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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Gil Heredia can't explain why he has more
success on the road. He won't question it either.
Heredia pitched 6 2-3 effective innings as the Oakland Athletics
defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-2 Saturday to avoid a sweep and
snap a three-game losing streak.
|  | | A's pitcher Gil Heredia follows through against the Giants in the fifth inning Saturday. Heredia lowered his ERA to 3.92. |
"I think it's just coincidence," said Heredia, who improved to
8-1 in 10 road starts this season. "I feel more comfortable at
home. It's just one of those things."
The Athletics won for the first time at Pacific Bell Park after
two losses. The Bay Area rivals split their six-game interleague
series this season, and each has won 10 of the 20 regular-season
games they've played.
Ramon Hernandez and Miguel Tejada hit consecutive home runs as
the A's won for the fourth time in 14 games. Randy Velarde and Adam
Piatt each had three hits.
"The pitchers have been doing a great job for us," Hernandez
said. "It's about time the offense got going. I hope we can keep
it going."
Heredia (10-7) allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk. He
struck out six, including Barry Bonds three times, and won for the
first time in six starts.
"Everyone knows Heredia knows how to pitch," Giants manager
Dusty Baker said. "He changes speeds and gets that first pitch
strike. He didn't give us too many pitches to hit."
Heredia, 3-0 in six career starts against the Giants, for whom
he broke into the majors, couldn't explain his success against
Bonds either.
"I watched some of the videos of the last time we played and we
couldn't get him out," he said. "Obviously he's one of the best
and I just didn't want to upset him."
Kirk Rueter (6-5) lost for the first time in eight starts after
allowing three runs -- two earned -- on 11 hits in six innings.
"I should have started the game from the stretch," Rueter
said. "I was fortunate early. It could have been worse. I'd make
one good pitch and two bad pitches."
Ryan Christenson singled home Tejada to give the A's a 3-2 edge
in the sixth. Tejada reached on an error by second baseman Jeff Kent.
Hernandez hit a two-run homer off reliever Aaron Fultz in the
eighth, and Tejada followed with his 16th homer for a 6-2 lead.
"We needed this win to get some momentum going," A's manager
Art Howe said.
Jason Giambi gave the A's a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the
first. Velarde singled with one out and scored when Giambi drove a
ball to the wall in right field. Giambi tried to stretch the hit
into a triple, but was thrown out by Ellis Burks.
Olmedo Saenz singled home Velarde in the third for a 2-0 lead.
Oakland loaded the bases with two outs, but Hernandez flied out to
Bonds to end the threat.
Burks hit his 11th home run with two outs in the fourth. The
Giants tied it in the fifth when Rueter hit a two-out double, his
first extra-base hit of the season, and Marvin Benard singled him
home.
Game notes
The A's announced that RHP Ariel Prieto will be recalled to
start Monday's game in Colorado. ... The Giants reached 1,841,850
in attendance Saturday (45 home dates). It's already the seventh
largest single-season total since the team moved to San Francisco
in 1958. ... A's RHP Chad Harville has yet to make an appearance
since being recalled from the minors on July 3. ... Piatt, normally
a third baseman, played in the outfield for the first time in the majors.
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Baseball Scoreboard
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