OAKLAND, Calif., April 25 (UPI) -- Ted Lilly tossed 7 2/3 innings and Mark Ellis collected three hits Friday night, including a leadoff home run, as the Oakland Athletics defeated the Cleveland Indians, 5-2.
It was Oakland's fifth win in seven games.
With Oakland's big three of Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder combining for four losses, Lilly (2-0) allowed two runs and six hits with a walk and two strikeouts to extend his winning streak to a career-high three games, dating to Sept. 28.
After working around a first-inning single by Casey Blake, Lilly got immediate support from Ellis, who launched a 2-1 offering from rookie Jason Davis over the left-center field wall for his first career leadoff homer.
Oakland added two runs in the second for a 3-0 cushion before Blake belted a solo shot in the third. Shane Spencer led off the seventh with a homer to cut Cleveland's deficit to 3-2, but Lilly and Chad Bradford combined to retire the side in the eighth before Keith Foulke worked the ninth for his fifth save.
Davis (2-3) had a personal two-game winning streak snapped, yielding four runs and 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Indians, who have dropped six straight against Oakland and fell to 2-6 on a 10-game road trip.
