The Kansas City Royals look for their first road sweep in nearly three years when they complete a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum on Wednesday.
The Royals (13-37) captured their first road series of the season with an 8-7 win over the Athletics (23-29) in 10 innings on Tuesday. Kansas City hasn't swept a road series since July 11-13, 2003 against Texas.
With a victory in their first extra-inning game of 2006, the Royals have won three of five after a season-high 13-game losing streak.
Pinch-hitter and former Athletic Matt Stairs tied Tuesday's game with an RBI single in the ninth, and Mark Grudzielanek hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th.
Since May 19, the Royals have blown four leads of three or more runs in which they scored first. Kansas City led 4-0 after the first inning Tuesday.
"Our season hasn't been a problem of coming back or staying within the lead," said Royals manager Buddy Bell, whose team won consecutive games for only the fifth time all year. "It's our pitching. We just can't get any consistency from our pitchers."
Scott Elarton (1-5, 4.76 ERA), who snapped the Royals' 13-game skid with a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees on Friday, will take the mound for the series finale. Elarton earned his first win since Sept. 21 despite giving up five runs and a season-high 10 hits over seven innings.
But the right-hander had his shortest outing of the season against Oakland on April 30. He allowed five runs, four hits and three walks in 2 1-3 innings and did not factor in Kansas City's 13-6 loss.
Joe Blanton (4-5, 6.02) started opposite Elarton and will face him again in this contest.
Blanton allowed five runs and six hits in five innings against the Royals to get the win. He is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in three career starts against Kansas City.
In his last start on Friday, the right-hander allowed two runs and five hits in five innings in a 5-3 loss to Texas but did not factor in the decision.
Oakland has lost three straight games and 10 of 11 to fall into a tie for second place in the AL West with Los Angeles. The A's and Angels are five games behind first-place Texas after Oakland had a one-game lead over the Rangers on May 20.
Five of the A's last nine losses have been by one run, and they haven't been swept at home since Aug. 15-17 against Baltimore.
"It's horrible right now," outfielder Nick Swisher said. "We're losing 8-7, 5-4 and 4-3. That's the frustrating thing about it."
Swisher went 3-for-6 and hit his team-high 16th home run of the season in Tuesday's loss. He is hitting .467 (14-for-30) with three homers and eight RBIs in his last eight games.
Third baseman Eric Chavez left the game with a bruised left hand, and second baseman Mark Ellis suffered a jammed right thumb. Their status for this game is unknown.
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