Oakland, California: Coco Crisp hit a tiebreaking three-run triple in the fourth inning to help Scott Kazmir earn his career-best 14th win, and the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Mets 6-2 on Tuesday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Coming off a miserable road trip when he went 2-for-23, Crisp grounded out and singled before lining a 0-1 pitch from Mets starter Dillon Gee down the right field line with the bases loaded. It was Crisp’s third triple this season.
The A’s, who avoided losing six consecutive games for the first time since 2012, remained a half-game behind the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West.
Kazmir (14-5) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He retired nine of his final 10 batters after giving up a solo home run to Travis d’Arnaud leading off the fourth.
New York lost their third straight game.
Oakland had been mired in a team-wide hitting slump before coming up with their most productive game in a week.
Crisp, the A’s leadoff hitter who has been in and out of the line-up with lingering neck pain, provided the biggest boost with his first multi-hit game since July 8.
Josh Reddick added a two-run homer, and Alberto Callaspo drove in a run with a sacrifice fly two batters before Crisp’s bases-clearing hit.
The Mets avoided making history but couldn’t snap their skid.
New York had been held to four hits or fewer in their previous five games. According to stats provided to the team by Elias Sports Bureau, no club had ever done that in six straight.
The Mets managed seven hits this time but it wasn’t enough to prevent their second loss in three games against the A’s this season.
Gee (4-6) gave up four runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. The New York right-hander fell to 0-5 in his past seven starts and is winless since July 9.
