OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- After getting a shot in the arm, Mark Mulder gave one to the Oakland Athletics.
Mulder pitched a three-hitter for sixth career shutout and the Oakland Athletics scored both of their runs on sacrifice flies in a 2-0 blanking of the Detroit Tigers.
Mulder had a 5.60 ERA in seven Cactus League appearances and allowed four runs in each of his first three starts of the season, yielding 25 hits in those outings. But he said he found his rhythm in Saturday's win at Texas, where he allowed two runs in seven innings.
During that game, he was struck on the arm with a line drive off the bat of Einar Diaz.
"You have to keep focused out there. Maybe I wasn't doing that before," Mulder said. "I feel more focused out there. I wasn't so focused in the first three. Maybe getting hit in the arm in the last game has made me focus on pitching a different way. It's changed the way I approach the game."
Mulder was so efficient that the game lasted just 2 hours, 6 minutes.
"Everything was going so well out there, I was almost begging the guys to have quick at-bats so I could get back out there quickly," he said.
The lefthander retired the first 13 batters before rookie Craig Monroe singled off the pitcher's glove in the fifth.
The other hits for Detroit were a double in the fifth and a single in the seventh, both by Dean Palmer.
The Tigers failed to win back-to-back games for the first time this season and fell to 2-18, by far the worst record in the majors. One of those wins came Wednesday night against Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito, but Detroit could not handle Mulder.
"The guy is legit out there. He did what he had to do. He changed speeds and he kept us out of sync," Tigers manager Alan Trammell said. "Our inexperience showed, especially in the part where our batters were swinging early in the counts."
Mulder (3-1) walked one and struck out five for his first shutout since June 12 against Milwaukee. His most serious threat came when Palmer's double put runners at second and third.
Ramon Santiago grounded to shortstop, where Miguel Tejada threw out Monroe at the plate. Brandon Inge flied out to end the inning.
"This is two great outings in a row. That's huge," Oakland manager Ken Macha said. "The way our team is hitting right now, we need good pitching. He seems to be finding what he needs to get it done."
Mulder got all the support he needed in the fifth, when Eric Byrnes and Terrance Long singled. The runners advanced on a groundout before Chris Singleton lifted a sacrifice fly.
Nate Cornejo (1-2) was the hard-luck loser, allowing one run and five hits in six innings.
"I didn't have my best stuff today. I tried to overcome it," Cornejo said. "I just tried to throw strikes. I tried to relax out there and keep them off-balance."
Mark Ellis added a sacrifice fly in the seventh, capping an inning in which shortstop Omar Infante committed two errors on the same play.
Oakland shortstop Miguel Tejada, the reigning American League MVP, was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .160. But he has no desire to rest.
"I don't want to sit out, it's not going to help me," Tejada said. "It's not going to help me to not play. I'm going to find my swing, I'm going to start hitting."
Oakland right fielder Jermaine Dye left in the fifth with discomfort in his right knee.
