Steady fits Justin just fine

OAKLAND -- Tuesday's outing was a lot more uneventful than Justin Duchscherer's previous one.

The A's right-hander went just five innings last Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels in a blowout victory that was comical as well as one-sided.

A dropped fly ball led to Duchscherer allowing five unearned runs that night. He also sat on the bench for what seemed like an eternity as the A's batted around in an eight-run fifth.

No such bizarre happenings on Tuesday night at McAfee Coliseum, where the A's cashed in a workmanlike 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. But it goes in the win column just the same, and it clinched the series victory for the A's, who finish up a six-game homestand this afternoon against the Orioles.

Duchscherer will take uneventful, if it brings with it a pitching line like Tuesday's.

He scattered four hits over seven innings, allowing two runs with four strikeouts and two walks in 85 pitches. It was the longest outing of Duchscherer's four starts this season, and it tied his career high for innings pitched.

"I'm definitely encouraged," he said. "Hopefully I can get to that 100-pitch count, so I can pitch deeper."

Building up endurance is big for Duchscherer, getting his firstlegitimate shot at starting in the majors. Even though his being pulled might have been surprising, as strong as he looked, Duchscherer said he was fine with it. Alan Embree worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Santiago Casilla notched his first save with closer Huston Street having pitched both Sunday and Monday.

"It's not always just the pitch count," A's manager Bob Geren said. "(Duchscherer) would have had to go through the lineup four times, which is difficult. And it had been seven innings. Plus, I liked the way it lined up for Embree. I liked the combination to get the last six outs with those two guys."

Efforts like Tuesday's have to be encouraging. The right-hander was making his third start since coming off the DL for a strained right biceps, and he's looked solid in each.

"He was awesome," second baseman Mark Ellis said. "He had unbelievable location, and he left very few pitches in the middle of the plate. He really took control of the game."

Duchscherer (3-1) hopes such performances keep him entrenched in the rotation. Rich Harden could come off the DL to start as soon as Sunday, and one of the starters will be bumped.

Duchscherer earned a trip to the 2005 All-Star Game as a setup man, but makes it clear he prefers starting. "I don't want to think about" the possibility of returning to the bullpen, he said. "I worked all offseason to be a starter."

The A's didn't rip the ball against Baltimore starter Brian Burres (3-3), but they picked away at him for four runs (three earned) in 5 innings.

Emil Brown drove in Frank Thomas in the first with a bloop single that fell in shallow right.

In the third, consecutive singles from Thomas, Jack Cust and Brown, none of which was particularly stung, loaded the bases with no outs. The A's netted two runs on fielder's-choice groundouts from Bobby Crosby and Ellis to go up 3-0.

The Orioles trimmed it to 3-2 with two runs in the fourth, as Duchscherer allowed two hits and two walks.

The A's tacked on a run in the sixth, aided largely by a throwing error by Baltimore third baseman Melvin Mora.

Casilla allowed a two-out walk to Kevin Millar in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate for Baltimore. But A's third baseman Jack Hannahan secured the final out by making a nice catch on Luke Scott's foul popup along the rail down the left-field line.

How they scored

A's first: Thomas singled with two outs. Cust singled, Thomas to second. E.Brown singled, Thomas scored. A's 1, Orioles 0.

A's third: Thomas singled. Cust singled, Thomas to second. E.Brown singled, Thomas to third, Cust to second. Crosby grounded into fielder's choice, Thomas scored, Cust to third, E.Brown out. Ellis grounded into fielder's choice, Cust scored, Crosby out. A's 3, Orioles 0.

Orioles fourth: Roberts walked. Mora grounded out, Roberts to second. Markakis walked. Huff singled, Roberts scored, Markakis to second. Millar singled, Markakis to third, Huff to second. Scott hit a sacrifice fly, Markakis scored. A's 3, Orioles 2.

A's sixth: Ellis was hit by a pitch. Murphy safe on fielder's choice and Mora's error, Ellis to third. Davis hit a sacrifice fly, Ellis scored, Murphy to third. A's 4, Orioles 2.

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