Oakland 3, Detroit 1

Athletics 3, Tigers 1: Brandon McCarthy struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings as host Oakland improved to 7-1 in May.

Jemile Weeks went 2-for-2 with a run scored before leaving the game with an ankle injury. His replacement, Cliff Pennington, tripled in a run and scored for the Athletics.

McCarthy (3-3), who had a start skipped earlier in the week due to shoulder soreness, showed no signs of injury on Saturday, surrendering just four hits without walking a batter. The right-hander has won three straight starts and has surrendered two earned runs or less in seven of his eight outings.

Ryan Cook worked a spotless eighth and Brian Fuentes allowed a run in the ninth but picked up his second save.

Doug Fister (0-1) was almost as strong for Detroit, yielding one run on five hits in six innings and striking out eight.

Fister’s lone trouble spot came in the first, when Weeks and Josh Reddick each singled and Jonny Gomes pushed a run across with a one-out single to left.

Oakland got some insurance in the seventh against left-hander Phil Coke, with Pennington driving in the first run on a one-out triple to right and coming in to score on Daric Barton’s single.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Oakland 3B Brandon Inge, who had homered four times and driven in 16 runs in the previous five games, went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. … The A’s will try to clinch a win in the four-game series when they send rookie Jarrod Parker to the mound opposite Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander in Sunday’s finale. … Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder combined to go 0-for-8 with four strikeouts for Detroit.

• Oakland will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Athletics have a W/L % of .529 after a win and .529 after a loss.
• Detroit will play their next game on the road against Oakland. The Tigers have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .588 after a loss.