak since a four-game run May 26-29, Pittsburgh (25-49) has not won a road game since May 25. The 16-game skid is the club's longest on the road since dropping 19 straight July 23-Aug. 30, 1985.

"We've been hitting pretty good overall but we haven't been able to outscore the other team," first baseman Garrett Jones said Saturday after the Pirates mustered two hits while losing for the 17th time in 19 games overall.

Having Ross Ohlendorf (0-6, 5.43 ERA) on the mound may not be the answer the road-weary Pirates are seeking. The right-hander has lost three straight starts, and hasn't won since Aug. 18.

Ohlendorf needed just 36 pitches to retire the first 10 batters Tuesday in Texas, but was out of the game after 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs and five hits in Pittsburgh's 6-3 defeat.

"It's been frustrating because I need to pitch better than I have been," Ohlendorf told the Pirates' official website. "I do think I'll turn it around."

This will be the first start against the Athletics for Ohlendorf, who pitched 1 1-3 innings of relief at Oakland while with the New York Yankees in 2008.

Oakland counters with Gio Gonzalez (6-5, 3.89), who is 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA in his last four home starts

He struck out a season-high nine and allowed one run in seven innings of Monday's 5-4, 10-inning home loss to Cincinnati, retiring 16 of the final 18 batters he faced.

"For me, it's a plus, it's a positive," he told the A's official website. "It's a step toward the right direction, and the team showed life."

This will be Gonzalez's first appearance versus Pittsburgh.

The A's are seeking to improve to 9-0 all-time against the Pirates in interleague play.