Piazza Hits 424th Career Homer As Oakland Beats Tampa Bay 12-2.

Thursday, August 23rd 2007, 9:34 pm

By: News On 6

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) _ Mike Piazza hit his 424th homer, had four hits and drove in a season-high five runs, powering the Oakland Athletics to a 12-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday night.

Piazza hit a two-run shot _ his fifth of the year _ off Brian Stokes to extended the A's lead to 10-1 in the sixth. The designated hitter, who missed 68 games this season with a right shoulder injury, put Oakland ahead 1-0 on a run-scoring double in the first, had a fourth-inning RBI single and a run-scoring double in the eighth.

Chad Gaudin (10-9) allowed one run over seven innings and Jack Cust hit a two-run homer for the Athletics (65-64), who moved over the .500 mark for the first time since July 7. Oakland has won five in a row, matching a season high.

Tampa Bay, which has allowed 10 or more runs 21 times this year, got within 6-1 on Akinori Iwamura's RBI single in the third. The Devil Rays, with the major's worst record at 48-79, are 15-39 since June 25.

Gaudin scattered five hits, walked two and set a career high with 10 strikeouts. He improved to 2-6 in nine starts since the All-Star break.

Cust hit a two-run homer off Jason Hammel (1-4) during a five-run second that gave Oakland a 6-0 lead. Shannon Stewart added a two-run double and Nick Swisher drove in a run with a double.

Cust has 22 homers since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento on May 4. He hit his first homer on May 6, but hadn't hit one before that since Sept. 22, 2003.

Hammel allowed six runs, five hits and five walks in three innings. He is winless in 16 career starts, which is the longest start of a career streak since Oakland's Mike Mohler went winless in all of his 20 career starts from 1993-97.

Tampa Bay's Jonny Gomes had an eight-inning RBI single off reliever Kiko Calero.

Carlos Pena was hit by Calero in the bottom of the inning, and in the top of the ninth Juan Salas hit Oakland's J.J Furmaniak with the first pitch. Santiago Casilla threw behind the back of Brendan Harris in the bottom of the ninth and was immediately ejected by plate umpire John Hirschbeck.

Notes: Casilla was replaced by Ruddy Lugo. ... Piazza has three homers and 15 RBIs in 15 career games against the Devil Rays. ... Tampa Bay CF Rocco Baldelli (strained left hamstring) sat out what would have been his third minor league rehab game with Class-A Vero Beach because of sore legs. The Devil Rays said the soreness was not hamstring related. ... Oakland SS Marco Scutaro was scratched from the starting lineup with what manager Bob Geren called a ``non-baseball condition.'' ... Stewart has 40 RBIs this season, 30 coming on the road. ... Swisher had eight RBIs in four games against Tampa Bay this year. ... Devil Rays RF Delmon Young had two assists and set a team rookie record with 15 outfield assists this season. He also went 0-for-4 and is hitless in 18 at-bats.