Kotsay Takes Mastery of Dickey to a New Level

OAKLAND —  R.A. Dickey found out back in college that Mark Kotsay was a capable hitter.

The Texas starter received another reminder Saturday.

Kotsay homered twice, and the Oakland Athletics stopped a three-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Rangers.

Kotsay connected for a two-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the fifth, sending both over the right-field wall and giving him seven home runs this season. It was the second multihomer game of his career; the first was Sept. 22, 2002, against the Dodgers while with San Diego.

“Even in college he beat me up -- when he was at Fullerton and I was at Tennessee,” said Dickey, a teammate with Kotsay on the 1996 Olympic team. “He sees the ball well off me. He’s comfortable in the box against me.... I have to find a way to make him uncomfortable.”

Kotsay went three for five and is batting .370 in July.

Eric Chavez also homered for Oakland, a two-run shot in the seventh. He has two homers since returning July 9 after missing more than a month because of a broken right hand.

Kirk Saarloos (2-1) pitched five strong innings for the A’s, who pulled within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Rangers in the AL West. Justin Duchscherer, Jim Mecir and Octavio Dotel combined to pitch four scoreless innings of relief.

In the ninth, third base umpire Bruce Dreckman approached the mound and examined Dotel’s glove, removing a reflective sticker. Moments later, Texas third base coach Steve Smith started hollering at A’s Manager Ken Macha and the Oakland dugout. Many of the Rangers then came out of their dugout.

Texas Manager Buck Showalter hustled onto the field and calmed Smith down.

Smith said afterward he saw something shining on Dotel’s glove and asked Dreckman to look into it.