A's Pound Royals' Rookie Phenom Hochevar

Oakland battered rookie phenom Luke Hochevar just as it did Kansas City's experienced starters the previous two days. Dana Eveland won for the first time in three starts as the Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the Royals with a 7-1 victory Sunday. Oakland improved to 12-8 for its best record through 20 games since starting 13-7 in 1992.

Rob Bowen, Chris Denorfia and Mark Ellis all hit RBI singles in the fourth off Hochevar as the A's batted around that inning. Bobby Crosby went 3-for-4 with an RBI while Oakland bounced back from its first three-game skid of the season. Kansas City managed just three hits and had 15 in the series to Oakland's 42. The Royals were outscored 26-8. (More baseball stories.)