The Oakland Athletics wrapped up a series victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, continuing their win-loss pattern with a 5-2 victory. The A’s have alternated wins and losses for the last week as they continue to hang around the .500 mark, improving to 18-17. Tyson Ross earned his second victory of the season and his first in the starting rotation.
The A’s got Ross some early offense as they put two runs on the board in the first inning. After Coco Crisp reached based on an error, Daric Barton hit a long double to right field to put men on the corners. Conor Jackson knocked in Crisp with an RBI single and Josh Willingham plated Barton on a fielder’s choice to first. Jackson boosted his average to .291 with a 3-for-4 day. Kevin Kouzmanoff added what prove to be a fortuitous solo homerun in the sixth inning.
Tyson Ross put together another solid performance, as he lasted six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks. Ross held the Royals scoreless through five but scratched across two runs in the sixth. After scoring one run on an Eric Hosmer double, Royals CF Mitch Maier hit a single to right. Hosmer scored from third just a fraction of a second before Wilson Betemit was tagged out at second.
The A’s added one more run on a Coco Crisp single in the eighth and it was more than enough for the A’s bullpen to close the deal. Michael Wuertz and Grant Balfour handled their business in the seventh and eighth innings, and Brian Fuentes notched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his ninth save of the season.
The A’s wrap up this short six game road trip with three games against the Texas Rangers. The two sides will send out the 1-2-3 pitchers in their rotations. The Rangers are currently trailing the Yankees 12-5 in the ninth inning, which means the two teams will likely be tied for second heading into this series.