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ATLANTA (AP) -Jo-Jo Reyes, fighting a blister on his left index finger and an overall case of the blahs, felt miserable before
managing to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the second inning.
''That pumped me up a little bit,'' Reyes said, after he and four Atlanta relievers played a successful game of damage control,
leading the Braves to a 5-2 win over the
Oakland Athletics
on Sunday.
The A's had at least one baserunner in every inning but left runners stranded at third base in the second, sixth, seventh
and eighth. The A's were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, leaving them 4-for-40 in their last six games of a nine-game
road trip.
''We should be embarrassed to go 2-7 on this road trip,'' said Oakland's
Mike Sweeney
. ''We're a better team than that.''
Yunel Escobar
had three hits, including a two-run single in the second that gave Atlanta the lead, and
Omar Infante
added a two-run triple in the eighth.
The Braves won two of three in their first interleague series of the season, as the A's couldn't take advantage of ample scoring
chances.
''We just didn't get it done,'' said
Bobby Crosby
, whose first-inning homer gave Oakland a 1-0 lead. ''We had lots of opportunities but couldn't capitalize. ... I expect we'll
be fine. Right now we're struggling a little bit. Maybe we're pressing a little bit.''
Atlanta reliever
Blaine Boyer
pitched out of a final jam in the eighth after
Rob Bowen
hit a one-out triple past the reach of a diving
Mark Teixeira
at first base.
Boyer struck out
Gregorio Petit
, who was 2-for-3 in his major league debut, and pinch-hitter
Daric Barton
.
Reyes (2-1) gave up eight hits with two walks but only two runs in five innings.
He said the blister on his left index finger bothered him after the first inning, and he said that wasn't his only problem.
''I felt like everything was going in slow motion today,'' Reyes said. ''I felt like I didn't have anything on my fastball.
I didn't feel comfortable in the bullpen.
''I didn't want to come out. It got worse in that last inning but I didn't want to pull myself out of the game. It was real
sore today.''
Reyes first had problems with the blister on May 8, when he lasted only 2 2-3 innings of a win over San Diego. He then gave
up five runs in a loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Justin Duchscherer
(3-3) gave up seven hits and three runs in five innings for the A's.
Reyes was boosted by his second-inning escape from the bases-loaded jam. Reyes struck out Duchscherer and
Rajai Davis
and ended the inning on Crosby's grounder to Teixeira at first base.
''It was awesome,'' Reyes said.
The A's knocked Reyes out of the game when
Emil Brown
led off the sixth with a single and scored on
Jack Hannahan
's double to center.
But the A's left runners on second and third in the sixth when reliever
Jeff Bennett
struck out pinch-hitter
Daric Barton
and ended the inning on Sweeney's grounder to third baseman
Chipper Jones
.
''You can't let a team like the
Atlanta Braves
off the hook like that,'' Sweeney said. ''We had opportunities to blow the game open. We didn't get it done. ... We don't
deserve to win that game.''
Manny Acosta
recorded the final two outs in a non-save situation after
Will Ohman
struck out Sweeney to open the ninth.
After Crosby's homer, the Braves pulled even in the bottom of the first.
Brian McCann
, who hit his first career homer off Duchscherer in 2005, drove in Escobar with a double to right.
Escobar's two-run single in the second gave Atlanta a 3-1 lead. Escobar, who was thrown out at second, drove in
Kelly Johnson
and
Gregor Blanco
, who opened the inning with singles.
The Braves led only 3-2 before adding two runs in the eighth off
Alan Embree
. Jones led off with a single and moved to third on
Mark Teixeira
's double to left. With two outs, Infante's pinch-hit triple to right drove in Jones and Teixeira.
''We had as many hits (11) as they did,'' said A's manager
Bob Geren
. ''We just couldn't get the big two-out hit. (Infante) got the big two-out hit.''
Petit had two hits and a walk in his major league debut. He had a fourth-inning single for his first hit. One out later, he
was picked off first base by McCann.
Petit, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday, added a sixth-inning double off
Jeff Bennett
.
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