"Take the premier starter in baseball, send him out against the A's unimposing offense, and the outcome is almost a foregone conclusion.

Oakland didn't buck the odds against two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay in a 3-1 loss on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park. Halladay threw a complete game and allowed eight hits and no walks, striking out four.

The A's did have a few opportunities, and after the game, manager Bob Melvin was slightly testy that the one "big hit" that might have turned things around never came.

"I thought we had our opportunities and missed them. We had a chance to beat them," Melvin said, then added, gesturing toward the clubhouse, "I want everyone in there to realize that everyone can be beat.

"We got our share of hits. We just didn't get the big hit when we needed to."

Melvin's club went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

It was Halladay's fifth complete game of the season. He is the career leader among active pitchers, with 63. He entered the day with a 6-4 lifetime record against Oakland with a 4.54 ERA, but he hadn't faced the A's since Aug. 4, 2008.

Oakland starter Josh Outman got off to a bumpy start, allowing three straight hits to start the game, but he got a double play to minimize the first-inning damage to two runs."