Blanton's solid outing helps A's top Angels

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2007 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Blanton recovered from a shaky start to pitch eight solid inning as the Oakland Athletics downed the LA Angels of Anaheim, 6-2, in the finale of a three-game set at Angel Stadium.

Blanton (12-9) gave up two runs, both in the first inning, on six hits with just one walk and three strikeouts for the A's, who had lost three of four coming into the game.

"After the first inning I started throwing more sliders," said Blanton. "They're an aggressive team so I tried to keep the ball down and our defense made some nice plays."

Mark Ellis hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs while Donnie Murphy went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI for Oakland.

"I was able to put a good swing on the ball," said Ellis. "But my defense is why I am here. I take a lot of pride with my defense."

Garret Anderson and Maicer Izturis each drove in a run while Joe Saunders (7-3) got the loss as he gave up four runs on seven hits in six-plus innings of work for the Angels, who had won seven of nine coming into the contest.

The Angels still hold a comfortable seven-game lead over Seattle for first place in the AL West. The Mariners battle the Yankees Wednesday night.

The Angels grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Reggie Willits and Orlando Cabrera started the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners. After Vladimir Guerrero struck out, Anderson punched a single to right to score Willits. Izturis followed with a sacrifice fly to score Cabrera.

The A's, though, took the lead in the fourth as Marco Scutaro led off with a walk, Jack Cust later singled to left and Ellis followed with a three-run homer over the left field wall for a 3-2 lead.

Oakland extended its lead in the seventh with a pair of runs. Murphy led off the inning with a line dive shot over the left field wall. Chris Bootcheck then took the mound and walked Shannon Stewart, but got Scutaro to fly out. Mike Piazza followed with a single and, after Cust flied out, Ellis punched a single to right to score Stewart for a 5-2 lead. On the play, Piazza was thrown out trying to reach third to end the inning.

An RBI single from Murphy scored Nick Swisher in the eighth to extend Oakland's lead to 6-2.

After giving up a two-out single to Anderson in the third, Blanton faced the minimum of 16 batters through the eighth inning as he benefited from double plays in the sixth and seventh inning.

Huston Street worked around a leadoff walk and a two-out single to close the game.

Game Notes

Joe Saunders is 2-1 in five career starts against Oakland...Blanton improved to 3-6 in 14 games (11 starts) against the Angels in his career...Oakland travel to Texas for a three-game set starting on Friday...The Angels host Cleveland for a four-game set starting on Thursday...Ellis' home run was his 17th of the season, which set an A's record for most home runs by a second baseman in a season...Anderson has a 10-game RBI streak, which ties the Angels record held by Fred Lynn and Wally Joyner...Blanton has won four of his last five decisions...Saunders has lost three of last four decisions after starting the season 6-0...Attendance was 34,000.

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