THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kendry Morales homered and drove in three runs, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their first four-game losing streak of the season with a 7-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Morales had three hits and Mike Napoli also homered for the Angels, who blew most of an early five-run lead before hanging on. Their first victory since last Monday, coupled with Texas’ 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay, reduced Los Angeles’ magic number to two for clinching its third straight AL West title.
Texas comes to Anaheim on Monday for a four-game series, and the Angels can wrap up their fifth division crown in six years with one victory. The Rangers had won five straight series against Los Angeles before the Angels took two of three last week.
The Angels blew a seven-run lead during Saturday’s 15-10 loss to the A’s, but Los Angeles’ bullpen escaped two big late-inning jams in this series finale. Brian Fuentes earned his 45th save, reclaiming the major league lead.
Joe Saunders (15-7) pitched six scoreless innings for Los Angeles before falling apart in the seventh, allowing the first five batters to reach base as Oakland trimmed the Angels’ big lead to 5-3. The A’s got within one run in the eighth on pinch-hitter Adam Kennedy’s sacrifice fly, but Maicer Izturis hit a two-run double later in the inning for Los Angeles.
Edgar Gonzalez (0-4) remained winless in six starts for the A’s, yielding seven hits and five runs in five innings. Mark Ellis and Cliff Pennington had two hits apiece for last-place Oakland, which had won 13 of 16 as the majors’ best team in September.
Morales followed an RBI single in the first with a two-run homer in the third, hitting an 0-2 pitch deep into right field for his 32nd homer.
Saunders yielded seven hits and didn’t walk a batter until the seventh. He has won six of his seven starts since returning from a brief stint on the disabled list to rest his left shoulder, muscling his way back into the picture for Los Angeles’ playoff rotation.
Saunders was thoroughly in control of the first six innings, allowing just one runner to reach third base and retiring 10 straight before the seventh, when Ellis’ single started a three-run rally. Saunders was chased by Landon Powell’s RBI single, but reliever Darren Oliver escaped a bases-loaded jam by inducing Rajai Davis’ double-play grounder.
Oakland caused more trouble in the eighth after a sliding Bobby Abreu dropped Daric Barton’s leadoff double. Barton later scored to trim Los Angeles’ lead to one run, but Kevin Jepsen struck out pinch-hitter Jack Cust to end the inning.
NOTES: Morales has 102 RBIs in his first full major league season, becoming the first Angels first baseman to reach three digits since Mo Vaughn in 2000. … Napoli’s 62nd career homer as a catcher broke the Angels’ franchise record he shared with Bengie Molina and Lance Parrish. … Gonzalez hit Angels LF Juan Rivera with pitches in each of his first two at-bats, with the second incident prompting visible anger from Rivera.
