Giants?get past A's at home again

By JOSH DUBOW

AP Sports Writer

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:05 p.m. ET May 19, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Ryan Vogelsong had all of the answers except for what actually hit him during the San Francisco Giants' key rally.

Vogelsong allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings and drew a disputed hit by pitch in San Francisco's four-run seventh as the Giants beat the Oakland Athletics for the 11th straight time at home, 4-0 on Saturday.

Vogelsong (2-2) retired the first 13 batters he faced and allowed only a soft single to right-center by Seth Smith with one out in the fifth. But he was still locked in a scoreless duel with Tyson Ross before the Giants broke through in the seventh after the umpire ruled a ball hit Vogelsong despite claims from the A's that it hit the bat instead.

"I wasn't acting. Something hit me in the chest, whether it was my bat or the ball, something made contact with me," Vogelsong said. "I didn't know what it was. I thought I got hit."

Buster Posey hit an RBI double and Angel Pagan added a two-run single in the big inning to help the Giants win for the sixth time in eight games. They also extended their home dominance over the A's, who have not won in San Francisco since 2008.

Emmanuel Burriss led off the seventh with an infield single between third base and shortstop. Giants manager Bruce Bochy then called back pinch-hitter Aubrey Huff from the on-deck circle to have Vogelsong try to lay down a bunt.

Tyson Ross (2-4) threw high and tight and home plate umpire James Hoye ruled Vogelsong was hit by the pitch. The A's argued that the ball hit Vogelsong's bat.

"I knew he was bunting. I tried to elevate a fastball to try and induce a popup or maybe get a double play. It kind of got away from me a little bit," Ross said. "I saw it hit the bat but the umpire saw it differently. That was a big spot in the game. Unfortunately he was awarded the base and you know what happened after that."

Grant Balfour came in and walked Gregor Blanco on four pitches before striking out Brandon Crawford for the first out. Melky Cabrera followed with a sacrifice fly. Posey extended the lead with a ground-rule double and Pagan's single made it 4-0.

"You have to capitalize on it," Posey said. "We were able to do that."

Oakland manager Bob Melvin got ejected after arguing again with Hoye on his way to take out Balfour after Pagan's hit. Melvin was also ejected Thursday in Texas after another argument, although plate umpire Laz Diaz later apologized to Melvin after acknowledging he missed the call.

The A's rallied to beat the Rangers in 10 innings in that game, but couldn't overcome a disputed call this time to extend their longest losing streak in one stadium since dropping 12 in a row at Milwaukee from 1992-95.

"At some point you have to move on and continue to play and try to shut it down," Melvin said. "We tried to. They just ended up scoring some runs right there."

The game was scoreless after six innings even though the Giants put 10 runners on base to just two for the Athletics. Ross escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first by getting Pagan to pop up and striking out Brandon Belt to end a 31-pitch inning.

He stranded two more runners in the second when he struck out Crawford. He then induced inning-ending double plays in the fifth and sixth from Cabrera and Joaquin Arias after putting runners on first and second.

Vogelsong was helped early when Cabrera made a shoestring, backhand catch in left-center to rob Jemile Weeks of a hit to lead off the game. That was the closest the A's came to a baserunner before Smith's single. Josh Donaldson, who had five RBIs on Friday night, followed by hitting into an inning-ending double play as Vogelsong faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings.

Vogelsong pitched around a leadoff walk to Daric Barton in the sixth, the only other baserunner he allowed. He has allowed just three earned runs in 28 1-3 innings over his last four starts, lowering his ERA to 2.27, as he has picked up from his breakthrough All-Star season last year.

"I think I need to do it for the whole season," Vogelsong said. "That's a big goal of mine for this season, to have another solid year and kind of put that beside me going forward. I still feel like I have a lot to prove."

NOTES: The only longer regular-season win streak over an opponent for the Giants at this ballpark came when they beat the Mets 12 straight times from 2000-03. But New York split two playoff games here in 2000. ...... Vogelsong walked in the second inning, giving Giants pitchers three walks in two games after having just two in the first 38. ... Tim Lincecum, who is 5-1 with a 1.38 ERA in seven starts against Oakland, pitches the series finale against Bartolo Colon.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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