Gio Gonzalez allowed one run in seven innings to help the Oakland Athletics defeat the visiting Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Saturday.
Gonzalez (14-12) scattered eight hits while winning for the fifth time in six starts to move one victory away from matching his career high, which set last season.
The loss was just the sixth in 29 games for the Tigers, who clinched the American League Central title on Friday. Detroit has lost two of three games to Oakland thus far in the four-game series.
Coco Crisp had run-scoring singles in the second and eighth innings as Oakland banged out 12 hits. Scott Sizemore and rookie Jemile Weeks also had run-scoring singles and Kurt Suzuki hit a sacrifice fly.
Don Kelly laced a two-run double in the ninth to pull Detroit within two runs before Andrew Bailey struck out Alex Avila and Austin Jackson.
Gonzalez struck out four to increase his season total to 181, tied for 10th-most in a season in Oakland history.
Jhonny Peralta hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth for the Tigers.
Detroit starter Rick Porcello (14-9) gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings.
Detroit | Oakland | |
Rick Porcello | Player | Gio Gonzalez |
Loss | W/L | Win |
7.0 | IP | 7.0 |
4 | Strikeouts | 4 |
9 | Hits | 8 |
3.86 | ERA | 1.29 |
Detroit | Oakland | |
Magglio Ordonez | Player | Jemile Weeks |
3 | Hits | 3 |
0 | RBI | 1 |
0 | HR | 0 |
3 | TB | 3 |
.750 | Avg | .600 |