GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: LA ANGELS (63-44) at OAKLAND (51-58)

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 7 1
OAKLAND 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 8 9 0 (TOP 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: LAA - GREG JONES
OAK - SANTIAGO CASILLA

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: G MATTHEWS JR (.276, 1-FOR-3)
M IZTURIS (.263, 0-FOR-2, BB)
M BROWN (.000, 0-FOR-2, BB)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">LA ANGELS (4) VS OAKLAND (8) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

LA ANGELS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Willits lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .302
C Figgins 2b 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .339
O Cabrera dh 3 0 0 1 0 1 3 .305
V Guerrero rf 4 2 3 3 0 0 1 .330
R Quinlan 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .254
G Matthews Jr cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .276
M Izturis ss 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .263
M Brown 3b 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .000
R Budde c 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-G Anderson ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .288
J Mathis c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .214

Totals 28 4 7 4 3 5 15

a-struck out swinging for R Budde in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - V Guerrero (35, L DiNardo). HR - V Guerrero 2 (18, 6th inning off
L DiNardo 1 on, 2 Out, 8th inning off S Casilla 0 on, 2 Out). SF - O Cabrera.
RBI - O Cabrera (63), V Guerrero 3 (90). 2-out RBI - V Guerrero 3. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - M Izturis 1, R Willits 2. GIDP - R Budde. Team LOB
- 4.

BASERUNNING: SB - M Izturis (3, 3rd base off H Street/K Suzuki), M Brown (1,
2nd base off H Street/K Suzuki). CS - C Figgins (8, 2nd base by L DiNardo/K
Suzuki).

FIELDING: E - V Guerrero (6, throw).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Buck rf 4 1 1 2 1 2 0 .280
M Kotsay cf 5 1 1 1 0 1 1 .230
J Cust lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .257
M Piazza dh 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 .299
J Furmaniak pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Ellis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .260
M Scutaro 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .246
D Johnson 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 5 .237
K Suzuki c 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 .217
D Murphy ss 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 .205

Totals 33 8 9 7 3 5 16

BATTING: 2B - M Kotsay (14, D Moseley); D Johnson (16, S Shields); T Buck (18,
G Jones). RBI - M Kotsay (20), J Cust (51), M Piazza (21), D Johnson (39), D
Murphy (7), T Buck 2 (30). 2-out RBI - D Johnson, D Murphy, T Buck 2. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - M Kotsay 1, K Suzuki 3. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (D Murphy-M Ellis-D Johnson).


----------------------------------------------------
LA ANGELS - 000 003 01 -- 4
OAKLAND - 003 000 05 -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

LA ANGELS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Moseley 5 1/3 4 3 3 3 3 0 4.43
C Bootcheck 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.68
J Speier 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.00
S Shields 2/3 4 5 5 0 0 0 3.00
G Jones 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 10.38

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
L DiNardo 6 5 3 3 2 2 1 3.19
H Street 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 3.18
S Casilla 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.30

HBP - D Murphy (by D Moseley); K Suzuki (by S Shields). Pitches-strikes: D
Moseley 75-41; C Bootcheck 6-5; J Speier 13-8; S Shields 23-14; G Jones 9-5; L
DiNardo 95-59; H Street 23-13; S Casilla 18-9. Ground balls-fly balls: D
Moseley 6-7; C Bootcheck 0-2; J Speier 0-2; S Shields 0-2; G Jones 0-0; L
DiNardo 10-5; H Street 1-0; S Casilla 1-1. Batters faced: D Moseley 24; C
Bootcheck 2; J Speier 3; S Shields 7; G Jones 2; L DiNardo 23; H Street 5; S
Casilla 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.

