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Athletics rout O's to close out series

Jun 9, 2014 - 12:19 AM Baltimore, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Moss' grand slam punctuated a six- run third inning as Oakland routed Baltimore, 11-1, in the finale of a three- game set on Sunday.

John Jaso collected two hits and also drove in four runs for the Athletics, who took two of three in the series and have won seven of their last nine overall.

Nick Punto added a two-run hit, Alberto Callaspo scored three times and Kyle Blanks posted an RBI single for Oakland, which improved to 4-2 on this current road trip.

Scott Kazmir (7-2) struck out seven, walked two and yielded just four hits over seven scoreless innings.

"He's just a very consistent guy, a great pickup for us, a credit to the front office for targeting him in the offseason. He's been spot-on every time," said A's manager Bob Melvin of his starter.

Chris Davis knocked in the lone run for the Orioles, who stumbled to their third loss in four outings. Ubaldo Jimenez (2-7) was charged with six runs on two hits with five walks over 2 1/3 subpar innings in defeat.

Jimenez loaded the bases in the third after walking Derek Norris, Callaspo and Blanks to start the frame. Jaso then launched an offering to deep right center, with the ball appearing to hit the partition above the yellow line atop the wall and bounce back into play. Replay determined that Jaso should be awarded a two-run double.

"He really had a good swing, he just doesn't have enough pop," Moss deadpanned.

Punto followed with a walk, then Blanks was erased on Josh Donaldson's fielder's choice grounder at home before Moss' no-doubt slam to right center made it 6-0.

Brad Brach spelled Jimenez and retired the next two batters after an infield hit from Yoenis Cespedes.

Jaso's RBI single plated Callaspo in the fourth, but the A's couldn't produce more runs despite loading the bases with two down.

Oakland filled the sacks again in the fifth, with Jaso's fielder's choice grounder scoring one run and Punto's two-out single plating two more.

The benches cleared in the bottom of the eighth, as Orioles third baseman Manny Machado swung and missed at a Fernando Abad pitch, letting the bat fly down the third-base line immediately after Abad brushed him back. It was the second time in the series that Machado took exception to an A's player's actions, after his anger towards Donaldson for what he perceived as a rough tag on Friday night.

"The bat slipped out of my hands. Trying to make contact and the umpire thought it was intentional and he tossed me at that point," Machado offered in his defense.

Crew chief Larry Vanover served up the following opinion: "The pitcher was ejected for throwing at Machado. Machado was ejected for throwing the bat. Cut and dry. It was obvious the pitcher threw at him the second time ... And then he (Machado) threw the bat. That wasn't accidental."

Both Abad and Machado were ejected and when action resumed, Davis' bases- loaded walk forced in Caleb Joseph for the Orioles' first and only run of the game.

Blanks singled home Craig Gentry in the ninth to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Oakland left eight men on base but went 6-of-10 with runners in scoring position ... Norris left the game in the bottom of the sixth after being hit in the front of the mask by the unintentional follow-through of Machado's swing ... Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis extended his hit streak to 13 games with a first-inning single ... Prior to the contest, the Orioles reinstated pitcher Tommy Hunter from the 15-day disabled list and optioned pitcher Evan Meek to Triple-A Norfolk.