OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Tim Beckham prefers not to discuss how well he’s going at the plate since departing Tampa Bay to join the Baltimore Orioles.
Manager Buck Showalter refuses to jinx it, either.
“We’re not going to talk about him,” Showalter said. “Timmy likes playing outside it looks like.”
Beckham hit a two-run double in his second plate appearance of the first inning as the Orioles matched their biggest frame of the season with a seven-run first and went on to beat the Oakland Athletics 12-5 on Saturday night.
Dylan Bundy (12-8) matched his career high with 10 strikeouts, equaling the number from his previous outing, to win his third straight start and fourth consecutive decision. The right-hander allowed three runs and seven hits with three walks as the Orioles won for only the second time in five games.
Adam Jones drove in three runs for Baltimore.
Beckham drew a walk to begin the game then extended his hitting streak to 12 games with the double, the Orioles’ eighth hit of the first, and one of his four on the night. They finished with a season-high tying 20 hits and eight doubles - one shy of the most in franchise history.
“I’m seeing it well and it’s fun when you’re playing good and your team’s playing winning baseball,” Beckham said.
A’s starter Sean Manaea’s night was rough after just one out. After Beckham’s walk, Baltimore got six straight hits with three of them doubles to jump ahead 4-0. Michael Brady relieved.
The A’s quickly got three runs back on Khris Davis’ two-run homer in the bottom of the first and Matt Olson’s leadoff drive to start the second - his second homer in as many games - but they also left runners on first and second that inning.
Beckham doubled again in the fourth after Joey Rickard got aboard on a hit by pitch, and Jones hit a two-run single after his earlier RBI double.
Oakland center fielder and leadoff hitter Boog Powell made his A’s debut a day after he had planned and struck out three times after a walk and single. He went to the emergency room Friday night after being a late scratch because he was battling a cold and had trouble breathing from an asthma attack.
Manaea (8-7) didn’t get out of the fourth inning for a third straight start - going 6 2/3 total innings his past three appearances - and lost consecutive decisions for just the second time all season, running his winless stretch to five starts since defeating Cleveland on July 16. Manager Bob Melvin suggested his pitcher might be tired.
“The past three starts have been awful,” Manaea said.
BECKHAM’S HOT BAT
Since joining the Orioles in a trade from Tampa Bay on July 31, Beckham is batting a sizzling .531 (26 for 49) with nine multi-hit games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: 2B Jonathan Schoop was hit in the left side by a pitch from Brady in the sixth but stayed in the game. … SS J.J. Hardy, on the disabled list since June 19 with a broken right wrist, will not be activated immediately when eligible next week. “He’s not going to make the 18th. We’re hoping not too long after,” Showalter said. “He’s progressing right on schedule. He did his work today, he’s getting a little better every day. He’s taking a lot of dry swings and he’s not having soreness there. The bone itself has healed, it’s the other stuff we have to get back into playing shape.” … RHP Ubaldo Jimenez is OK after leaving his Friday start in the sixth when he took a hard-hit grounder by Chad Pinder on the lower right leg. Showalter expects him to make his next start.
Athletics: A’s CF prospect Dustin Fowler, who could be the starter next year if healthy, had his right knee brace unlocked Saturday so he can now bend the knee as he rehabs from a frightening injury in his major league debut with the Yankees on June 29. Playing a road game at the White Sox, he suffered an open rupture of the patellar tendon when it hit a metal box used for Wi-Fi, and was carted off for immediate surgery to repair the damage and close the wound.
Fowler is scheduled to remain with Oakland in his recovery until at least season’s end.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Jeremy Hellickson makes his third start for the Orioles since a July 28 trade from the Phillies when he pitches Baltimore’s series finale at Oakland. He is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA since the switch.
Athletics: RHP Kendall Graveman (2-3, 4.97) looks for his first win in three starts since coming off the DL on Aug. 3.
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