ANGELS, ESCOBAR LET VICTORY WALK AWAY SEVEN FREE PASSES, ERROR PROVE COSTLY OAKLAND 2, ANGELS 1.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA

Staff Writer

OAKLAND -- The Angels gave away a victory Saturday, wrapped it in nice paper with a tidy little bow.

This wasn't as much a defeat as it was an offering. The Oakland Athletics had better check with the IRS to see if they have to pay taxes on something like this.

It seemed as if everybody was in a giving mood, and nobody more so than Kelvim Escobar as the A's pulled off an unlikely 2-1victory.

The right-hander allowed just two hits but gave up seven walks. He gave up just two runs, with one unearned because of his own error.

"I felt great," Escobar said. "I thought one run would be enough for me the way I felt. But I walked some guys and had that play at first base. That's the game."

That a victory depended on what Escobar did with his glove points to just how much trouble the Angels really were in. Clinging to a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning, Escobar (11-6) walked twoof the first three batters to set up potential trouble.

But the right-hander got the one-out groundball he needed when Nick Swisher hit a sharp bouncer to Casey Kotchman at first base. Kotchman threw to second for the second out and Orlando Cabrera's return throw to Escobar covering at first base looked as if it might be in time to end the inning.

But Escobar couldn't grab the throw that was just a foot or so to his right. It rolled out of play, allowing Donnie Murphy to score the tying run.

"The throw was away from me a little bit and it was tough, but I should have made that play," Escobar said. "You stretch and you're not a first baseman. I just got locked in. The throw was just a little bit to the side, and I could have made the catch. It hit my glove. It was a tough play."

The play only illustrated how damaging walks can be. Escobar's seven walks tied a career high. It was the fifth time he's given up as many.

"He wasn't missing by much but a couple of pitches got away from him," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Outside of (seven walks) he pitched great. It was a game we had every opportunity to win, and we just couldn't get the key hit in the early going with guys in scoring position."

It was still early when the Angels started blowing prime scoring chances that could have led to a comfortable lead. They had runners on first and third with one out in the first inning, but Cabrera was thrown out at home trying to score on a ground ball by Garret Anderson.

In the second inning, the Angels scored their only run on a sacrifice fly from Jeff Mathis. The third inning presented another opportunity, but two hits and a walk led to nothing. The Angels had six hits and a walk after threeinnings but had only onerun to show for it after leaving four runners on base.

"Right now we haven't had that continuity (on offense) since the All-Star break that we had in the first half and we have to get back into that game," Scioscia said. "We've seen flashes of it: the Detroit series and games here and there. We need to come out here and have guys get comfortable and get into their games."

The lack of early production came back to haunt the Angels in the seventh inning, and once again two walks to the first threeA's batters were to blame. A line drive by Murphy gave Escobar the second out before pinch hitter Travis Buck lifted a pop fly down the line to shallow right field.

Reggie Willits charged the ball but couldn't get to it until after it bounced, allowing Mark Ellis to score the go-ahead run. The Angels went quietly in he final two innings, just as they had been doing since the start of the fourth inning. The Angels followed their six hits in the first two innings with two hits over the final sixinnings.

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The Angels' Kelvim Escobar allowed just two hits but gave up seven walks in a loss Saturday in Oakland.

Ben Margot/Associated Press