Weather: 67 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 mph, left to right.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: T Buck in left field.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 4
OAKLAND 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: G Matthews Jr (.276, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: N Swisher in right field.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 4
OAKLAND 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: G Matthews Jr (.276, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R Bowen catching.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 4
OAKLAND 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: G Matthews Jr (.276, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - PITCHING CHANGE
OAK: ALAN EMBREE (1-1, 3.45) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 4, OAKLAND 8

DUE UP FOR LAANGELS: G MATTHEWS JR (.276, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: A Embree relieved S Casilla.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 4
OAKLAND 8 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: G Matthews Jr (.276, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 7 1
OAKLAND 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 x 8 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - DUSTIN MOSELEY, CHRIS BOOTCHECK (6TH), JUSTIN SPEIER (7TH),
SCOT SHIELDS (8TH), GREG JONES (8TH) AND RYAN BUDDE, JEFF
MATHIS (7TH)

OAK - LENNY DINARDO, HUSTON STREET (7TH), SANTIAGO
CASILLA (8TH), ALAN EMBREE (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI, ROB BOWEN
(9TH)

HOME RUNS: LAA - VLADIMIR GUERRERO (17) OFF LENNY DINARDO IN THE 6TH, 1 ON
VLADIMIR GUERRERO (18) OFF SANTIAGO CASILLA IN THE 8TH, 0
ON

OAK - NONE</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 4 7 1
OAKLAND 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 x 8 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - DUSTIN MOSELEY, CHRIS BOOTCHECK (6TH), JUSTIN SPEIER (7TH),
SCOT SHIELDS (8TH), GREG JONES (8TH) AND RYAN BUDDE, JEFF
MATHIS (7TH)

OAK - LENNY DINARDO, HUSTON STREET (7TH), SANTIAGO
CASILLA (8TH), ALAN EMBREE (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI, ROB BOWEN
(9TH)


WP - SANTIAGO CASILLA (3-1)
LP - SCOT SHIELDS (3-4)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: LAA - VLADIMIR GUERRERO (17) OFF LENNY DINARDO IN THE 6TH, 1 ON
VLADIMIR GUERRERO (18) OFF SANTIAGO CASILLA IN THE 8TH, 0
ON

OAK - NONE


TIME: 2:51 ATT: 21,552

PROBABLES: LAA - KELVIM ESCOBAR (11-5, 2.87)
OAK - JOE BLANTON (8-8, 3.82)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">LA ANGELS (4) VS OAKLAND (8) - FINAL

LA ANGELS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
R Willits lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 2 .302
C Figgins 2b 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .339
O Cabrera dh 3 0 0 1 0 1 3 .305
V Guerrero rf 4 2 3 3 0 0 1 .330
R Quinlan 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .254
G Matthews Jr cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .275
M Izturis ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .261
M Brown 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000
R Budde c 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
a-G Anderson ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .288
J Mathis c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .214

Totals 31 4 7 4 3 6 15

a-struck out swinging for R Budde in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - V Guerrero (35, L DiNardo). HR - V Guerrero 2 (18, 6th inning off
L DiNardo 1 on, 2 Out, 8th inning off S Casilla 0 on, 2 Out). SF - O Cabrera.
RBI - O Cabrera (63), V Guerrero 3 (90). 2-out RBI - V Guerrero 3. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - M Izturis 1, R Willits 2. GIDP - R Budde. Team LOB
- 4.

BASERUNNING: SB - M Izturis (3, 3rd base off H Street/K Suzuki), M Brown (1,
2nd base off H Street/K Suzuki). CS - C Figgins (8, 2nd base by L DiNardo/K
Suzuki).

FIELDING: E - V Guerrero (6, throw).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
T Buck rf-lf 4 1 1 2 1 2 0 .280
M Kotsay cf 5 1 1 1 0 1 1 .230
J Cust lf 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 .257
N Swisher rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .257
M Piazza dh 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 .299
J Furmaniak pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Ellis 2b 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .260
M Scutaro 3b 4 1 2 0 0 0 2 .246
D Johnson 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 5 .237
K Suzuki c 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 .217
R Bowen c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
D Murphy ss 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 .205

Totals 33 8 9 7 3 5 16

BATTING: 2B - M Kotsay (14, D Moseley); D Johnson (16, S Shields); T Buck (18,
G Jones). RBI - M Kotsay (20), J Cust (51), M Piazza (21), D Johnson (39), D
Murphy (7), T Buck 2 (30). 2-out RBI - D Johnson, D Murphy, T Buck 2. Runners
left in scoring position, 2 out - M Kotsay 1, K Suzuki 3. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (D Murphy-M Ellis-D Johnson).


