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Mets, A's set to wrap up strange interleague set

Jun 23, 2011 - 2:35 PM (Sports Network) - The Oakland Athletics lost in frustrating fashion to the New York Mets last night, watching their season-high six-game win streak go to waste on a hit batsmen with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 13th inning.

Oakland vies to bounce back and earn a series victory Thursday afternoon in the rubber match of this three-game interleague set from Citi Field.

Brad Ziegler was on the hill for the A's in the 13th inning of last night's contest and allowed a one-out single to Lucas Duda, who moved to second on Daniel Murphy's ensuing base hit. Jose Reyes was then intentionally walked and Ziegler plunked Justin Turner to allow Duda to stroll home for a 3-2 New York win.

"I know the pitch was inside, it got away from me," said Ziegler, who was pinned with the loss. "It's just not how you want to end the game. If I'm going to lose, I'd rather be beaten with a base hit."

Athletics starter Gio Gonzalez was brilliant through seven innings in a no- decision, as he yielded only one run and four hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. He also retired 15 of the final 17 batters he faced. Oakland starters were 5-0 with a 1.16 ERA in six games before Gonzalez's result.

Kurt Suzuki homered and Conor Jackson recorded two hits and an RBI for the Athletics, who will visit Philadelphia for three games on this road swing and sit 5 1/2 games behind Texas for the American League West lead.

Before their recent six-game winning streak, the A's had lost 13 of 14 games, including 10 in a row from May 30-June 9.

Oakland is 4-4 in interleague play this season and 140-116 all-time versus the National League.

Graham Godfrey will make the third start of his career when he toes the rubber for the Athletics this afternoon. Godfrey tossed 4 1/3 innings and allowed five runs in a no-decision on the road against the Chicago White Sox in his big-league debut on June 10.

Godfrey then made his first start at the Coliseum in last Friday's 5-2 victory over San Francisco and held the defending World Series champions to two runs -- one of which was earned -- on six hits in seven innings for his first career win.

"The thing I'll remember the most will be a couple times on the mound when I could hear the A's fans going, cheering, and then the Giants fans, and they're just going back and forth," Godfrey said. "Just hearing that was pretty neat. But definitely the first win means even more when it's against a team like that."

The righty is back on the road for his first career start against the Mets.

New York had dropped two straight and four of five games before Turner's hit- by-pitch got the team back into the win column last night. It is 2-3 on a six- game homestand and received eight innings of one-run ball from starter R.A. Dickey, who did not record a decision and struck out nine batters to just one walk.

Bobby Parnell was credited with the win for pitching a scoreless top of the 13th inning for the Mets, who will visit Texas and Detroit for six games following today's tilt with Oakland. Reyes recorded his MLB-leading 13th triple of the season and Ronny Paulino added three hits, while Turner posted a pair of runs batted in -- none bigger than the one in the 13th.

"I don't mind taking one, not in that situation," Turner said. "I'll stay in there and stand my ground. Unless it's at my face or around my ankle, I'll stay in there and take a bruise."

The Mets are 16-12 at home after starting the season 1-8 at Citi Field. They still sit 10 1/2 games off the pace in the NL East, however, and own a 3-5 mark in interleague play this season.

Reyes, meanwhile, leads the majors with 36 multi-hit games.

Angel Pagan went 0-for-4 for New York last night after entering the game having hit safely in 16 of his 19 outings this month. He still has 11 RBI and nine runs scored in June.

Chris Capuano will try to get himself back into the win column when he takes the ball for New York today. He had won consecutive starts before losing to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in last Friday's 4-3 defeat in Queens.

Capuano was hit for three runs, two of which were earned, and eight hits in six innings against Anaheim to fall to 5-7 to go along with a 4.29 earned run average in 15 games (13 starts) this season. The left-hander is 2-4 in seven home starts and has never faced Oakland in his career.

New York had won four straight over Oakland, including a three-game sweep at Shea Stadium in 2007, before losing Tuesday's series opener.