Frank Thomas tripled for the first time in six years, Daric Barton hit a three-run homer and the Oakland Athletics took over the AL West lead from the Los Angeles Angels with a 14-2 rout of the defending division champions Monday night in the opener of a four-game series. Jack Hannahan and Emil Brown also homered for the Athletics, who have won eight of 10.
They came into this series with just nine home runs through their first 26 games. Chad Gaudin (3-1) breezed to his third straight victory, allowing two runs _ one earned _ and five hits over six innings with four strikeouts. The right-hander was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his previous four starts against the Angels. (More baseball stories.)