Lackey hurls gem as Angels blank Athletics <h3>LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 0</h3>By Tom Kent PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- John Lackey looks ready for thepostseason. Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings and Vladimir Guerrerohomered and drove in both runs for the Los Angeles Angels ofAnaheim, who defeated the Oakland Athletics, 2-0, Friday. Lackey (19-9) was making his last start of the regular seasonfor the Angels, who clinched the American League West Divisionwith a victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. Therighthander was stellar in that victory as well, scatteringseven hits over seven innings, allowing just two runs. The Cy Young hopeful, who is getting ready to start in thedivisional playoff series next week, yielded just two hits withtwo strikeouts against Oakland. He did not walk a batter andthrew 47 of his 74 pitches for strikes en route to extending hiscareer-high win total. With a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, Guerrero belted a 1-1offering off Oakland starter Dan Haren over the left-centerfield wall for his 27th home run of the season, giving theAngels a 2-0 advantage. Guerrero, who has started the last 14 games at designated hitterfor the Angels due to an inflamed right triceps muscle, alsoplated Chone Figgins with a sacrifice fly to center in thefirst. Angels reliever Justin Speier worked a scoreless eighth andFrancisco Rodriguez pitched around two walks and a wild pitch inthe ninth to log his 39th save. Rodriguez got Mike Piazza toground out to end the game with runners on first and second. Haren (15-8), who ended a personal four-game losing streak witha victory over the Cleveland Indians in his last start onSaturday, allowed two runs and three hits in six innings whilewalking two and fanning six. The righthander, who was the American League starter in theMidsummer Classic, finished the season with a career-high 15wins, besting his old mark of 14 in each of the previous twoseasons. Oakland fell to a season-high 10 games below .500 and 18 gamesbehind Anaheim in the division. It is the largest deficit forthe Athletics since they finished the 1997 season 25 gamesbehind the first-place Seattle Mariners.
Lackey hurls gem as Angels blank Athletics <h3>LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 0</h3>By Tom Kent PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- John Lackey looks ready for thepostseason. Lackey pitched seven scoreless innings and Vladimir Guerrerohomered and drove in both runs for the Los Angeles Angels ofAnaheim, who defeated the Oakland Athletics, 2-0, Friday. Lackey (19-9) was making his last start of the regular seasonfor the Angels, who clinched the American League West Divisionwith a victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. Therighthander was stellar in that victory as well, scatteringseven hits over seven innings, allowing just two runs. "It think it's always important to pitch well," Angels managerMike Scioscia said. "You want to keep that edge. He pitchedgreat last time and followed it up with another good efforttonight. Hopefully he'll carry that momentum into theplayoffs." The Cy Young hopeful, who is getting ready to start in thedivisional playoff series next week, yielded just two hits withtwo strikeouts against Oakland. He did not walk a batter andthrew 47 of his 74 pitches for strikes en route to extending hiscareer-high win total. "I threw the amount of pitches that wanted," Lackey said. "I gotup and down seven times and was feeling good. I should beready to go." With a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, Guerrero belted a 1-1offering off Oakland starter Dan Haren over the left-centerfield wall for his 27th home run of the season, giving theAngels a 2-0 advantage. Guerrero, who has started the last 14 games at designated hitterfor the Angels due to an inflamed right triceps muscle, alsoplated Chone Figgins with a sacrifice fly to center in thefirst. "We manufactured a run in the first and Vlad gave us the homerun," Scioscia said. "We have some guy that are still searchingoffensively though." Angels reliever Justin Speier worked a scoreless eighth andFrancisco Rodriguez pitched around two walks and a wild pitch inthe ninth to log his 39th save. Rodriguez got Mike Piazza toground out to end the game with runners on first and second. Haren (15-8), who ended a personal four-game losing streak witha victory over the Cleveland Indians in his last start onSaturday, allowed two runs and three hits in six innings whilewalking two and fanning six. "I threw the ball well," Haren said. "I had good stuff for themost part and I made good pitches." The righthander, who was the American League starter in theMidsummer Classic, finished the season with a career-high 15wins, besting his old mark of 14 in each of the previous twoseasons. "I'm glad I finished the year throwing the way I did in thebeginning of the year," Haren said. Oakland fell to a season-high 10 games below .500 and 18 gamesbehind Anaheim in the division. It is the largest deficit forthe Athletics since they finished the 1997 season 25 gamesbehind the first-place Seattle Mariners.
