OAKLAND, Calif. _ Jed Lowrie made sure that he gave Washington Nationals pitcher Joe Ross a forgettable experience in his first major league start at his hometown ballpark.
Lowrie collected four RBIs in two at bats against the East Bay native, who grew up watching the A's at the Oakland Coliseum, leading the charge alongside Ryon Healy, who put together a career game in the A's 10-4 win Saturday afternoon.
Ross (2-2), who was drafted in the first round of the 2011 Major League draft (25th overall) after a sparkling career at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, surrendered a career-high six earned runs over three innings of work thanks in large part to Lowrie's two-run home run in the first and his two-run double in the second.
Lowrie snapped out of a 2-for-21 funk, going 3 for 5 with four RBIs, collecting another double in the fourth.
Healy also played significant role is Ross' dismal outing. After Lowrie went yard in the first, Healy gave the A's a 4-0 lead by hitting a home run of his own on a 92-mph sinker with Yonder Alonso aboard. He recorded the first multi-home run game of his career in the seventh, going back-to-back with Alonso, his eighth home run in 27 games.
Healy also doubled in the third and fifth innings, going 4 for 4 with three RBIs, tying an A's franchise record with four extra base hits in the game. Alonso's 16th home run of the season with Khris Davis aboard was his second in as many days.
Despite the early run production, the A's defense allowed the Nationals to climb back into the game momentarily, giving them an extra out in the third inning.
Chad Pinder allowed the leadoff man to reach base by fumbling a routine ground ball off the thumb of his glove, committing the A's major league-leading 56th error of the season. Then, after Jayson Werth struck out and Trea Turner got caught stealing, Pinder lost a pop up to shallow left field in the sun, allowing Ryan Zimmerman to reach base after Daniel Murphy singled.
The next batter, Adam Lind, made the A's pay, driving his fourth home run of the season into the right-field bleachers, spoiling an otherwise respectable start for Daniel Mengden, who's trying to keep a spot in the rotation with Jesse Hahn likely to return from the 10-day disabled list in the near future.
If it wasn't for the three-run homer, Mengden would have allowed just one earned run in his 42/3 innings on the hill, the product of a double, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly to center in the second.
The A's bullpen shut the door on the Nationals high-powered offense after Mengden left the game in the fifth. Liam Hendriks (2-0), Daniel Coulombe, Ryan Madson and John Axford combined to throw 41/3 innings of shutout baseball.
