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Athletics 6, Angels 4

OAKLAND, Calif. -- When A's right-hander Bartolo Colon gave up a monstrous two-run homer to Angels center fielder Mike Trout with no outs in the top of the first inning Friday, it looked as if he could be in for a tough night.

In this case, looks were deceiving.

Colon held the Angels to those two runs on seven hits over six innings and led the A's to a 6-4 victory at the O.co Coliseum. He improved to 14-3 and moved into a three-way tie with Detroit's Max Scherzer and Tampa Bay's Matt Moore for the most wins in the majors.

Colon wasn't at his best, but the A's gave him more than enough offensive support to beat the Angels and even their four-game series with a win apiece. A's shortstop Jed Lowrie hit a solo homer in the first inning off Angels right-hander Jerome Williams, went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs. Catcher Stephen Vogt added some insurance in the sixth, crushing a two-run shot off reliever Michael Kohn.

The Angels scored twice in the ninth, cutting the A's lead to 6-4 on Albert Pujols' two-run, two-out single off closer Grant Balfour. But Balfour stuck out Josh Hamilton swinging on a 3-2 pitch to end the game to earn his 27th save.

The A's extended their lead in the American League West to four games over Texas, and the Angels fell to 11 games back.

Colon is 10-1 since turning 40 on May 24. He's now 8-1 overall in starts following an A's loss and has seven straight wins in his role as a stopper. For the 14th straight start, Colon pitched at least six innings and allowed three or fewer runs.

Williams lost his fifth straight decision, allowing four runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out three, walked two and threw 103 pitches, 65 for strikes. After tying an Angels franchise record by going four straight outings with five or fewer innings and at least five runs allowed, Williams avoided breaking that tie with Jim Abbott.

NOTES: Angels 2B Howie Kendrick was out of the lineup Friday night against Oakland for just the third time this season. Tommy Field made his first start as an Angel. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Kendrick is fine physically but that he wanted to give him some rest, especially with a 12:05 p.m. game scheduled for Saturday. "Just a day off. We've got a quick turnaround," Scioscia said. "He's been playing a lot, and he'll be back in there tomorrow." ... Infielder Brendan Harris, who was designated for assignment by the Angels on July 20, signed a minor league contract with the Yankees, who assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... A's catcher Stephen Vogt, who was called up Thursday from Triple-A Sacramento, started Friday night against the Angels.