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ANAHEIM, Calif.(AP)
Jack Cust
and the
Oakland Athletics
are making it difficult for the
Los Angeles Angels
to wrap up a playoff berth.
Cust homered and doubled in the go-ahead run during a six-run eighth inning, and Oakland rallied from a seven-run deficit
to beat the Angels 15-10 on Saturday night.
''You don't want to mess with a team that's out of it like they are,'' Los Angeles center fielder
Torii Hunter
said. ''A lot of guys over there are fighting for positions next year, and they come hungry. I'm not saying we don't, but
they're starving. They're like hyenas right now. They're playing great baseball.''
The Angels, whose magic number to clinch their third straight AL West title remained at four, lost their season-high fourth
straight. They were the only team in the majors that hadn't lost more than three in a row this season.
The Angels lead Texas by five games with eight to play, including a four-game set against the Rangers that begins Monday night
at Angel Stadium.
''We've just got to get to our first goal. It doesn't matter when it happens, really,'' Angels pitcher
John Lackey
said.
The A's have won 11 of their last 13, a stretch that began with a three-game sweep at Texas, and they can sweep the Angels
with a victory Sunday.
''It's a huge confidence booster,'' Oakland's
Ryan Sweeney
said. ''To be down 9-2 in the fourth and come back and win, it's a huge win for us. We've been putting it together pretty
good over the last couple of weeks. It's a little bit too late, but we've got nothing to lose right now. So we've just got
to go out and try to improve and put together as many good ballgames as we can.''
Kurt Suzuki
and
Mark Ellis
also homered for the A's.
Rookie
Kevin Jepsen
(6-4) was charged with four runs and three hits in the Oakland eighth, including a tying RBI single by Suzuki after the right-hander
struck out
Rajai Davis
and Sweeney with runners at the corners. Cust's double gave the A's an 11-10 lead, and
Daric Barton
greeted
Matt Palmer
with an RBI single before Ellis capped the rally with a three-run homer.
Craig Breslow
(8-7) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the victory after giving up an RBI single by pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr. that put the Angels
ahead 10-9 in the seventh.
''Tonight they hit the ball hard. They had 19 hits and there were no cheapies,'' Hunter said. ''They beat us. If we're going
to get beat, we should get beat like that.''
Cust was 3 for 5 with four RBIs and Barton was 4 for 5 with two RBIs. Suzuki had three hits and a season-high four RBIs during
Oakland's 19-hit outburst, raising his team-high RBI total to 85.
''Kurt's doing an unbelievable job,'' Sweeney said. ''He catches every single day. And to have that grind on your body and
still produce the way he does is pretty impressive.''
Darren Oliver
relieved Lackey after five innings with a 9-6 lead and gave up two runs in the sixth.
Adam Kennedy
hit an RBI double and scored on a two-out wild pitch to Sweeney.
Lackey allowed six runs and 10 hits. The right-hander, who hadn't allowed a home run in his previous five starts, gave up
a two-run shot by Suzuki in the first and a three-run shot by Cust in the fifth.
''That last inning I kind of got caught in a situation where I didn't want to walk anybody and threw a couple of 3-2 heaters
pretty much down the middle,'' Lackey said. ''Sometimes a team with nothing to lose is pretty dangerous. The offense was there
for us today, and I stunk.''
Suzuki gave the A's 2-0 lead in the first with his 15th homer after a two-out walk to Sweeney.
Juan Rivera
responded in the bottom half with a three-run shot over both bullpens, giving him new career highs in homers (24) and RBIs
(86).
All three runs off
Dana Eveland
in the Angels' first were unearned after shortstop
Cliff Pennington
botched a potential double-play grounder by
Bobby Abreu
when he took a throw from second baseman Ellis off the bag and wasn't able to get the out at first, either.
The Angels increased their margin to 9-2 with six runs in the fourth.
Jeff Mathis
hit an RBI single, and Kendrick scored when Kennedy hit him in the back with his throw to the plate after fielding
Maicer Izturis
' grounder.
Chone Figgins
chased Eveland with a two-run single and Abreu hit a two-run homer on
Brad Kilby
's first pitch, giving him 100 RBIs for the season.
NOTES: Abreu needs one stolen base to become the second player in the Angels' 49-year history with at least 100 RBIs and 30
steals in the same season.
Bobby Bonds
had 115 RBIs and 41 steals in 1977. ... Any combination of Oakland losses and Seattle wins that equals three will guarantee
the A's their seventh last-place finish since division play began in 1969, and their first since 1998.
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