BALTIMORE (AP) – Nick Swisher and Mark Ellis homered off Jorge Julio in a five-run 12th inning, and the Oakland Athletics completed a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 10-5 victory Monday.

Oakland scored all its run on homers. Jay Payton hit a two-run shot in first inning and Dan Johnson connected with two on in the sixth. The A’s have 18 home runs in their last six games.

The victory enabled Oakland to extend its lead in the AL West to one full game over the Los Angeles Angels, who were idle Monday. The teams begin a three-game series Tuesday night in Anaheim.

Kiko Calero (3-1), the sixth Oakland pitcher, worked two scoreless innings to seal the A’s sixth straight win. It was Oakland’s first four-game sweep in Baltimore since the A’s moved from Kansas City in 1968.

Johnson led off the 12th by reaching third base when Eric Byrnes dropped his liner to left. Swisher followed by hitting a 2-2 pitch from Julio (3-4) over the right-field wall. Marco Scutaro and Jason Kendall both singled before Ellis hit his eighth homer, the fifth in six games.

Jay Gibbons homered and Melvin Mora had two RBIs for the Orioles, who have lost nine of 10. After losing two of three to the Angels, Baltimore concluded a 1-6 homestand by being outscored 36-12 in four games against Oakland.

The Orioles had a chance to break a 5-all tie in the eighth, putting runners at the corners with no outs against Justin Duchscherer, but pinch-runner Luis Matos held at third base when Sal Fasano hit into a double play before Brian Roberts grounded out.

Down 2-0, Baltimore took its first lead of the series with a three-run fifth. After Fasano drew a one-out walk and took third on a single by Roberts, Mora hit a two-run double to left and Javy Lopez chased Oakland starter Kirk Saarloos with a two-out RBI single.

Saarloos, who was bidding to win his fifth straight decision, allowed three runs, five hits and four walks in 4 2-3 innings.

The A’s regained the lead in the sixth. Orioles starter Erik Bedard retired 14 straight batters before Scott Hatteberg hit a two-out single and Bobby Kielty walked. Johnson hit Bedard’s next pitch into the right-field bleachers, extending his run of games with at least one RBI to eight.

Gibbons hit his 18th homer in the bottom half against Ricardo Rincon, and Baltimore made it 5-all in the seventh against Jay Witasick when Lopez drew a two-out walk and scored on B.J. Surhoff’s double.

The A’s went up 2-0 in the first inning when Eric Chavez drew a two-out walk and Payton drove Bedard’s next pitch into the left-field seats.

Notes: Oakland won the season series 7-4. … It was the second time in nine games that Baltimore scored at least five runs. … Oakland has scored first in six straight games and outscored the opposition 22-0 over the first three innings during its winning streak.

AP-ES-08-29-05 1855EDT

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