Trumbo’s two-run homer helps Weaver notch career-high 17th win
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Mark Trumbo broke out of a mini-slump in a big way Wednesday, snapping a tie score in the sixth inning with a two-run home run to help lift the Angels to a 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Jered Weaver notched his career-high 17th victory by allowing one run and six hits in seven innings, striking out only one and walking two to improve to 17-7 and lower his earned-run average to 2.40. He threw 115 pitches, 74 strikes, which should position him to make his next start on short rest Sunday in Baltimore.
Closer Jordan Walden struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his 31st save. The Angels closed to within 2 1/2 games of Texas in the American League West with 13 games to play, but the Rangers are scheduled to play Cleveland on Wednesday night.
The A’s took a 1-0 lead in the third when Weaver grooved a 2-and-2 fastball to Josh Willingham, who drove it over the wall in left-center field for a solo home run, his 26th of the season.
Oakland starter Rich Harden blanked the Angels on five hits through five innings with the help of an infield defense that made superb plays in each of the first four innings.
But his leadoff walk in the sixth inning to Howie Kendrick, who hit a pair of two-run home runs in Tuesday night’s win, opened the door for the Angels. Bobby Abreu drove a double to the gap in right-center that scored Kendrick for a 1-1 tie. Torii Hunter grounded to short, Abreu taking third, and Harden got ahead of Trumbo with a 1-2 count.
Trumbo was hitless in his previous 10 at-bats, and twice in his last two games, in losses to the New York Yankees on Sunday and the A’s on Monday night, he failed to score a runner from third with less than two outs.
He got Abreu in, and then some, Wednesday. Harden made a mistake over the middle with a changeup, and Trumbo sent a laser over the left-field wall for his team-leading 27th homer of the season and a 3-1 lead. Trumbo also leads the team with 82 runs batted in.
Trumbo also contributed to a run-scoring rally in the eighth when he singled Abreu to third. He stole second, and Abreu scored from third when A’s second baseman Eric Sogard dropped the throw from catcher Kurt Suzuki.
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-- Mike DiGiovanna in Oakland