The A's acquired Kennedy Friday from the Rays for a player to be named later, and he's expected to join the team Saturday and join the starting lineup.

Second baseman Mark Ellis could miss at least another month with his calf injury, and corner infielders Nomar Garciaparra and Eric Chavez remained shelved. The A's needed help.

Kennedy, 33, is remembered by Bay Area fans as a former Angel who faced the A's in the regular season for seven seasons and the Giants in the 2002 World Series. Kennedy was MVP of the '02 American League Championship Series.

Most recently, Kennedy has been playing with Tampa Bay's top farm team, Class AAA Durham, where he hit .280 with three homers and nine RBIs in 23 games. He has played 10 years in the majors, the past two with St. Louis.

Last year, he was a .300 hitter with runners in scoring position. Overall, he's a .276 lifetime hitter.

A'S 5, BLUE JAYS 3: All the runs came in the second inning. Ryan Sweeney's homer led Oakland's five-run rally, and Rod Barajas went deep for Toronto. Josh Outman was pulled in the fifth inning, and four relievers shut out the Blue Jays the rest off the way. Michael Wuertz got the win, Andrew Bailey the save.