Major League Baseball
Oakland 12, Detroit 3
When: 4:05 PM ET, Saturday, May 28, 2016
Where: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
Temperature: 77°
Umpires: Home - Andy Fletcher, 1B - Ramon De Jesus, 2B - Kerwin Danley, 3B - Joe West
Attendance: 24154

OAKLAND, Calif. -- On a day when he got his power back, Oakland Athletics first baseman Billy Butler demonstrated you don't have to hit the ball out of the ballpark to be a difference-maker.

Butler belted his first home run of the season Saturday, then ignited an A's runaway with a two-run single to the opposite field in a five-run sixth inning, leading Oakland to a 12-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Butler, Danny Valencia and Khris Davis hit home runs, and the A's bombed the Detroit bullpen for nine runs on 11 hits in the sixth and seventh innings, helping Oakland win for just the second time in its last nine games.

"Biggest hit of the game," A's manager Bob Melvin gushed of Butler's two-RBI single, which broke a 3-3 tie. "He's going to go home in a good mood today, and he should."

After Victor Martinez's two-run homer off A's starter Jesse Hahn (2-2) had rallied the Tigers into a 3-3 tie in the top of the sixth, the Oakland offense teed off on Tigers reliever Warwick Saupold (1-1), who hadn't allowed a run in any of his three previous appearances this season.

Valencia got the A's rolling with a leadoff single in the sixth. He was doubled to third by Davis, and both scored on Butler's liner to right field that put Oakland in front for good at 5-3.

"Those types of hits are what you're trying to do as a hitter," Butler said of going the other way. "I've always been a complete hitter. You take what the pitcher gives you and maximize it."

Marcus Semien added an RBI double and Jake Smolinski hit a sacrifice fly to increase the A's lead to 7-3, and Coco Crisp greeted left-hander Kyle Ryan with a run-scoring single, capping a five-run inning.

Hahn didn't take the mound for the top of the seventh, having allowed three runs on five hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out five.

Oakland blew the game wide open against the fourth Tigers pitcher, Alex Wilson, in the bottom of the seventh. Davis provided the big blow with a three-run homer, his 14th of the season.

The home run was Davis' 11th in the month of May.

"Eleven, that's a good month. I did that one season," Melvin said with a chuckle. "I don't have anything to relate to that."

Doubles by Josh Phegley and Smolinsky made it a four-run uprising and 12-3 lead later in the inning.

The A's finished with 17 hits and scored in double figures for the first time this season.

"It shows us again we have the ability to do it," Melvin insisted. "We have to sustain it."

Valencia, whose solo homer in the fourth inning was his seventh of the season, and Phegley had three hits apiece for the A's, who had averaged just 2.9 runs in their previous eight games. Valencia also scored three times.

Davis and Butler, who opened Oakland's scoring with a solo homer in the second inning, recorded three RBIs apiece for the A's, who had been held to five hits in a 4-1 loss in the series opener Friday night.

"I've always been a gap-to-gap hitter," said Butler, who'd been hitless in his previous 11 at-bats before his homer. "The homers will come."

Butler had opened the season with a 29-game homerless streak, two more than his previous longest season-opening drought, set in 2014.

Tigers left-hander Matt Boyd, who had been recalled from Triple-A Toledo earlier in the day, left a 3-3 game in the sixth inning. He allowed six hits and three runs in his six innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out seven, including the first four A's he faced.

"When you fall behind in the count, it shortens your outing," noted Boyd, who was pulled after throwing 94 pitches. "I need to be able to get deeper into games. I wish I could have a few pitches back."

Martinez and Ian Kinsler had two hits apiece for the Tigers, who totaled just six hits against four A's pitchers.

Kinsler, who recorded his 20th multiple-hit game of the season, also stole two bases for Detroit, which lost for just the third time in 12 games while falling to 1-1 at the start of a six-game Western swing.

NOTES: The Athletics improved to 6-5 against left-handed pitchers. They are just 15-24 against righties. ... The last Oakland player to hit more than 11 home runs in a month was 1B Jason Giambi, who clubbed 13 in September of 2000. ... Tigers manager Brad Ausmus returned to the team after having missed the last two games, one because of the death of his mother, the other because his daughter was graduating from high school. ... In order to create a spot for LHP Matt Boyd on the active roster, the Tigers demoted OF Steven Moya to Triple-A Toledo. ... Boyd started in place of RHP Jordan Zimmerman (strained groin), who will throw a bullpen session Sunday in Oakland to determine if he can make his next start or perhaps have to go on the disabled list. ... A's ace RHP Sonny Gray (strained right trapezius) had a bullpen stint before Saturday's game and appears in line to return from the DL when eligible on June 5. ... A's RF Josh Reddick (broken left thumb) not only was in uniform (albeit inactive) on his bobblehead day, but also signed autographs (right-handed) before the game.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Detroit   Oakland
Matt Boyd Player Jesse Hahn
No Decision W/L Win
5.0 IP 6.0
7 Strikeouts 5
6 Hits 5
5.40 ERA 4.50
Hitting
Detroit   Oakland
Victor Martinez Player Danny Valencia
2 Hits 3
2 RBI 1
1 HR 1
5 TB 6
.667 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Detroit 6 1 11 .194 11 7 2 4 2 0
Oakland 17 3 32 .436 8 7 12 1 0 1