Oakland’s 13-game winning streak ends, Orioles romp 8-1

<p>BALTIMORE &mdash; Oakland’s 13-game winning streak ended Sunday as Austin Hays hit a pair of home runs, starter John Means had another stellar performance and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Athletics 8-1.</p>
<p>The A’s, who opened the season with six straight losses, put together their third-longest winning string since moving to Oakland in 1968.</p>
<p>Oakland won 14 in a row in 1988 and a then-American League record of 20 consecutive wins in 2002. Cleveland broke that mark with 22 straight in 2017 — the Athletics’ string had been the longest in the majors since that run by the Indians.</p>
<p>Means (2-0) had additional two days of rest heading into this start because manager Brandon Hyde wants to keep his pitchers fresh. The left-hander allowed just one run on two hits with six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.50 — best among AL starters.</p>
<p>Hays hit his first two homers of the season. Cedric Mullins had three hits, raising his average to .350 for Baltimore.</p>
<p>The Orioles broke open the game with five runs in the eighth that began with a solo home run by Maikel Franco and a bases-loaded walk by A’s reliever Deolis Guerra to Ryan McKenna, who earned his first major league RBI. A bases-loaded error by shortstop Elvis Andrus gave the Orioles their sixth run before Trey Mancini delivered a two-run single. </p>
<p>A’s left-hander Jesus Luzardo (1-2) allowed three runs and seven hits with eight strikeouts and two walks over a season-high 6 2/3 innings. </p>
<p>But he was outdueled by Means, who kept the A’s off-balance for most of the day with his four-seam fastball, slider and changeup</p>
<p>Hays gave the Orioles the lead with a solo shot to center in the second. Ramón Laureano tied it at 1 in the fourth when he homered into Baltimore’s bullpen.</p>
<p>Hays answered in the bottom half with an opposite-field, two-run homer that gave Baltimore a 3-1 lead. It was the second multihomer game of the 25-year-old’s career.</p>
<p>MOVES</p>
<p>Orioles: LHP Zac Lowther was recalled from the alternate training site at Double-A Bowie. Lowther made his major league debut in the ninth and allowed a leadoff single before retiring the side. In a corresponding move, LHP Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment. LeBlanc took the loss Saturday night after allowing four runs and six hits over 1 2/3 innings.</p>
<p>TRAINER’S ROOM</p>
<p>Athletics: Manager Bob Melvin said he will give several players a break during the upcoming three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays, especially with the potential impact of playing on the turf at Tropicana Field.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea (2-1, 3.04 ERA) will pitch the opener in Tampa Bay. He threw seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a 2-1 victory over the Twins in his last outing. </p>
<p>Orioles: RHP Matt Harvey (1-1, 5.12 ERA) starts the series opener against the Yankees. Harvey picked up his first win since July 13, 2019, against the Marlins on Tuesday.</p>
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