Rogers, A's Sweep Rockies

Kenny Rogers may be pitching himself off the trading block.

Rogers allowed three hits in 7 2-3 innings, winning his 17th straight decision at the Oakland Coliseum, as the Athletics completed a three-game sweep with a 4-3 win Tuesday over the Colorado Rockies.

Ben Grieve homered for the second straight game, and Matt Stairs and Eric Chavez also homered for the A's, who have won five of six since the All-Star break.

But now that the A's are in second place in the AL West and playing well, they may try to hold on to Rogers and make a run at the playoffs.

"As long as the team's doing well and he's pitching well, he's not going anywhere," Stairs said.

Rogers (5-3) gave up an unearned run on an RBI single by Dante Bichette with two outs in the eighth. Rogers walked two, hit two batters and struck out three.

Bill Taylor completed the six-hitter for his 25th save in 30 chances, allowing two runs in the ninth on an RBI grounder by Todd Helton and a run-scoring single by Lenny Harris. With the bases loaded and two outs, Taylor struck out Bichette.

"He gave me a couple of gray hairs there," Rogers said. "I'm glad we had a little bit of a margin where he could struggle and still get the save there."

Rogers has never lost at home since joining the A's before last season. He went 11-0 in Oakland last season and is 4-0 this year. He also had one win for the New York Yankees and one for the Texas Rangers in Oakland before joining the A's.

"He kept us off balance all day long. He paints his fastball outside. He keeps you honest," said Colorado's Vinny Castilla, who went 0-for-3 against Rogers. "We didn't figure him out. He was just throwing outside, outside, outside. I'm aggressive and he knows that and I kept chasing it, chasing it."

Grieve hit a two-run homer in the fifth, his 14th of the season. Stars and Chavez had solo shots Stairs hit his 18th in the second and Chavez had his eighth in the sixth inning.

All three homers came off Darryl Kile (5-9), who allowed four runs, five hits and six walks in six innings. Kile is 1-6 in his last 10 starts, with an 8.50 ERA and 33 walks in 54 innings.

"We didn't win, so I didn't do my job," Kile said. "I put us in a hole early. My job is to go out there and give us a win, and I didn't do it."

The A's have won 25 of their last 32 games in Oakland to improve to 31-16 at home, the best mark in the majors. The Rockies have lost 12 of their last 13 road games and are 17-31 away from home this season.

Oakland concluded interleague play with a record of 12-6, best in the AL. The Rockies went 4-8 against AL teams, the worst mark in the NL.

Notes: