A's Stay Hot, Gray Faces De La Rosa

(AP) -- No NL team has won a series in Oakland since 2012, but Colorado's probably not concerning itself with a series victory.

Simply winning a game in an AL park needs to happen first, and with AL ERA leader Sonny Gray taking the mound Tuesday night, the Rockies matching the all-time record for a road losing streak in interleague play seems the more likely outcome.

Oakland (35-44) won 7-1 on Monday and is an MLB-best 18-5 at O.co Coliseum against the NL since the start of 2013. That spans nine-plus series with A's pitchers posting a 2.58 ERA and their lineup scoring 5.4 runs per game. In five interleague games this season, they're averaging 7.8 runs and batting .320.

The Rockies (33-43), meanwhile, have lost 14 straight in AL parks and can match the Los Angeles Dodgers' record 15-game streak from 2005-06.

Oakland has won the last four meetings with an average of 8.3 runs and is batting .321 in the last six. Monday's victory ended a three-game losing streak behind home runs from Josh Reddick, Billy Butler and Ike Davis. Butler has a .435 average in 13 games against NL teams.

Colorado got three hits from Troy Tulowitzki, who has a career-best 13-game hitting streak and is batting an MLB-leading .389 while reaching base in a career-best 28 straight.

Gray (9-3, 2.09 ERA), who's trying to become the AL's second 10-game winner, has allowed at least three runs in consecutive starts for the first time this season. The right-hander gave up three runs and nine hits in six innings of Thursday's 6-3 win in Texas and came away with the victory, and his manager acknowledged it wasn't quite the same pitcher Oakland has grown used to this season.

"He battles himself sometimes," Bob Melvin said. "He can be as tough on himself as opposed to battling the opponent, and there are periods during the season when you just don't feel completely locked in, which is odd to hear about him."

Gray is still just a passable outing away from becoming the first A's starter since Gio Gonzalez in 2011 (2.38) to enter July with an ERA under 2.50 and just the fourth dating to 1990. He's astrong outing away from joining Dan Haren (1.91 in 2007) and Justin Duchscherer (1.91, 2008) in breaking 2.00.

He hasn't faced an NL team this season but went 1-1 with a 4.81 ERA in four interleague starts in 2014. However, those numbers have often been enough to beat Jorge De La Rosa.

De La Rosa (4-3, 5.15) is probably struggling more than he ever has in Colorado, in part because his 4.84 walks per nine innings is his highest rate since spending 2006 with Milwaukee and Kansas City.

The left-hander overcame three walks to limit Arizona to one run and four hits in five innings of Thursday's 6-4 win, though he didn't receive the decision after leaving with a cut on the middle finger of his pitching hand. The recurrence of the injury is causing concern, but he was able to throw between starts without issue.

"We know this is something he's had in the past, and typically, he's been able to get over it," manager Walt Weiss said. "That cut opened up pretty good. We felt like if we let him go any longer, he was really going to tear that thing and maybe be looking at a possible DL situation. ... But it's something that's been fairly chronic, so there's some concern there."

Since joining the Rockies in 2008, De La Rosa is 2-2 with a 2.34 ERA in seven starts in AL parks, which includes a win in Oakland in 2009.

Updated June 30, 2015