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| Duchscherer dominates as Athletics down Yankees OAKLAND 8, NY YANKEES 4 |
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By Al Barba PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Justin Duchscherer is making a strong case for the title of staff ace. Duchscherer pitched seven outstanding innings to lead the Oakland Athletics to an 8-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. Duchscherer (6-4) allowed just one run and five hits while walking one and striking out four en route to his second straight win and third in four outings. "I thought he pitched real well," Athletics manager Bob Geren said. "He had a good curveball going today and he had a cutter. He seemed like he was in command of all his pitches the entire game." The 30-year-old righthander took over the team lead in victories and lowered his ERA to 2.20 this season. Wednesday's win marked the ninth time in 10 starts Duchscherer has allowed two earned runs or fewer. He has not surrendered more than three earned runs in any start this season. "The offense really took off early, so it took some pressure off me," Duchscherer said. "I was able to go out there and pound the strike zone. We played good defense after that and everything went our way. It was a good win." Duchscherer's only mistake came in the second inning, when he allowed a one-out solo home run by Jason Giambi - the former Athletic's 15th blast of the year. Darrell Rasner (3-4) had his shortest outing of the season for New York, allowing seven runs - six earned - and nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings. Since winning his first three starts after joining the Yankees' rotation on May 4, Rasner has lost his last four decisions. "I wasn't able to finish the pitches," Rasner said. "I wasn't able to get the ball in to lefties and they were able to go the other way with it. I'm looking forward to the next (start). I'm going to watch some tape, learn from this one and look forward to the next one." Rasner suffered through a painful third inning as Oakland batted around and scored six times. Travis Buck reached base on an error by first baseman Giambi to open the frame and, after Kurt Suzuki fouled out, the Athletics produced six consecutive hits to take a 6-1 lead. "Giving up six hits in a row is kind of tough," Rasner said. "I threw some good pitches, I threw some bad pitches. They seemed to hit everything and found some holes out there. I had to pay for everything." Jack Cust, who had two hits and reached base in all four plate appearances, delivered a two-run single before rookie Carlos Gonzalez capped the decisive frame by driving in two with a double into the gap in left-center field. Cust believes having veteran Eric Chavez, who had two hits in the game, back in the lineup has helped him find success at the plate. Chavez rejoined the team on May 29 after beginning the campaign on the disabled list while recovering from offseason back surgery. "To me, with him back in the lineup, it's like the Oakland A's are playing again," Cust said. "I'm excited, I'm happy for him. He looks great up there. Having guys like him hitting, you're going to get better pitches to hit. I'm just trying to get on base and do what I do and have him come up. It definitely helps the lineup out." The Yankees scored three times in the ninth against Oakland's bullpen before Alan Embree recorded the final two outs. |
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