| SEASON | CAREER |
| W12 | 88 |
| L5 | 78 |
| G28 | 266 |
| IP169.2 | 1449.0 |
| BB45 | 370 |
| SO162 | 1294 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W9 | 9 |
| L7 | 7 |
| G23 | 24 |
| IP140.1 | 146.0 |
| BB55 | 56 |
| SO107 | 108 |
The Oakland Athletics ' prolific offense went down quietly in losing the series opener with the Los Angeles Angels .
Their bats could have more trouble Tuesday night against scheduled starter Zack Greinke , who appears to be finding his groove with the Angels.
Oakland's season-high nine-game winning streak was snapped with Monday's 8-3 loss. The A's (76-58), whose lead over Baltimore for the AL's first wild-card spot was trimmed to one, entered the series having averaged 10.0 runs in their previous six contests while clubbing 16 homers.
Josh Donaldson and Chris Carter each went deep in the opener, but both were solo shots.
Donaldson has suddenly found his power stroke, homering four times in his last five games bringing his season total to six.
"The ability is there," Bob Melvin told the Athletics' official website. "We're getting a lot of production out of him."
The Angels (72-63), meanwhile, are starting to see the results from Greinke (3-2, 4.82 ERA) that they envisioned when they acquired him from Milwaukee before the non-waiver trade deadline.
Greinke has yielded three runs over 14 2-3 innings in winning his last two starts after recording a 7.20 ERA in his previous four.
"I was doing so bad, I figured I couldn't do any worse," the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner said after allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings in Thursday's 5-2 victory over Boston. "The main thing (now) is I'm not worried about messing up. ... Better location, I guess that's the main thing. I'm not leaving my mistakes over the middle of the plate."The right-hander struggled mightily with his command in Oakland on Aug. 8, allowing four runs, six hits and five walks in five innings of a game the Angels lost 9-8.
Los Angeles has won six of seven - scoring at least five runs in each of those victories - and is 10-3 since Aug. 21 to pull within 3 1/2 games of a wild-card spot.
"When you play the team ahead of you, it's your best chance to make up ground," Vernon Wells said. "We know what's at stake. Right now, it's just a matter of if we do it collectively then we're going to win our share of ballgames. That's all that matters at this point."Wells, batting in the eighth spot, had a solo shot and RBI single Monday, while No. 9 hitter Chris Iannetta had a two-run homer as part of a three-hit day.
Iannetta and Torii Hunter , who hit his 13th homer in the opener, have been carrying the Angels' offense lately. Iannetta is batting .393 with three homers and 12 RBIs over his last 16 games, while Hunter is hitting .600 with three doubles and seven runs in the last six.
Iannetta is also 2 for 3 lifetime against scheduled starter Jarrod Parker (9-7, 3.72).
Parker wasn't sharp Thursday in Cleveland, giving up five runs, eight hits and three walks in five innings, but got more than enough run support in a 12-7 win.
The A's have won his last three starts, with the righty recording a 3.79 ERA and receiving 20 total runs of support. He had a 5.71 ERA in losing his previous three outings, while backed by one run.
One of those defeats came to the Angels on Aug. 6, when he gave up four runs in 6 2-3 innings of a 4-0 loss.
@
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Daric Barton | 8 | .500 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .600 | 1.850 | 1.250 |
| Coco Crisp | 30 | .233 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .233 | .600 | .367 |
| Jonny Gomes | 10 | .300 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | .417 | 1.417 | 1.000 |
| Luke Hughes | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Brandon Inge | 47 | .234 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 14 | .308 | .691 | .383 |
| Cliff Pennington | 5 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .286 | .286 | .000 |
| Seth Smith | 10 | .400 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 | 1.000 | .600 |
| Eric Sogard | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .000 |
| Kurt Suzuki | 16 | .313 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .389 | .702 | .313 |
 Los Angeles Angels |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 30, 2012 | Howie Kendrick | Day-to-Day | Left game - sore right knee |
| August 22, 2012 | Albert Pujols | Day-to-Day | Left game - right calf tightness |
| August 19, 2012 | Peter Bourjos | 15-Day DL | Sore right wrist |
| August 19, 2012 | Peter Bourjos | 15-Day DL | Sore right wrist |
| August 13, 2012 | C.J. Wilson | Day-to-Day | Left game - bruised left hand |
| July 30, 2012 | Mark Trumbo | Day-to-Day | Back spasms |
 Oakland Athletics |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 02, 2012 | Brandon Inge | Day-to-Day | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 18, 2012 | Jordan Norberto | 15-Day DL | Left shoulder tendinitis |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 12, 2012 | Brandon Inge | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right shoulder |
| August 07, 2012 | Eric Sogard | 15-Day DL | Strained back |
| August 05, 2012 | A.J. Griffin | 15-Day DL | Strained right shoulder |
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Zack Greinke is settling in as a key member of the Angels' rotation, just as Los Angeles is making a serious push in the playoff chase.
