ANGELS BLOODIED, NOT BROKEN PULL WITHIN ONE GAME OF AL WEST-LEADING A'S ANGELS 2, ATHLETICS 1.

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

ANAHEIM - One by one, Angels players filed into the clubhouse conference room for a pregame meeting Wednesday afternoon. It was a meeting for non-pitchers - not so much a ``hitters' '' meeting, because if they were hitting, there would have been no need for a meeting at all.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia called off batting practice, allowing players to arrive at the ballpark later than normal, just as long as the position players were there for the meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes.

To say the meeting was productive might be a bit premature, considering the Angels scored only two runs. But the two runs were enough because pitcher John Lackey was outstanding in the Angels' 2-1 win over the Oakland A's in front of a sellout crowd of 43,501 at Angel Stadium, snapping a season-worst five-game losing streak.

Lackey (11-5) threw seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits and striking out seven. He outdueled A's starter Joe Blanton (8-10), who gave up two runs and six hits in eight innings.

The Angels' win moved pulled them within one game of the first-place A's in the American League West and kept them one game behind the Yankees in the AL wild-card race.

``It was productive,'' Scioscia said of the meeting. ``I think we had good at-bats all night. It didn't amount to the production we hoped for, but it will. It was very positive. We bounced some ideas around. There's an understanding in that group we need to get more done offensively. It might not happen tonight or tomorrow, but we need to get crawling in the right direction.''

Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who ruffled some feathers last week when he said the Angels hitters needed to be more patient at the plate, said the meeting ``was nothing out of the ordinary. No voices were raised. It was just a reminder to keep our focus and composure. ... We can't be hot all year, not that we've been hot all year, but we just have to deal with it.''

Despite Scioscia's best intentions, Wednesday's game was reflective of the entire season. Little hitting and solid pitching, Lackey getting help from relievers Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez, who bounced back from Tuesday's loss to earn his 31st save with a scoreless ninth.

Lackey handed the ball over to the bullpen to start the eighth, but Shields promptly lost the shutout bid. Scott Hatteberg's two-out single scored Eric Chavez from second to make it 2-1, but Shields retired Nick Swisher with the bases loaded to escape with the lead intact.

The meeting looked like a good idea as the Angels loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first inning. But they came away empty after Darin Erstad struck out and Bengie Molina grounded out to second on an outstanding play by Mark Ellis.

The Angels broke through against Blanton in the fourth inning after Vladimir Guerrero singled and scored on Erstad's double. With two out, Erstad scored on Maicer Izturis' bloop single to center.

On the play, both Ellis and shortstop Marco Scutaro chased the ball into shallow center, leaving no one to cover second base. It became a race to the bag between Izturis and center fielder Jay Payton, who had fielded the hit. Izturis dived in head-first and Payton went in feet first, spiking Izturis on the right forearm and blocking him from the bag to get the out.

Joe Haakenson, [phone]

joe.haakenson(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 5 boxes

Photo:

Pitcher John Lackey threw seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits while striking out seven in the Angels' victory over Oakland on Wednesday.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

Box:

(1) OAKLAND at ANGELS

- Joe Haakenson

(2) HERE TO STAY?

(3) GAME RECAP

(4) ALMANAC 

(5) HOW THE RUNS SCORED