Milwaukee, WI – Coco Crisp finished 4-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs run scored and Brandon Moss also hit a solo shot as the Oakland Athletics crushed the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-2, in the opener of a three-game interleague series at Miller Park.
In the first meeting in Milwaukee between the clubs since 1997 -- the first year of interleague play -- it was the Athletics who jumped out to an 8-2 lead through five frames and never looked back.
John Jaso had three hits and drove in two runs, while five other players drove in at least one run for the Athletics, who have won four straight and 15 of 17 overall. Tommy Milone (6-5) allowed both runs on five hits over seven innings and struck out four in the victory.
"The at-bats we had most of the night were really good," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.
Rickie Weeks' two-run homer in the fifth accounted for Milwaukee's offense. Weeks appeared to homer again in the seventh, but after video review, the hit was ruled a triple after replay showed the ball did not break the barrier of the outfield wall.
Marco Estrada (4-4) was charged for five runs on nine hits over five-plus frames to absorb the loss.
"When you get behind the count a lot, you have to go back over the middle of the plate sometime," Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke said of Estrada. "And in a fastball count, it's hard to say how to pitch people when every hitter is a little bit different. You really have keep the ball down."
Oakland took an early 2-0 lead thanks to solo homers from Crisp and Moss in the first and second inning, respectively.
The visitors continued to break out the bats and erupted for six runs in the fifth to take control.
Jed Lowrie's RBI double brought home Jaso and on the play, Yoenis Cespedes advanced to third. It was Estrada's last batter of the game.
Burke Badenhop also struggled against the A's, as Josh Donaldson's RBI single made it 4-0 and Josh Reddick's poke up the middle pushed the lead to 5-0.
Later in the same inning, Eric Sogard was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second with two outs before Milone added to the cause with a run-scoring single. After another walk, Jaso rounded out the scoring barrage with a two-run single, scoring Sogard and Milone to give the A's a commanding 8-0 lead.
Milone's only real mistake came in the home half, as he served up a two-run homer to Weeks, cutting the Brewers' deficit to 8-2.
Cespedes helped tack on two more Oakland runs in the seventh with a fielder's choice groundout, with Milone and Crisp crossing home thanks to Weeks' throwing error at second on a double-play attempt.
Game Notes
The A's swept the most recent series at home, taking all three meetings June 10-12, 2002 ... Oakland has won each of the last four starts by Milone ... Estrada fell to 0-5 in nine interleague games -- four starts ... Milwaukee has dropped five straight at home for the third time this season.
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