----------------------------------------------------
LA ANGELS - 000 003 010 -- 4
OAKLAND - 003 000 05x -- 8
----------------------------------------------------

LA ANGELS ip h r er bb so hr era
D Moseley 5 1/3 4 3 3 3 3 0 4.43
C Bootcheck 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.68
J Speier 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.00
S Shields (L, 3-4; H, 24) 2/3 4 5 5 0 0 0 3.00
G Jones 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 10.38

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
L DiNardo 6 5 3 3 2 2 1 3.19
H Street 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 3.18
S Casilla (W, 3-1) 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.30
A Embree 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.37

HBP - D Murphy (by D Moseley); K Suzuki (by S Shields). Pitches-strikes: D
Moseley 75-41; C Bootcheck 6-5; J Speier 13-8; S Shields 23-14; G Jones 9-5; L
DiNardo 95-59; H Street 23-13; S Casilla 18-9; A Embree 13-8. Ground balls-fly
balls: D Moseley 6-7; C Bootcheck 0-2; J Speier 0-2; S Shields 0-2; G Jones
0-0; L DiNardo 10-5; H Street 1-0; S Casilla 1-1; A Embree 1-1. Batters faced:
D Moseley 24; C Bootcheck 2; J Speier 3; S Shields 7; G Jones 2; L DiNardo 23;
H Street 5; S Casilla 4; A Embree 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.

T--2:51. Att--21,552.
Weather: 67 degrees, clear. Wind: 12 mph, left to
right.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
LA ANGELS 4
OAKLAND 8 FINAL</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (4) AT OAKLAND (8) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OAKLAND 3RD: D Murphy hit by pitch. T Buck walked, D Murphy to second.
M Kotsay hit a ground rule double to deep right center, D Murphy scored, T Buck
to third. J Cust grounded out to second, T Buck scored, M Kotsay to third.
M Piazza grounded out to shortstop, M Kotsay scored. M Ellis struck out looking.
(3 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 3.

LA ANGELS 6TH: R Budde grounded out to shortstop. R Willits singled to
right. C Figgins singled to right, R Willits to third. O Cabrera hit
sacrifice fly to center, R Willits scored. V Guerrero homered to right,
C Figgins scored. R Quinlan flied out to right. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 3, OAKLAND 3.

LA ANGELS 8TH: S Casilla relieved H Street. C Figgins grounded out to
first. O Cabrera fouled out to first. V Guerrero homered to left. R Quinlan
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 4, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 8TH: S Shields relieved J Speier. J Cust flied out to center.
M Piazza reached on infield single to third. J Furmaniak ran for M Piazza.
M Ellis flied out to left. M Scutaro singled to right, J Furmaniak to third,
J Furmaniak scored, M Scutaro to second on throwing error by right fielder
V Guerrero. D Johnson doubled to deep center, M Scutaro scored. K Suzuki hit by
pitch. D Murphy singled to left, D Johnson scored, K Suzuki to second.
G Jones relieved S Shields. T Buck doubled to deep left center, K Suzuki and D
Murphy scored. M Kotsay struck out swinging. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 1 Error)
LA ANGELS 4, OAKLAND 8.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (4) AT OAKLAND (8) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

La Angels Starting Lineups -- R Willits LF, C Figgins 2B, O Cabrera DH,
V Guerrero RF, R Quinlan 1B, G Matthews Jr CF, M Izturis SS, M Brown 3B, R Budde C,
D Moseley RHP.

Oakland Starting Lineups -- T Buck RF, M Kotsay CF, J Cust LF, M Piazza DH,
M Ellis 2B, M Scutaro 3B, D Johnson 1B, K Suzuki C, D Murphy SS, L DiNardo LHP.

Umpires -- Ed Rapuano (HP), Ed Hickox (1B), C.B. Bucknor (2B), Joe West (3B).


