OAKLAND, Calif. _ Manager Bob Melvin didn't expect new A's starter Tanner Roark would feel any pressure to make a good first impression.
But his teammates had to like what they saw from the 32-year-old right-hander, who allowed just one run through five innings in the A's 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in front of 24,603 on Sunday.
Catcher Dustin Garneau, back in Oakland two years later after being claimed on waivers from the Angels on Saturday, made a good second-time first impression. He doubled in two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to put the A's in front 2-1.
The A's (64-48) won their third in a row and sixth in seven games with their two-game sweep of the Cardinals, and remain one-half game back of Tampa Bay for the second American League wild card spot.
Roark (7-7), who came to the A's in a trade with Cincinnati this week, walked two and struck out six while throwing 109 pitches in his debut.
"I don't think that will be the case for him, going out there and worrying about having to make a great first impression. I think he's going to go out there and do his job," Melvin said of Roark before the game.
"He's a bulldog. We were lucky to get him."
Roark retired seven of the first eight St. Luis batters he faced before loading the bases with two walks and a hit batsman in the third. He escaped unscathed, but not before throwing 35 pitches in the inning, including 14 to Paul Goldschmidt, who eventually earned one of those walks.
Paul DeJong put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with a 419-foot homer to left to lead off the fourth.
But that didn't last. The A's took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning when Garneau _ in his second at-bat since arriving _ doubled to deep center, scoring Mark Canha and Stephen Piscotty, who both were hit by pitches from Adam Wainwright.
Jurickson Profar hit his 15th homer of the season with one out in the sixth, pushing Oakland's lead to 3-1 and chasing Wainwright.
St. Louis pulled within 3-2 in the eighth, but the A's restored their two-run margin when Garneau scored on a wild pitch by John Gant in the bottom of the inning.
_ Left-hander Sean Manaea, rehabbing after shoulder surgery last September, suffered what the A's believe is a minor setback when he felt soreness in his right side during his outing last Tuesday for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. Melvin said Manaea is being shut down for a few days. He pitched six innings against the New Orleans Baby Cakes, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight.
