"Jack Cust did just about all he could to get a reprieve from talking about strikeouts Sunday.

He popped his 30th home run, a two-run shot that completed the A's late-inning comeback and their three-game sweep of Seattle. Then, still glowing from his team's 5-3 win and his personal milestone, the first postgame question was posed.

"So, you had a walk, a home run ... and a strikeout," a reporter started.

"That's pretty much how my whole career has gone," Cust said. "Walks, strikeouts and home runs are the biggest things in my stat book, for better or worse."

Cust's homer came in the eighth inning on a 2-0 pitch that he powered over the left-field fence. The A's rallied for three runs the previous inning to tie the game and give Santa Rosa native Brandon Morrow a no-decision.

The A's players stayed on the field for several minutes after the home finale, waving to the crowd of 18,707 at the Coliseum. Outfielder Travis Buck tossed his cap into the stands, and several other players followed suit.

Cust has been a popular topic lately as he approached and then broke the American League record for strikeouts in a season Friday night, passing Milwaukee's Rob Deer's 186 in 1987. Cust struck out again Sunday to move his season total to 188, which ties him with Jose Hernandez for seventh in a major-league season.

Of course, it was the 30th homer about which Cust wanted to talk the most.

"It would just be kind of upsetting if I ended with 29 home runs; I don't know what it is," Cust said. "Maybe it's because 30 is a nice, round number. It just sounds better.

"Thirty-two or 33 sounds better, too, but 30 is a nice, round number to get to and build off."

A's reliever Huston Street claimed to have called Cust's shot. Later, he joked that he has been making the same prediction since Cust hit No. 29 on Sept. 13.

"It was great to get that monkey off my back," Cust said. "I can't say that I haven't been thinking about it."

Morrow, who went to Rancho Cotate High in Rohnert Park and Cal, threw 51/3 innings of no-hit ball, finally surrendering a double to Carlos Gonzalez. Using a 97-mph fastballs and a changeup, Morrow was his most dominant in the third and fourth innings, when he struck out three batters in a row.

With one out in the seventh, Morrow walked Cliff Pennington, allowed an RBI double to Bobby Crosby and was pulled after a walk to Daric Barton. Right-handed reliever Miguel Batista replaced Morrow, and A's manager Bob Geren called for pinch-hitter Aaron Cunningham."