Gametime Weather: 67 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 12 mph.


LA ANGELS 1ST: R Willits grounded out to shortstop. C Figgins singled to
right. C Figgins caught stealing second, catcher to second. O Cabrera struck
out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: T Buck grounded out to shortstop. M Kotsay flied out to left.
J Cust flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND
0.

LA ANGELS 2ND: V Guerrero doubled to left. R Quinlan struck out swinging.
G Matthews Jr popped out to shortstop. M Izturis grounded out to third.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 2ND: M Piazza walked. M Ellis singled to center, M Piazza to
second. M Scutaro flied out to left. D Johnson flied out to right. K Suzuki
grounded into fielder's choice to third, M Piazza out at third, M Ellis to
second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 0.

LA ANGELS 3RD: M Brown walked. R Budde grounded into double play,
shortstop to second to first, M Brown out at second. R Willits grounded out to
shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 3RD: D Murphy hit by pitch. T Buck walked, D Murphy to second.
M Kotsay hit a ground rule double to deep right center, D Murphy scored, T Buck
to third. J Cust grounded out to second, T Buck scored, M Kotsay to third.
M Piazza grounded out to shortstop, M Kotsay scored. M Ellis struck out looking.
(3 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 3.

LA ANGELS 4TH: C Figgins walked. O Cabrera flied out to left. V Guerrero
flied out to left. R Quinlan grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop,
C Figgins out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 4TH: M Scutaro grounded out to third. D Johnson flied out to left.
K Suzuki grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
OAKLAND 3.

LA ANGELS 5TH: G Matthews Jr grounded out to shortstop. M Izturis grounded
out to first. M Brown grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 5TH: D Murphy struck out swinging. T Buck struck out swinging.
M Kotsay flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 3.

LA ANGELS 6TH: R Budde grounded out to shortstop. R Willits singled to
right. C Figgins singled to right, R Willits to third. O Cabrera hit
sacrifice fly to center, R Willits scored. V Guerrero homered to right,
C Figgins scored. R Quinlan flied out to right. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 3, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 6TH: J Cust singled to center. M Piazza walked, J Cust to second.
M Ellis fouled out to first. M Scutaro singled to right, J Cust to third,
M Piazza to second. C Bootcheck relieved D Moseley. D Johnson popped out to
shortstop. K Suzuki fouled out to right. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 3,
OAKLAND 3.

LA ANGELS 7TH: H Street relieved L DiNardo. G Matthews Jr singled to right
center. M Izturis walked, G Matthews Jr to second. M Brown bunted into
fielder's choice to pitcher, G Matthews Jr out at third, M Izturis to second.
G Anderson hit for R Budde. G Anderson struck out swinging, M Izturis stole
third, M Brown stole second. R Willits struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 3, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 7TH: J Mathis catching. J Speier relieved C Bootcheck. D Murphy
flied out to center. T Buck struck out looking. M Kotsay flied out to center.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 3, OAKLAND 3.

LA ANGELS 8TH: S Casilla relieved H Street. C Figgins grounded out to
first. O Cabrera fouled out to first. V Guerrero homered to left. R Quinlan
struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 4, OAKLAND 3.

OAKLAND 8TH: S Shields relieved J Speier. J Cust flied out to center.
M Piazza reached on infield single to third. J Furmaniak ran for M Piazza.
M Ellis flied out to left. M Scutaro singled to right, J Furmaniak to third,
J Furmaniak scored, M Scutaro to second on throwing error by right fielder
V Guerrero. D Johnson doubled to deep center, M Scutaro scored. K Suzuki hit by
pitch. D Murphy singled to left, D Johnson scored, K Suzuki to second.
G Jones relieved S Shields. T Buck doubled to deep left center, K Suzuki and
D Murphy scored. M Kotsay struck out swinging. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 1 Error)
LA ANGELS 4, OAKLAND 8.

