• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Buck's double helps A's sweep Blue Jays

Apr 11, 2008 - 5:17 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Travis Buck hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the 12th inning as the Oakland Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 3-2 victory on Thursday.

Buck, who had three doubles and drove in all three of Oakland's runs, laced a 1-1 pitch from Brandon League (0-1) to center field, plating Jack Hannahan and Kurt Suzuki. Buck set a club record with six doubles in the three-game series.

Vernon Wells and Shannon Stewart drove in runs for Toronto.

Chris Denorfia led off the 12th with a single to center and, after a groundout, the Blue Jays intentionally walked Hannahan. But the moved backfired as League hit Suzuki with a pitch to load the bases.

One batter later, Buck drilled the ball into center, plating two runs for a 3-1 lead. Toronto sliced the deficit to one in the bottom half as Alex Rios hit a one-out double off Keith Foulke and scored on a single by Wells.

"He (League) wasn't throwing the split-finger for strikes, so we were just going up there looking for the fastball," Buck said. "Fortunately we got the bases loaded and I found a hole."

"There was good pitching on both sides," Athletics shortstop Bobby Crosby said. "Luckily, we got some guys on base and Buck came through for us."

However, Foulke got Aaron Hill to hit into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play to record his first save of the season. Joey Devine (2-0) threw two scoreless innings to pick up the win.

Toronto was outscored in the series, 18-13, with two defeats coming in extra innings.

"It's not like we gave it (the series) away, they did swing the bats," Hill said. "You have to give it to them - they swung the bats very well. They came off of that Japan trip and they were ready to go. They did and we didn't. That is how you lose ballgames."

With Toronto trailing, 1-0, in the eighth, former Athletic Marco Scutaro led off with a triple to left-center off Alan Embree. Two batters later, Stewart - another former Athletic - forged a 1-1 tie with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Embree also let an eighth-inning lead slip away in Tuesday's 9-8 win.

Embree's second poor outing spoiled a great start by lefthander Dana Eveland, who allowed just three hits in 6 1/3 innings. Eveland, who was one of six players acquired from Arizona in the offseason trade involving Dan Haren, struck out six and walked three.

It was an impressive follow-up to his first start of the season, when he yielded one run and six hits in seven innings of a 6-1 win over Cleveland on Saturday.

Eveland was nearly matched by Shaun Marcum, who allowed one run and six hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. Marcum's only mistake came in the fifth, when Buck drilled an RBI double to center field, plating Ryan Sweeney for a 1-0 lead.

"It's more important for us to go out there and get a win as a team," Marcum said. "It was just one of those nights. They hit really well, their pitching was unbelievable."