http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=250508110

NEW YORK (AP) -- Kevin Brown's first warmup pitch hit the backstop on the fly. He followed with his best outing since last summer.

Brown escaped a pair of bases-loaded jams and pitched seven sharp innings, leading the New York Yankees over the Oakland Athletics 6-0 Sunday.

Alex Rodriguez hit a go-ahead homer, and slumping Hideki Matsui had a run-scoring single off Rich Harden (2-2). Tino Martinez added a three-run homer in the eighth off Kiko Calero and Jorge Posada followed with a solo shot into the upper deck as the Yankees hit back-to-back homers for the first time this season and won consecutive games for the first time since April 24 against Texas and April 26 against the Los Angeles Angels.

New York, which won its 900th game under manager Joe Torre, took two of three from the A's, its first series win since a two-game sweep at Toronto on April 20-21 and its first at home since the opening series against Boston. Last year, the Yankees bottomed out at 8-11 in late April before sweeping a three-game series from the A's.

Oakland, beaten Saturday when Mike Mussina pitched a four-hitter, was shut out in consecutive games for the second time this season. The A's have been blanked six times overall, the most in the majors, and have lost five of their last six games.

Brown (1-4) entered with an ERA (8.25) as oversized as his contract ($105 million over seven years) and had been 0-7 since winning at Toronto on Aug. 28, the longest losing streak of his major league career.

He struggled at the beginning -- it wasn't until his 27th pitch that a batter (Keith Ginter) swung and missed -- then got stronger.

Oakland loaded the bases with no outs in the second on singles by Scott Hatteberg and Erubiel Durazo around a walk to Bobby Kielty. Ginter hit a soft liner to third, Eric Byrnes struck out and Marco Scutaro took a called third strike.

Hatteberg and Durazo singled again in the fourth, and Brown loaded the bases when he hit Byrnes in the side with a pitch with two outs. This time, Scutaro flied out.

Brown was given a lead for the first time this year when Rodriguez hit his 11th homer of the season leading off the fourth, just the second homer off Harden in six starts this season.

New York added a run in the fifth when Tony Womack walked, Gary Sheffield was hit in the back by a pitch and Matsui, in a 2-for-20 slide coming in, hit an RBI single.

Brown allowed five hits, struck out four and walked one. Tom Gordon pitched a perfect eighth, and Tanyon Sturtze completed the seven-hitter.

Harden gave up five hits and four walks in seven innings, hit a batter and threw a pair of wild pitches.

It was a blustery afternoon -- the wind blew the batting cage away from the plate before the game and dirt bags were used to keep the cage from moving after that.

Matsui turned four ways before catching Durazo's fly to center in the sixth. An inning earlier, Sheffield slipped while catching Eric Chavez's drive to right-center and caught the ball in a sitting position. Sheffield appeared to turn an ankle on the play but stayed in.