LA ANGELS 9TH: T Buck in left field. N Swisher in right field. R Bowen
catching. A Embree relieved S Casilla. G Matthews Jr flied out to center.
M Izturis grounded out to second. M Brown struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 4, OAKLAND 8.</div>

 

A's use five-run eighth to edge Angels

<h3>OAKLAND 8, LA ANGELS 4</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Despite two home runs from VladimirGuerrero, his throwing error proved to be more costly.

Mike Piazza's infield single in the bottom of the eighth starteda five-run rally as the Oakland Athletics battled back to beatthe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 8-4, on Friday night and movewithin three games of the American League West leaders.

Oakland trailed, 4-3, in the eighth before storming back.Piazza singled off Scot Shields (3-4) and Marco Scutaro singledto Guerrero in right field, but instead of throwing the ballback to the infield, he threw to first but the errant throweluded first baseman Robb Quinlan. Pinch runner J.J. Furmaniakalertly watched the play and scored the tying run from thirdwhile Scutaro advanced to second.


Dan Johnson then lined a double to left-center to plate Scutarofor the go-ahead run. After rookie Kurt Suzuki was hit by apitch, Donnie Murphy stroked an RBI single to left to chaseShields.


Rookie Travis Buck capped the five-run uprising with a two-rundouble against Greg Jones to make it 8-4.


Reliever Santiago Casilla (3-1) picked up the win in relief forthe A's, who have won seven of their 11 meeting in the seasonseries against the Angels.


Oakland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as Mark Kotsay, JackCust and Piazza all drove in runs in the third inning offstarter Dustin Moseley.


However, Guerrero hit a two-run homer - his 17th - to theopposite field in the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3. TheAll-Star outfielder has homered four times in the past two gamesafter having gone 30 games and 124 at-bats without a home run.

In the top of the eighth, Casilla's decision to pitch toGuerrero turned out to be a bad idea as he tattooed a hangingslider to the seats in left field for a 4-3 advantage.

It's the second time Guerrero has hit back-to-back two home rungames in his career.


A's starter Lenny DiNardo gave up three runs and five hits insix innings. He had his usual assortment of offspeed pitchesand his sinker was inducing the Angels to hit into 10ground-ball outs.


A converted starter making his third start this season, Moseleyallowed three runs and four hits with three strikeouts and threewalks in 5 1/3 frames.

 

A's use five-run eighth to edge Angels

<h3>OAKLAND 8, LA ANGELS 4</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Despite two home runs from VladimirGuerrero, his throwing error proved to be more costly.

Mike Piazza's infield single in the bottom of the eighth starteda five-run rally as the Oakland Athletics battled back to beatthe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 8-4, on Friday night.

Oakland trailed, 4-3, in the eighth before storming back.Piazza singled off Scot Shields (3-4) and Marco Scutaro singledto Guerrero in right field, but instead of throwing the ballback to the infield, he threw to first but the errant throweluded first baseman Robb Quinlan. Pinch runner J.J. Furmaniakalertly watched the play and scored the tying run from thirdwhile Scutaro advanced to second.


Dan Johnson then lined a double to left-center to plate Scutarofor the go-ahead run. After rookie Kurt Suzuki was hit by apitch, Donnie Murphy stroked an RBI single to left to chaseShields.


Rookie Travis Buck capped the five-run uprising with a two-rundouble against Greg Jones to make it 8-4.


Reliever Santiago Casilla (3-1) picked up the win in relief forthe A's, who have won seven of their 11 meeting in the seasonseries against the Angels.


Oakland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as Mark Kotsay, JackCust and Piazza all drove in runs in the third inning offstarter Dustin Moseley.


However, Guerrero hit a two-run homer - his 17th - to theopposite field in the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3. TheAll-Star outfielder has homered four times in the past two gamesafter having gone 30 games and 124 at-bats without a home run.

In the top of the eighth, Casilla's decision to pitch toGuerrero turned out to be a bad idea as he tattooed a hangingslider to the seats in left field for a 4-3 advantage.

It's the second time Guerrero has hit back-to-back two home rungames in his career.


