Bordick gets first career homer as A’s defeat Yankees

OAKLAND, Calif. – Once Jose Canseco found his stroke and stopped his slump, the rest of the Oakland Athletics celebrated in powerful fashion.

Canseco ended the longest homerless drought of his career at 71 at-bats, and then Mark McGwire and Mike Bordick also connected in the sixth inning as the streaking Athletics beat the slumping New York Yankees 5-2 Sunday.

Joe Slusarski (3-1) and Dennis Eckersley combined on a two-hitter as the A’s won their fifth straight game. The Yankees lost their six in a row.

Greg Cadaret (2-3) took a three-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning before Canseco led off with his seventh home run, and first since April 18.

“I don’t ever want to give an excuse,” Canseco said, “but my shoulder’s still sore, and I can’t get the bat speed and hands going through that I want. Hopefully I won’t go another 80 or 90 at-bats without one.”

McGwire followed with his major league-leading 15th home run, the seventh time he and Canseco have hit consecutive home runs in their careers. They have homered in the same game 37 times.

After Willie Wilson walked, Bordick hit his first career homer.

“The only bad pitch on the home runs was the changeup to Bordick,” Cadaret said. “Canseco hit a changeup on the outside corner. McGwire’s hit was six inches outside of the strike zone and he still hit it out.”

Bordick went 3 for 4, raising his average to .351. Canseco added a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.

Slusarski gave up two hits in eight innings. He struck out seven and walked none. Eckersley stayed perfect in 13 save chances, striking out the side in the ninth.

“You know when Bordick gets a homer you’re going to get a win,” Slusarski said.

New York’s only hits came in the third inning when Randy Velarde singled and Pat Kelly followed with his first major-league home run, making it 2-0.

Rickey Henderson walked, stole second, went to third on a grounder and scored on Canseco’s sacrifice fly in the seventh. Henderson stole six bases in the series, including two on Sunday, and took the AL lead with 13 on the season.

Yankee reliever Steve Farr was ejected from the game by home plate umpire Drew Coble after hitting Jerry Browne with a pitch in the eighth. Coble had earlier warned both benches against retaliation after Slusarski hit Kelly with a pitch in the sixth.

After splitting last year’s seaosn series with the A’s, the Yankees, are back to their losing ways in Oakland. Since 1988, the Yankees have won just nine of 39 games with the A’s, including a 6-19 mark in Oakland.

“I don’t think it’s a confidence thing,” Yankees outfielder Mel Hall said. “It’s just a case of we’ve got to turn it around. We’ll be all right.”