The timing couldn't be better for manager Mike Scioscia 's ballclub.
Greinke pitched seven sharp innings to win his third consecutive start and the Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 6-1 on Tuesday night.
"You could see it coming his last couple of starts, just finding the release point," Scioscia said. "He did a great job of commanding the counts better. I thought he threw the ball exceptionally well tonight."
Greinke (4-2) scattered four hits, struck out four and walked two in his most recent gem.
Since beginning his Los Angeles career with two losses in five starts following a July 27 trade from Milwaukee, Greinke has settled into a groove. He's yielded four runs over his last 21 2-3 innings and has gone at least seven innings in each of his past three starts.
That's a far cry from the last time he pitched in Oakland on Aug. 8, when he was tagged for four runs in five innings. Greinke's only noticeable mistake this time came in the seventh, when he allowed a leadoff homer to Brandon Moss .
"I forgot about that, actually," Greinke said. "The Oakland game here I was throwing all sinkers and that's not really my game. Then I was trying to throw too hard the next two starts. So just trying to go back to normal, and it worked out good."
Scott Downs pitched the eighth and Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth to complete the four-hitter for the Angels, who remained 3 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot in the American League. Los Angeles has won four of five on its six-game road trip and 11 of 14 overall.
Kendrys Morales had three hits and an RBI.
Moss' home run was one of the few bright spots for the A's, who have dropped two straight to the Angels following a nine-game winning streak. Oakland, tied for the wild-card lead, is four games behind first-place Texas in the AL West and 3 1/2 ahead of the third-place Angels.
"It wasn't a horrible pitch to Moss. ... He just stayed inside it and he's a good low-ball hitter and he hit it out," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Other than that, we didn't get too many good swings."
The Angels put runners on base early against starter Jarrod Parker (9-8) but didn't break through until the fifth.
Alberto Callaspo and Chris Iannetta singled to put runners on the corners with one out before Mike Trout hit a first-pitch single up the middle. That gave Trout, a leading contender for AL MVP and Rookie of the Year, 75 RBIs.
Los Angeles opened the sixth with consecutive singles by Morales and Howie Kendrick . Both runners moved up on a sacrifice, and Morales scored on Callaspo's sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Greinke didn't need much else.
He worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the first, stranded a runner at second in the third and retired 16 of 18 until Moss homered in the seventh. It was Moss' 16th home run this season and fourth in the last eight games.
Greinke also got some help from the Angels' defense when Trout ran down Josh Reddick 's deep fly to center in the sixth.
Parker, who also lost to the Angels in his previous start at the Oakland Coliseum on Aug. 6, didn't pitch poorly but had nothing to show for it after going seven innings. He struck out Torii Hunter three times, had five strikeouts overall and didn't walk a batter for the second time this season.
The Angels added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth off reliever Sean Doolittle , then scored two more in the ninth - one on a double by Morales.
NOTES: Greinke has allowed at least one home run in seven straight starts, the longest streak of his career. ... Albert Pujols doubled in the first to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. The Angels' slugger needs six doubles to reach 500. ... The A's recalled RHP Jim Miller from Class-A Stockton before the game. It is Miller's fifth stint with the big league club this year. ... Angels RHP Dan Haren (9-10) tries to snap a three-game losing streak to his former club when he pitches in the series finale Wednesday. RHP Brandon McCarthy (8-5) goes for the A's. ... Reddick was selected AL player of the week after going 12 for 31 with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
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Los Angeles Angels
