Dick Drago scattered six hits in a complete-game effort, while Bob Oliver drove in both runs in the Royals’ 2-1 win over the A’s at the Coliseum in Oakland.

The A’s could only manage one unearned run against Drago, who picked up his ninth win of the season. The right-hander allowed just six singles and one walk while striking out three.

Oakland scored its only run in the first inning. With one out, Mike Hershberger reached on an error by shortstop Jackie Hernandez.  Hershberger moved to second on Reggie Jackson’s groundout, then scored on Sal Bando’s single.

The Royals tied the score in the fourth against A’s starter Catfish Hunter. With one out, Jerry Adair walked and took second on a passed ball. One out later, Oliver singled to drive him in.

The Adair-Oliver combo gave the Royals the lead in the sixth. With two outs, Adair and Buck Martinez both singled. Oliver’s single scored Adair with the go-ahead run.

Drago retired 10 straight at one point, starting with a double play that ended the fourth through the end of the seventh. Oakland got two singles in the eighth, but Drago got Bert Campaneris to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Drago then allowed a two-out walk and single in the ninth, but retired Danny Cater on a fly ball to right to end the game.

With the win, the Royals improved to 58-82 in their inaugural season. They also earned a sweep of the two-game series, and dealt a serious blow to Oakland’s playoff hopes, as the A’s fell 9.5 games behind Minnesota with 23 games left. Meanwhile, the Royals were in fourth place in the AL West, 28 games behind the Twins.

Box score and play-by-play:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK196909090.shtml

Today’s birthdays: Kyle Davies (1983), Kyle Snyder (1977), Billy Hamilton (1990)