(Best E Casino) - Few things have gone right for Detroit this year, and its current road trip is becoming one of them. The Tigers wrap up a nine-game trek tonight in the finale of a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics at McAfee Coliseum.

The Tigers managed to split the first six games of this swing against the American League West-leading Angels and the Mariners, but have dropped the first two games of this series to fall to 3-5 on the trip.

Detroit pitching issued 10 walks in Tuesday's 5-4 setback, and failed to capitalize on the 12 free passes Oakland hurlers handed out. The Tigers left 15 men on base in the game and were 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Oakland, meanwhile, won its third straight test thanks to the legs of Jack Cust. Cust beat out a two-out bases-loaded infield single in the 11th frame to plate Kurt Suzuki with the winning run.

Eric Chavez went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer for the A's, his first of the season and first since July 15 of last year. Chavez spent the final two months of the 2007 season on the disabled list due to a back ailment that required three surgeries and didn't make his season debut this year until May 29.

The 22 combined walks tied an A's record, but the club managed to squeak out the win and is 3 1/2 games back of the Angels for the top spot in the division.

Placido Polanco went 2-for-6 and drove in a run for the Tigers, while Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Guillen and Curtis Granderson drove in a run apiece.

Some good did come out of the setback, as Oakland native Dontrelle Willis made his first start since April 11 for Detroit and was pulled after allowing two hits and five walks in four shutout innings.

Justin Duchscherer will try to pitch the Athletics to their first three-game sweep of the Tigers since July 29-31, 2005, also in Oakland. Duchscherer, though, has lost three of his last four starts despite pitching well to fall to 4-4 on the season with a 2.27 earned run average.

After flirting with a no-hitter against Boston on May 24, the right-hander gave up two runs on six hits over six innings versus Texas on Friday, fanning five in the 3-1 setback. Oakland has scored only three runs in his last three losses.

The 30-year-old former reliever is a perfect 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in three home starts this year, and starts against Detroit for the first time in his career. He is 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA in nine relief outings against the Tigers.

He will be countered by Nate Robertson, who has won two straight starts. The lefty battled flu-like symptoms on Friday to down Seattle, yielding four runs on four hits -- including two homers -- in 5 2/3 frames of work. Robertson, though, has allowed less than four runs in only two of his 11 starts this year and is 3-5 with a 5.92 ERA.

The 30-year-old Robertson is 3-3 with a 5.12 ERA in seven career starts against Oakland, going 0-3 in four starts at McAfee Coliseum.

Oakland won six of its 10 matchups with the Tigers last season.