Los Angeles Angels defeat Oakland Athletics 4-1 in series opener - MLB Update
The Los Angeles Angels romped to a 4-1 victory in the first game against the Oakland Athletics, at Angels Stadium, California, on Monday night, May 23 to take a 1-0 lead in the four game road-series.
Torii Hunter hit a RBI single off of Oakland closer Brian Fuentes in the eighth inning to take his club into leading position 2-1. Then Jeff Mathis added an RBI double to cement his club their 25th win of the season.
The Angels might not be in a leading situation in this series if their starter Jered Weaver could have not pitched such a strong innings. While Weaver held the Athletics scoreless in his first two innings, Bobby Abreu earned an RBI single off the Athletics’
starter Outman in the first to take the Angels to a 1-0 lead.
Weaver gave away his first run in third inning when Oakland’s designated hitter Hideki Matsui hit a sacrifice to balance the game at 1-1. Weaver did not allow any run over his last four innings and finished his seven innings spell, allowing only six hits,
walking three and making five strike-outs.
Despite pitching strong innings, Weaver could not earn his first win in May. Now he will have to wait until next Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays to achieve this mark. A loss or no-decision in this game would emerge him as the first Major League Baseball
starter to win at least five outings with no-loss and then drop more than four games the following month without a win.
Reliever Scott Downs and closer Jordan Walden each threw scoreless innings to take their team into victory for the second-straight time.
Outman, on the other hand, also struck back and tossed six shut-out innings to end his seven innings spell. Except a single in the first, Outman did not yield any run on five allowed hits, however he walked two and got only two strike-outs.
The win that Outman was hoping for was lost when reliever Brian Fuentes tossed a wobbly pitch to receive a deficit-earning run for the Athletics’. There was still a little hope for Outman but it vanished when closer Michael Wuertz consumed two runs on two
hits allowing the Angels to enjoy their late win.
Outman was making his first big league outing since June 19, 2009. The 26-year-old left-hand hurler missed 2010 due a Tommy John Surgery after pitching 16 previous starts for Oakland in 2009.
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