DeJesus' 2 HR's power A's past Indians 3-1

  • Discuss Comment, Blog about
  • Print Friendly and PDF

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - David DeJesus picked a heck of a time for the first two-homer game of his life.

All it did was stop the hottest team in baseball.

DeJesus hit his first two home runs of the season, Trevor Cahill pitched another gem and the Oakland Athletics snapped Cleveland's seven-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory over the Indians on Wednesday night.

"It's pretty cool," DeJesus said of his first multihomer game. "Not even in Little League cause I was a bunter back in the day."

DeJesus' two solo shots handed Josh Tomlin (4-1) his first loss of the year. They were two of just four hits in the game for the offensively challenged Athletics, and all they needed behind their ace.

Cahill (5-0) gave up five hits and three walks in seven innings and never had any serious jams. He struck out five and matched his career-high with 116 pitches. Grant Balfour allowed only a walk in the ninth for his first save this season.

"As a pitcher, you're kind of glad they haven't hit yet," Cahill said of his team's slow-to-come scoring. "We're floating around .500 and the offense hasn't even come out of its shoes. I think we have a lot to look forward to.

"And once they get going, we can make our run."

Tomlin struck out five and walked none in 7 2-3 innings. He didn't allow a baserunner besides DeJesus until Mark Ellis reached on an error in the eighth when third baseman Jack Hannahan bobbled a grounder, and Coco Crisp drove him in on a single to give Oakland a 3-1 lead.

DeJesus broke out of his slump with his first long ball that just cleared the right-field wall in the first inning. That snapped a 55-game streak without a home run for DeJesus that dated to last season, the second-longest of his career.

After the Indians evened the score on Travis Hafner's two-out RBI single in the third, DeJesus hit his second home run to deep right-center field to put Oakland back in front.

"They were both fastballs. One was in - I was trying to go in for a purpose - but I guess it didn't go in enough," Tomlin said. "The second one I was trying to throw the two-seamer down away and it stayed middle. It is frustrating but that happens. If I lock in better against DeJesus maybe that's not the outcome of the game."

It was the first multihomer game of the season for any Oakland player, and it couldn't have come from a more unlikely source. DeJesus had never had two home runs in a game in nine seasons in the majors, and he was hitting just .227 entering the game.

"The smile on his face after the second one told the story," A's manager Bob Geren said.

The Indians have surprisingly been off to one of baseball's best starts this season and could have equaled their best start in franchise history through 29 games had they won another. The only time they began a season 21-8 was in 1920.

The only serious threat the Indians mounted off Cahill came in the third, when Grady Sizemore led off the inning with a double. Carlos Santana walked with two outs before Hafner's single, and Cahill got Orlando Cabrera to ground out and end the threat.

"Well pitched ballgame by both sides," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "I thought Tomlin was fantastic - just attacked the strike zone, threw an unbelievable amount of strikes. He deserved better but they pitched very well, too."

NOTES: A's LHP Dallas Braden had his troublesome throwing shoulder examined for the second time by renowned orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles. Geren said after the game he didn't know the results of the examine but that Braden was going to seek an opinion from another doctor. ... Cahill also threw 116 pitches on Sept. 4 in a 3-1 win over the Angels last season. ... A's All-Star closer Andrew Bailey faced hitters before the game, throwing about 25 pitches - only fastballs - at full velocity. Bailey hasn't pitched this season because of a strained right forearm. The team will decide Thursday what the next step is for Bailey. ... Indians RHP Carlos Carrasco threw a light bullpen session back in Cleveland. He will pitch about 4-5 innings for Double-A Akron on Friday, Acta said. ... Oakland C Kurt Suzuki was given the night off with a day game Thursday.

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment