OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Rajai Davis capped Oakland's biggest inning of the season with a grand slam and the Athletics handed Scott Kazmir the worst pounding ever for an Angels pitcher in a 15-1 victory over Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Kazmir (7-9) allowed eight runs in the third inning and five more in the fifth, capped by back-to-back homers by Coco Crisp and Daric Barton.
The 13 runs are the most allowed by an Angels pitcher, topping the 11 Scott Schoeneweis gave up against Baltimore on May 23, 2001. It was the most in the majors since St. Louis' Jason Marquis allowed 13 to the Chicago White Sox on June 21, 2006.
The offensively challenged A's broke out in a big way this night after scoring only 19 runs in the previous seven games. Davis, who entered the game in a 2-for-31 slump, added two doubles, a single and a career-high five RBIs. Crisp drove in four runs to help Oakland snap a four-game losing streak and reach a season-high in runs.
Ben Sheets (4-8), who came into the game with the fourth worst run support in the American League, was the beneficiary of the outburst. He pitched six scoreless innings to win for just the second time in his last eight starts. The A's had scored one or fewer runs in eight of his previous 18 starts.
Davis started the big third inning with Oakland's first hit of the game, a blooper down the right-field line that led to a double. Crisp hit a popup that landed between Abreu and second baseman Howie Kendrick for an RBI single and the inning took a bad turn for the Angels when Adam Rosales hit a two-out single to center with runners on first and second.
Torii Hunter made a strong throw home and Mike Napoli made a swipe tag that appeared to get Daric Barton. Plate umpire Ted Barrett ruled that Napoli missed the tag, much to the dismay of manager Mike Scioscia, who came charging out of the dugout to argue.
After an intentional walk to Mark Ellis loaded the bases, Kazmir walked Ryan Sweeney to force in the fourth run. Davis followed with a drive into the left-field seats for Oakland's first grand slam of the season. It was also the team's biggest inning, topping a seven-run seventh inning against Pittsburgh on June 25.
Kazmir stayed in the game and ran into more trouble in the fifth. He allowed an RBI double to Davis and then a three-run homer to Crisp. Barton hit the next pitch out for Oakland's second back-to-back homers of the season, snapping an 0-for-20 streak that matched the worst of his career.