OAKLAND -- Justin Duchscherer has spent his fair share of time on the disabled list -- more than 125 games through three stints. So you'd think right-hander would want to stay on the mound as long as possible.
Duchscherer does -- just not in the literal sense. He wants to get in and out of innings as quickly as he can, which is exactly what he did in guiding the A's to a 4-2 win over Baltimore on Tuesday night.
His last stint on the DL came less than a month ago when he was forced to sit out with a strained right biceps before being reinstated April 26, when he gave up two runs on six hits, throwing 73 pitches on a strict pitch limit in a loss against Seattle.
Duchscherer's efforts Tuesday night resulted in the third consecutive victory for the A's, who relied on not just another solid pitcher but a hot lineup in the second game of a three-game series in front of another small crowd -- 11,492 after 10,128 watched Monday night -- at McAfee Coliseum.
"I'm glad we took our time with him," A's manager Bob Geren said after Tuesday's victory. "He looks like he's 100 percent, and he's pitching like he is."
Duchscherer (3-1) threw seven effective innings, using only 85 pitches (56 for strikes) to limit the Orioles to two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four.
"Real solid outing," Geren said. "Seven innings -- I like that."
The righty threw just 30 pitches through the first three innings before running into trouble in the fourth. He threw 22 pitches in that inning, allowing two hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly -- leading to the O's two runs -- before returning to form and tossing 33 through his last three innings.
"He missed by inches," Geren said of the walks. "He was right in there. If that's losing your control, that's pretty good."
Said Baltimore manager Dave Trembley: "Their guy just pitched real well. When you're struggling, you get overanxious and it doesn't seem like things go your way."
Unlike the two previous games, in which the A's waited until the seventh inning to score, Oakland wasted no time at the plate.
With two outs in the first inning, a struggling Frank Thomas lined a single to right. Jack Cust followed with a single before Emil Brown got his team-leading 28th RBI to bring Thomas in and put the A's up, 1-0.
Thomas came into the game hitting .198, but looked like the .667 career hitter he is against Baltimore starter Brian Burres, going 2-for-3 with a walk to bring his batting average to .212. The Big Hurt got his second hit of the night in the third when dropped in a single to right. With the bases loaded and none out, Thomas scored his second run as Bobby Crosby grounded into a fielder's choice. Mark Ellis followed with another fielder's-choice grounder, bringing home Cust, who had reached on a single.
Oakland cushioned its lead in the sixth inning when Rajai Davis hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home Ellis. The A's second baseman was hit by a pitch and moved over to third when O's third baseman Melvin Mora made a throwing error that allowed Donnie Murphy to reach second on a force attempt.
Burres (3-3) allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings. Reliever Matt Albers pitched the final outs in the sixth, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out one.
Alan Embree relieved Duchscherer and pitched a perfect eighth with one strikeout. Geren said there were other factors than just pitch count when he decided to relieve his starter.
"It's not always about pitch count," the skipper said. "[Duchscherer] would have gone through the lineup for a fourth time, which is never good."
Even with closer Huston Street unavailable to pitch Tuesday, Geren said he "liked the way it went to get the last six outs," as Santiago Casilla threw a scoreless ninth for his first save of the year. The reliever has not allowed a run in 17 1/3 innings, which is the longest season-opening scoreless streak by an A's reliever since 1995.
"I knew it was going to be Alan or myself," Casilla said. "I enjoy pitching with a lot of pressure."
Geren, who usually keeps his words to a minimum, could not say enough about Casilla following another strong outing by the 27-year-old.
"I feel comfortable putting him in any position," said Geren, who worked with the pitcher as a coach in the Dominican Republic. "His confidence is growing with each Major League outing.
"The command is there, and the confidence is there now."
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