OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- It was a swing and a miss by Ramon Hernandez that propelled the Oakland Athletics to their best start in 11 years.
Hernandez struck out on a wild pitch by Francisco Rodriguez, but Jermaine Dye raced home with the tying run when the ball went to the backstop as the Athletics scored three times in the seventh inning and completed a three-game sweep of the Anaheim Angels, 7-6.
"The pitch I threw to Hernandez was a tough one to catch," Rodriguez admitted. "It broke and dropped. I don't blame (catcher Benji Molina). It was my fault."
Chris Singleton drove in three runs for the Athletics, including an RBI single off Rodriguez (0-1) that snapped a 5-5 tie in the seventh.
Mark Ellis, who had a career-high four hits, capped the inning with a sacrifice fly and also played flawless defense at second base.
"It was very nice to get four hits. It shows them that we can hustle and create some pressure on the defense," Ellis said. "I think I'm in a good groove defensively. Here at the Oakland Coliseum you always have to keep moving when you field the ball. The ball really squirts around."
The Athletics completed a six-game homestand with five wins and equalled their best start after six games since 1992. The A's completed their first sweep of Anaheim of three or more games since October 4-7, 2001.
"We're not playing the kind of ball we can play," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think we were pressing too much."
Chad Bradford (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win, working out of a jam in the seventh by leaving a runner at third base.
Keith Foulke pitched the ninth for his second save despite allowing a home run to Tim Salmon.
Brad Fullmer drove in three runs for the Angels, who continue a six-game road trip on Tuesday in Seattle.
Rodriguez, the 21-year-old who had five postseason wins last season as the Angels went on to the World Series, had a more difficult time on Sunday night.
Rodriguez walked Dye and Erubiel Durazo to open the seventh. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, and Dye came home when Hernandez swung at another wild pitch by Rodriguez which was in the dirt.
A surprised Hernandez stood at the plate before his teammates screamed at him to run to first base.
"I remembered it was a fair ball and I had to run," Hernandez admitted. "It took a second. I thought someone was there. When I didn't see anyone, I took off."
Singleton singled to right to put the Athletics ahead to stay.
"I know I'm not always going to get opportunity to drive in runs so I have to find my spots," Singleton said. "I think with all the young able bodies we have here, we should run as much as possible."
Ellis followed with a sacrifice fly.
Oakland starter Tim Hudson, who combined on a shutout on Opening Day, labored through five innings, allowing four runs and six hits and walking six.
Two of the walks came in the first inning, when the Angels scored on a run-scoring single by Garret Anderson and an RBI force play by Fullmer.
"Hudson was throwing great," Oakland manager Ken Macha said. "He was throwing harder then he was on Tuesday night, but he was overthrowing a bit."
The Angels added single runs off Hudson on RBI singles by Fullmer in the third and Salmon in the fourth.
Fullmer drove in his final run with a groundout in the seventh before Bradford relieved Micah Bowie and retired Scott Spiezio on a groundout with a runner on third.
Angels starter John Lackey lasted five innings, allowing four runs and nine hits. The first batter he faced was Ellis, who doubled and later scored when Miguel Tejada grounded into a force play.
Oakland scored three times in the fourth on a two-run double by Singleton and an RBI single by Ellis.
Salmon and Anderson each had three hits.
