Duchscherer stymies Orioles

OAKLAND -- Tuesday's outing was a lot more uneventful than Justin Duchscherer's previous one.

The A's right-hander went just five innings Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels in a blowout victory that was comical in its one-sidedness. A dropped fly ball led to Duchscherer allowing five unearned runs that night. He also sat on the bench for what seemed like an eternity as the A's scored eight times in the top of the fifth inning.

No such bizarre happenings Tuesday night at McAfee Coliseum, where the A's cashed in a workmanlike 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. But it goes in the win column just the same, and it clinched the series victory for the A's, who finish up a six-game homestand this afternoon against the Orioles.

Duchscherer will take uneventful if it brings with it a pitching line like Tuesday's.

He scattered four hits over seven innings, allowing two earned runs with four strikeouts and two walks in 85 pitches. It was the longest outing of Duchscherer's four starts this season, and it tied his major-league high for innings pitched.

"I'm definitely encouraged," he said. "Hopefully I can get to that 100-pitch count, so I can pitch deeper."

Building up endurance is big for Duchscherer, getting his first legitimate shot at starting in the big leagues. Therefore it was a bit surprising to see him get yanked considering how strong he looked.

But Duchscherer said he was fine with the decision to pull him. Alan Embree worked a 1-2-3 eighth,

and Santiago Casilla notched his first save of the season with closer Huston Street having pitched Sunday and Monday.

"It's not always just the pitch count," A's manager Bob Geren said. "(Duchscherer) would have had to go through the lineup four times, which is difficult. And it had been seven innings. Plus, I liked the way it lined up for Embree. I liked the combination to get the last six outs with those two guys."

Duchscherer was making his third start since coming off the disabled list for a strained right biceps, and he's looked solid in each effort.

"He was awesome," second baseman Mark Ellis said. "He had unbelievable location, and he left very few pitches in the middle of the plate. He really took control of the game."

Duchscherer (3-1) hopes such performances keep him entrenched in the rotation. Rich Harden could be activated from the DL to start as soon as Sunday, and in that case, one of the current starters will have to be bumped.

Duchscherer earned a trip to the 2005 All-Star Game as a setup man but made it clear he prefers his current role.

"I don't want to think about" the possibility of returning to the bullpen, he said. "I worked all offseason to be a starter."

The A's didn't rip the ball against Orioles starter Brian Burres (3-3), but they picked away at him for four runs (three earned) in 5-1/3 innings.

Emil Brown drove in Frank Thomas in the first inning with a bloop single.

In the third, singles from Thomas, Jack Cust and Brown -- none of which were particularly stung -- loaded the bases with no outs. The A's netted two runs on fielder's choice grounders from Bobby Crosby and Ellis to take a 3-0 lead.

The Orioles trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with two runs in the fourth, as Duchscherer allowed two hits and two walks.

The A's added a run in the sixth, aided by a throwing error from Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora.

Casilla allowed a two-out walk to Kevin Millar in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate for Baltimore. But A's third baseman Jack Hannahan secured the final out by making a nice catch on Luke Scott's foul pop-up.

Contact Joe Stiglich at jstiglic@bayareanewsgroup.com