A's starter Lenny DiNardo gave up three runs and five hits insix innings. He had his usual assortment of offspeed pitchesand his sinker was inducing the Angels to hit into 10ground-ball outs.


A converted starter making his third start this season, Moseleyallowed three runs and four hits with three strikeouts and threewalks in 5 1/3 frames.

 

A's use five-run eighth to edge Angels

<h3>OAKLAND 8, LA ANGELS 4</h3>By Ryan Leong
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - Despite two home runs fromVladimir Guerrero for the second straight game, his throwingerror proved to be more costly.


Mike Piazza's infield single in the bottom of the eighth starteda five-run rally as the Oakland Athletics battled back to beatthe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 8-4, on Friday night.

Oakland trailed, 4-3, in the eighth before storming back. Piazzasingled off Scot Shields (3-4) and Marco Scutaro singled toGuerrero in right field, but instead of throwing the ball backto the infield, Guerrero threw to first but the errant throweluded first baseman Robb Quinlan. Pinch runner J.J. Furmaniakalertly watched the play and scored the tying run from thirdwhile Scutaro advanced to second.


"It skipped, hit off my glove and just went away," Quinlan said."Obviously it (stinks), that's the tying run right there andit's not a good feeling at the time. Everything was right and aball that skipped and I missed it. It could have went eitherway but the bottom line is we didn't get it done. It's a gamewe thought we should've won and we ended up losing."

Dan Johnson then lined a double to left-center to plate Scutarofor the go-ahead run. After rookie Kurt Suzuki was hit by apitch, Donnie Murphy stroked an RBI single to left to chaseShields.


"The ball was coming out of my hand fine," Shields said. "I hadan infield hit, a bloop hit and then I started getting hitaround a little bit. I pitched like crap, you (the media) canwrite whatever the heck you guys want because I deserve it."

"Shieldsy was about as locked in as he's ever been for a longtime and you're going to have some games that aren't going to goas planned," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "(Friday) wasone of those nights but he'll get back on track. There's alwaysgoing to be a handful of games where a guy isn't quite where heneeds to be, maybe he doesn't get the job done but he's goingto be fine."


Rookie Travis Buck capped the five-run uprising with a two-rundouble against Greg Jones to make it 8-4.


Reliever Santiago Casilla (3-1) picked up the win in relief forthe A's, who have won seven of their 11 meeting in the seasonseries against the Angels.


"We always seem to have good games with them and play themtough," Athletics manager Bob Geren said. "They're usuallyclose games, the intensity level is up and for some reason sofar this year, we have the edge in the series but we still havequite a few more games and we'd like to continue that."

Oakland jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as Mark Kotsay, JackCust and Piazza all drove in runs in the third inning offstarter Dustin Moseley.


However, Guerrero hit a two-run homer - his 17th - to theopposite field in the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3. TheAll-Star outfielder has homered four times in the past two gamesafter having gone 30 games and 124 at-bats without a home run.

In the top of the eighth, Casilla's decision to pitch toGuerrero turned out to be a bad idea as he tattooed a hangingslider to the seats in left field for a 4-3 advantage.

It's the second time Guerrero has hit back-to-back two-home rungames in his career.


"Vlad came up in a big way, last night and tonight andunfortunately we couldn't take advantage of it," Scioscia said."When he gets locked in, he's capable of doing the things we'reseeing."


"It was an emotional roller coaster, I was rolling and thatpitch was on the black, it was up a little bit," A's starterLenny DiNardo said. "To anybody else it might have been a goodpitch but for Vlad, that pitch is dangerous, I've got to throw aball right there, either bounce it or throw it a foot outside."

DiNardo gave up three runs and five hits in six innings. He hadhis usual assortment of offspeed pitches and his sinker wasinducing the Angels to hit into 10 ground-ball outs.

"I felt good, felt like I was getting some bad swings which iswhat I'm looking for on the cutter inside and the changeup,"DiNardo said. "I felt like I was throwing it for strikes."

A converted starter making his third start this season, Moseleyallowed three runs and four hits with three strikeouts and threewalks in 5 1/3 frames.