Blue Jays Can’t Handle Candiotti

OAKLAND — Tom Candiotti pitched six strong innings and A.J. Hinch and Scott Spiezio hit consecutive homers as the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2, Friday night for their sixth consecutive victory.

It’s the longest winning streak in three years for the A’s, who have gone 11-4 since a 2-10 start. The A’s last won six in a row from Sept. 15-20, 1995.

Candiotti (3-3) gave up two runs and six hits in a game played through intermittent rain. He struck out three and walked two.

The 40-year-old knuckleballer blanked the Blue Jays through five innings, facing one over the minimum in that span.

Erik Hanson (0-1) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out one in losing for the first time after three no-decisions. Hanson, who missed nearly all of last season because of shoulder problems, is looking for his first win since Sept. 23, 1996.

Hinch broke up a scoreless game with a one-out drive in the fourth. Spiezio followed with a homer to right.

Oakland went up, 4-0, in the fifth on run-scoring singles by Grieve and Jason Giambi.

Toronto pulled to 4-2 in the sixth on Shannon Stewart’s run-scoring single and Tony Fernandez’s RBI double, but the A’s added another run in the seventh when Grieve walked and Matt Stairs doubled him home.

Toronto, the worst hitting team in the league, has had seven or fewer hits in 17 of 28 games.