Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Oakland 6, Cleveland 4
When: 10:05 PM ET, Friday, August 17, 2012
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
Temperature: 63°
Umpires: Home - Joe West, 1B - Sam Holbrook, 2B - Andy Fletcher, 3B - Rob Drake
Attendance: 13967

Athletics 6, Indians 4:
Josh Donaldson drove in a pair - including the tiebreaking run in the eighth - as part of a 4-for-4 night to help host Oakland edge Cleveland.

Donaldson, who entered the contest batting .167, locked up his second career three-hit game with a single in the sixth and got a chance for personal history in the eighth when he came up with the bases loaded and none out. The 26-year-old got a slider from Vinnie Pestano on a 1-2 count and lined it to left, plating pinch runner Adam Rosales with the go-ahead run.

Cliff Pennington had two RBIs and Chris Carter hit a sacrifice fly for the Athletics, who crept within a half-game of Detroit and Baltimore for the second wild card spot in the American League.

Jordan Norberto (4-1) got the win with 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief and Grant Balfour worked the ninth for his 10th save. Joe Smith (7-3), who allowed the first two batters to reach in the eighth, took the loss for Cleveland.

The Indians grabbed a 4-0 lead with one swing in the fourth inning. Tommy Milone allowed a walk and a single sandwiched around and error to load the bases with no outs for Shelley Duncan. The slugger worked the count to 3-2 before taking an inside fastball and blasting it into the stands in left-center for his first career grand slam.

Cleveland starter Zach McAllister almost immediately coughed up that advantage as Oakland rebounded for three runs in the third on RBIs by Donaldson, Derek Norris and Pennington.

The Athletics drew even in the fifth when Yoenis Cespedes, whose error helped load the bases in the fourth, doubled and stole third before scoring the tying run on Carter’s sacrifice fly.

GAME NOTEBOOK:
Oakland RF Josh Reddick did not start after undergoing a second dental procedure this week Friday afternoon. He singled as a pinch hitter in the eighth. … Indians RHP Josh Tomlin will get a second opinion on his balky elbow next week from Dr. Lewis Yocum. … Athletics leadoff hitter Coco Crisp went 0-for-5 and is 2-for-21 over the last five games. … Asdrubal Cabrera went 2-for-4 for Cleveland, giving him multiple hits for the third time in four contests.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Cleveland   Oakland
Zach McAllister Player Tom Milone
No Decision W/L No Decision
6.0 IP 5.0
6 Strikeouts 6
8 Hits 7
6.00 ERA 7.20
Hitting
Cleveland   Oakland
Michael Brantley Player Josh Donaldson
2 Hits 4
0 RBI 2
0 HR 0
2 TB 5
.500 Avg 1.000
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Cleveland 7 1 11 .206 10 11 4 1 0 0
Oakland 11 0 13 .333 14 9 6 2 2 0