Athletics 8, Royals 4
Rookie Jemile Weeks drove in three runs and Oakland won back-to-back games for the first time since late May by posting an 8-4 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
Gio Gonzalez (6-5) struck out a season-high 10 while winning for the first time since May 17. Oakland had lost 13 of 14 games before beating the Royals on consecutive days.
The Athletics are 3-4 under manager Bob Melvin, who was ejected for arguing during Thursday’s game.
Weeks hit a two-run double to highlight Oakland’s four-run second-inning outburst and singled home in run in the sixth. He also scored the second inning’s final run on Coco Crisp’s single to right-center field.
Hideki Matsui increased the lead to 5-0 with a leadoff homer in the third. The blast was the 499th homer of Matsui’s career between Japan (332) and the majors.
Kansas City got on the board in the fifth on Melky Cabrera’s run-scoring bloop single to shallow center. Jeff Francoeur followed with a run-scoring double to pull the Royals within 6-2.
The Royals pulled within 8-4 in the eighth with Wilson Betemit and Brayan Pena both delivering run-scoring doubles.
Gonzalez gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.
Royals starter Jeff Francis (3-7) was rocked for a season-worst six earned runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.