Pratt's Instant Replay: A's 8, Rockies 2

BOX SCORE

The A's extended the Colorado Rockies' losing streak to eight games, with a three-game sweep, winning 8-2 on Thursday. The A's offense erupted for 26 runs in the Rocky Mountains, and did so hitting nine home runs. They haven't hit that many homers in a three-game series since 2002, against the White Sox in Oakland. At the PlateThe A's hitters got on base in the first seven innings. They were able to knock out Rockies starting pitcher Alex White after four innings. He allowed four runs, only two were earned. Brandon Moss hit his fifth home run since joining the A's in the ninth inning. He also hit two doubles, finishing the day 3-for-5 with three RBIs. His second double in the game drove in two runs, making it 4-0. He now has eight hits this season, seven of them are extra-base hits. After Moss' first double, he came around to score along with Kurt Suzuki, when Rockies first baseman Tyler Colvin couldn't handle throw from third baseman Jordan Pacheco.In the eighth inning, Josh Reddick hit a home run into the second deck in right field, giving the A's a 5-0 lead. He hit 10 homers in the month of May, and hadn't hit one in June until Thursday. Reddick leads the team with 15 home runs. Coco Crisp also hit a one-run single to make it a 7-0 game in the ninth inning. Cliff Pennington drove in the A's eighth run with an RBI groundout.The A's loaded the bases in the fourth inning with one out, but Brandon Inge grounded into an inning-ending double play. In the sixth, the A's loaded them again but Inge flew out to left field.Starting Pitching ReportEntering Thursday's contest, A's starting pitchers were 1-2 with a 9.89 ERA over the last five games. Jarrod Parker stopped the skid, throwing seven shutout innings. He allowed three hits, and struck out six hitters. He was in complete control on the mound in a tough park for pitchers. He ended up throwing 89 pitches, 60 of them were strikes. Parker didn't allow a walk or a runner to reach second base until the sixth inning. In that frame, he got Marco Scutaro to ground out, and he struck out Carlos Gonzalez swinging to escape the jam. The former A's prospect, Gonzalez went 2-for-8 in the series. He didn't play on Wednesday. Bullpen ReportGrant Balfour pitched a perfect eighth inning in relief. Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth inning, allowing a homer to former Athletic Marco Scutaro. He also gave up an RBI-double to Tyler Colvin.In the FieldSuzuki made the most of a bad situation when one of Parker's pitches bounced in the dirt and off his chest guard; he was able to track down the ball a couple feet to his left and gun down Pacheco as he tried to advance to second.Up NextThe A's have concluded their road stretch of interleague play. They return home for nine games, starting with a three-game set with the Padres. The Dodgers and Giants follow.Travis Blackley (0-2, 4.97 ERA) will take the mound for the A's. He will be opposed by Anthony Bass (2-6, 4.38 ERA), who will be the starting pitcher for the Padres.