A's beat Tigers 12-3: Historic win thanks to Rookie Ruiz!

Historic day in A's lore, folks!

The Oakland Athletics (25-63) defeated the Detroit Tigers (37-48) for the second time in a row on Wednesday beating them 12-3 and giving the hosts not a single chance.

Most importantly, A's rookie Esteury Ruiz stole his 43rd base this season, a franchise rookie record!

Ruiz had to leave the game in the seventh inning after injuring his shoulder, but he did so having bunted for the first hit of the game right off the first pitch of the outing, and after committing an MLB-leading theft that itched his name in golden letters in the history of the A's.

Although Ruiz's exploits made for the biggest story on Wednesday, the truth is that the whole A's ballclub had itself a day. Starting on the mound, where Oakland decided to use Austin Pruitt as the opener for Ken Waldichuk, both pitchers combined to throw more than seven innings of no-hit baseball.

When all was said and done, Pruitt had logged three full innings allowing no hits and striking out one batter, while Waldichuk (2-5, earned the W) allowed a couple of runs on two hits walking three, although he stroke out three more men and held the Tigers off putting up a run until the game entered the eighth frame.

The A's scored three runs in the 1st inning had back-to-back one-run innings in the 3rd and 4th frames, and then added four and three more runs in the 6th and 8th innings respectively. By the time the A's reached their final 12-run tally the Tigers had yet to score their first and all they did was add three through the last two stanzas.

Everybody on the A's starting lineup except Brent Rooker and Aledmys Diaz got himself a run, and all batters to step to the plate for the A's except pinch-hitter Tyler Wade (he got just one AB), got a hit. Such a ridiculous game had the team.

Ryan Noda got the party started with a two-out two-run homer in the first inning putting the A's three runs up early. Shea Langeliers bagged a solo shot (his 10th of the season) in the fourth to make it five-nil.

Tony Kemp broke his one-game hitless streak after getting hits in the prior four outings by putting two balls in play and reaching base. One of those turned into an RBI following a screwed-up play by the inoperant Tigers on Wednesday.

So great were the A's, in fact, that even Jordan Diaz hit a two-run homer for his fifth this season and one to put the A's 12-0 on top. That happened with two outs in the 8th inning, and with Detroit still to hit the scoreboard even once. Sheesh.

I guess this is how it feels to root for a winning team, only for them this happens on a daily basis while for us fans of the A's, it's a rare development.

Your superheroes don't stop and they'll be taking the field on Thursday for the series finale against the Tigers before taking a place to Boston. The A's are facing, once more and for the second series in a row, a very realistic opportunity of sweeping an opponent for just the second time this season after they did it to the Milwaukee Brewers a month ago.

The A's will use rookie Hogan Harris (2-2, 5.17 ERA) to get things going while the Tigers are expected to try to fend off Oakland by deploying superstar Michael Lorenzen (2-6, 4.28). It's a Thursday matinee. Don't miss it.

More Oakland A's News