Angels' Wilson cools off A's
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Los Angeles Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson and Oakland A's right-hander Jarrod Parker put their impressive winning streaks on the line Monday night at the O.co Coliseum.
Wilson's streak survived. Parker's was obliterated.
Wilson won his career-high ninth consecutive decision and improved to 17-6, setting a career high for victories, as the Angels routed the first-place A's 12-1 in the opener of a three-game series. He allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings while striking out six and walking three.
The 32-year-old veteran improved to 4-0 against the A's in five starts this year and joined Joe Saunders as the only Angels pitchers to beat Oakland four times in a season. He extended his unbeaten streak to 13 starts and is now 13-1 over his past 18 starts since June 14.
"It's frustrating that we're at where we're at with the record. It doesn't really matter," Wilson said of personal accomplishments. "The best thing I can do is just try to set myself up for these positive experiences, pitching against these teams and file those away for next year when we're more competitive. The standings are what they are, but hopefully we can have a big impact on the playoff race."
The Angels ended Parker's career-high nine-game winning streak and his 19-start unbeaten streak, the longest in Oakland history and longest in franchise history since Lefty Grove went 21 straight starts without a loss from April 22-Aug. 19, 1931.
Parker gave up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking two. He suffered his first lost since May 22, when he dropped a 6-2 decision at Texas. Parker fell to 2-3 for his career against the Angels.
"It was a good run," Parker said. "I guess if you're going to do it, just give it up and get it over with. I didn't give us much of a chance."
Parker (11-7) was a late scratch from his scheduled start Sunday at Texas because of a nasty stomach virus, but he felt good enough to take the mound Monday.
"I was throwing up yesterday, so I drank a lot of liquids to stay hydrated," Parker said. "I felt better today. Early on in the game, it felt like forever since I'd been out there. It just wasn't very good execution, not very many pitches down in the zone."
Every Angel in the starting lineup had at least one hit in a 15-hit attack. Kole Calhoun went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs. Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo each had a home run, a double and three RBIs.
Trout and Trumbo hit monstrous two-run home runs in the eighth inning off A's reliever Pedro Figueroa. Trumbo's shot to right-center was his 34th of the season, while Trout's towering blast to center, which banged off the window of a suite, was his 24th.
Trout's home run was initially estimated to have traveled 421 feet, but ESPN's "hit tracker" later pegged it at 452 feet, his fourth longest of the season.
"It bounced back 420 feet," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
Trout said he got a pitch down in the zone and "squared it up" against Figueroa.
Even though the A's lost, their magic number to win the American League West dropped to seven because the second-place Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Athletics' magic number to clinch a playoff spot fell to six because the Cleveland Indians, third in the wild-card chase, fell to the Kansas City Royals. Oakland's five-game winning streak ended, but the A's remain 6 1/2 games ahead of the Rangers.
The Angels trail the A's by 15 games in the West, but they're 18-6 over their past 24 games overall and 15-3 in their past 18 road games.
"Every win's big for us now," Trout said. "We're still fighting, mathematically still in it, and we're not backing down. There's a lot of teams we're playing these next couple weeks that are left that are in it. We're going to keep fighting and playing hard."
The Angels scored twice in the first off Parker, using three hits and walk to take a 2-0 lead. J.B. Shuck led off with a four-pitch walk, advanced to third on back-to-back groundouts and scored on Josh Hamilton's soft single to center. Trumbo roped a double down the left field line, moving Hamilton to third, and Calhoun lined an RBI single to right.
The Angels made it 3-0 with an unearned run in the top of the third. They scored five more times in the fifth, batting around and knocking Parker out of the game.
"He was healthy," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Parker. "We haven't seen him have an off night for some time. He got behind, gave up a couple bloop hits, and the next thing you know, he gives up some runs and has to come out. It's just a tough loss."
NOTES: A's SS Jed Lowrie, who left Sunday's game at Texas due to a strained right hamstring, didn't play Monday. ... A's OF Yoenis Cespedes (right shoulder contusion) returned to the lineup Monday night against the Angels after missing Sunday's series finale. He started at designated hitter Monday and went 2-for-3. ... The Angels recalled RHP Tommy Hanson and INF Tommy Fields from Triple-A Salt Lake and reinstated RHP Robert Coello (right shoulder inflammation) from the 60-day disabled list. They also selected the contracts of INF Efren Navarro and RHP Matt Shoemaker from Salt Lake.
