ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Dan Haren scattered eight hits in a complete game, Jay Payton hit a two-run homer and Milton Bradley connected again to lead the Oakland Athletics past Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Monday night.
Haren (8-9) overcame a solo homer by Juan Rivera and went the distance for the fifth time in 76 career starts. The right-hander struck out five and walked none in his second complete game this season.
Ervin Santana (11-5) allowed three runs and eight hits over eight innings but lost his second consecutive start after going 7-0 in his previous nine outings. The right-hander, who came in 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA in four career starts against Oakland, struck out two and walked one.
The AL West-leading Athletics began a nine-game road trip against division opponents with their fifth victory in six tries. They lead the second-place Angels by 1 1/2 games.
Bradley, who ended Sunday’s 6-5 win over Toronto with his first game-winning homer, angrily flung his bat toward the first base dugout after plate umpire Brian O’Nora called him out on strikes his first time up.
But in the sixth, Bradley drove a 2-0 pitch deep into the right-field seats for his seventh home run. He is batting .406 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 16 games since the All-Star break.
Payton gave Oakland a 3-1 lead in the seventh with his seventh homer following a leadoff single by Eric Chavez. Each of Payton’s last six home runs have either put Oakland ahead or tied the score.
The Angels, who arrived in Southern California near dawn following Sunday night’s 10-4 victory at Boston, took the lead in the fourth on Rivera’s two-out homer to left-center. It was his 17th home run this season and 11th this month, tying the franchise record for homers in July. The mark was previously set in 1979 by Don Baylor, selected the AL MVP that year after leading the Angels to their first division title.
Rivera finished July with a .364 average and 25 RBIs in 25 games. He was a part-time player most of last season for the Angels, but started the final 17 games—a stretch in which they went 17-3 to secure their second straight AL West crown.
The non-waiver trade deadline came and went without any deals involving either team.
Notes
Marco Scutaro started at SS for the A’s in place of Bobby Crosby, who was scratched because of a sore back. … Adam Kennedy singled his first time up to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games, the longest by an Angels batter this season. He had a 13-game streak in June 2005. … The Angels’ record for home runs in a month is 13, by Tim Salmon in June 1996 and Mo Vaughn in May 2000.
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