DETROIT (AP) — Ryan Noda homered in a three-run first inning and the Oakland Athletics went on to rout the Detroit Tigers 12-3 on Wednesday night.
Oakland won for the fourth time in five games. The majors-worst Athletics, who hadn’t shut out an opponent all season before a 1-0 victory Tuesday night, held the Tigers scoreless for the first 17 innings of the series.
The Tigers only had two baserunners in the first seven innings and both were erased on double plays. Miguel Cabrera broke the scoreless streak with an RBI double in the eighth.
Athletics starter Austin Pruitt retired all nine batters he faced. Ken Waldichuk (2-5) allowed three runs on two hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings.
Detroit’s Eduardo Rodriguez (4-5) returned from a ruptured pulley in his index finger to make his first start since May 28. He gave up five runs on six hits in four innings.
“Health-wise, he checked out great, which is very important,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “It was a weird game for him, because I thought his stuff was OK and he got some strikeouts, but they took advantage of their chances.
He struck out seven without a walk.
“You have to take the good with the bad,” Rodriguez said. “I’m happy to be back out there and I liked the strikeouts with no walks, but I didn’t have my best command.”
On Tuesday, the Athletics didn’t get a hit until the seventh inning and didn’t score until the 10th. Esteury Ruiz got them off to a quicker start Wednesday, bunting for a base hit on the first pitch.
“I was expecting it, but I have to get to the bag faster when I see I can’t get to the ball,” Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson said. “He’s too fast for anyone to have a chance to cover.”
He stole second, took third on Jordan Diaz’s single and scored on Brett Rooker’s sacrifice fly.
Ruiz’s stolen base was his 43rd, breaking Mitchell Page’s franchise record for a rookie.
“He’s fearless out there and he’s so fast,” Oakland catcher Shea Langeliers said. “I played against him last year in Triple-A and he was a menace whenever he was on base. It’s a big advantage to have him on the bases for your team, though.”
One batter later, Noda, who drove in the only run Tuesday, made it 3-0 with his third homer.
Oakland pushed it to 4-0 in the third on Aledmys Diaz’s RBI double, and Langeliers made it 5-0 with a solo homer in the fourth.
Tony Kemp and Ruiz hit back-to-back two-run singles to give the A’s a 9-0 lead in the sixth. Jordan Diaz’s two-run homer extended Oakland’s lead to 12 runs in the eighth.
“They played better than we did,” Hinch said. “Hopefully we can get some momentum from the three runs we got at the end, but we have to be better at the beginning of the game, in the middle of the game and at the end of the game.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Ruiz left with the Athletics up 9-0 in the seventh inning. He required attention from the training staff after appearing to jam his right shoulder while sliding into first in the sixth.
“It’s his throwing arm, and he’ll get an X-ray and possibly an MRI in the morning,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “He said he felt something when he dove back into first, but he wasn’t sure if it was a pop.”
Javier Báez and Matt Vierling also left early, but Hinch confirmed it was just because of the score. Both will play on Thursday.
ONE-SIDED RIVALRY
The A’s are 31-5 against the Tigers in the last seven seasons, going 19-2 in Detroit. They are 53-30 (.639) at Comerica Park, the highest winning percentage of any major-league team.
UP NEXT
The teams are scheduled to finish the three-game series Thursday, although the forecast is for rain. Detroit All-Star RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-6, 4.28) is set pitch against LHP Hogan Harris (2-2, 5.17).
