OAKLAND, Calif. — The way his teammates were hitting the ball, Gio Gonzalez forgot all about Oakland’s recent losing streak.
Kevin Kouzmanoff and Adam Rosales each hit two-run homers, Gonzalez allowed four hits in seven innings and the Oakland Athletics ended a five-game losing streak, beating the Seattle Mariners 8-4 on Monday night.
“Sometimes I psych myself out,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t even realize we were in such a long losing streak. The way we played, it felt more like a five-game winning streak.”
Rajai Davis drove in two runs, and Daric Barton and Kurt Suzuki also drove in runs for the A’s, who have won eight of their last 11 homes games.
“Their pitcher left a few balls up in the zone and we didn’t miss them,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. “It’s good for their confidence. There was a much lighter mood on the bench tonight.”
Gonzalez (4-3) gave up three runs and matched his season high for innings pitched. He walked three and struck out four.
“I want to be in the same pack as the other pitchers where you say whoever pitches we have a chance to win,” Gonzalez said. “I like that kind of confidence and I want to bust my tail off for this team because of it.”
Matt Tuiasosopo hit a home run, and Jose Lopez had two hits and drove in three runs for the Mariners, who lost their third straight and have dropped five of six overall.
Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-4) gave up a career-worst seven runs in 4 1-3 innings, his shortest start of his career. He matched his career high of 10 hits allowed, and has failed to pitch more than 4 1-3 innings in each of his last three starts. Rowland-Smith has given up 17 runs over his past 10 innings.
“It seems like anything I threw in the zone, they were crushing it,” Rowland-Smith said. “I felt like I was hitting the glove, and I try to think if there’s anything else. I don’t know, baseball, for me, is just not happening right now.”
Jack Cust went 3 for 4 for the A’s, making him 5 for 10 since his recall from Triple-A on Saturday. Barton ended an 0-for-15 skid emphatically, hitting a double and triple among his three hits. Ryan Sweeney also added two hits as the A’s matched their season high with 15 hits.
“Any time you’re not winning games, it’s nice to come home and get a nice win,” Cust said. “Guys got pitches to hit. We were able to get balls up in the zone and not missing. It’s the makings of a good night doing that. Kouz hit a nice home run early on and we didn’t let up after that.”
The A’s scored a total of five runs during their five-game streak.
After Lopez’s RBI single in the first gave Seattle a 1-0, Oakland came right back in the bottom of the inning to go up 2-1 on Kouzmanoff’s two-run homer.
The Athletics made it 5-1 in the next inning on Davis’ two-run double and Barton’s sacrifice fly. They added two more in the third on Rosales’ two-run shot.
Tuiasosopo’s second career home run came when Davis knocked the ball over the fence trying to catch it in the fourth inning.
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