ANGELS RAIN ON A'S SWEEP SOLID SHOWING BY WASHBURN; ZITO ALSO STRONG ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 1.Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer ANAHEIM - The cavalry, manager Mike Scioscia Losers of nine of 11 since the All-Star break, whatever help that arrives via trade before Thursday's non-waiver deadline will only augment the existing core, a core that needs to get better part by part if the Angels are to crawl back into contention. Monday night, Jarrod Washburn Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974 in La Crosse, Wisconsin) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Drafted by the California Angels in the 2nd round of the 1995 amateur draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Washburn won the final game became a part of that solution. Rocked for a career-worst 10 earned runs in his last outing and sporting an 8.01 ERA over his last eight starts, Washburn crawled off the canvas and gave the Angels seven sterling, shutout innings as he locked horns with Oakland's Cy Young Award winner, Barry Zito Barry William Zito (born May 13 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He previously played seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics. . He left in a scoreless tie, but his outing enabled eighth-inning RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in singles from Tim Salmon The victory salvaged the final game of a four-game series in which the A's won the first three games by a 21-4 margin. The Angels are back to .500, at 52-52, and within 10 1/2 games of first-place Seattle. And for just the second time this season, the Angels won a game in their last at-bat, something that occurred 22 times last season. This time, Salmon's chopper back to the mound ticked off reliever Chad Bradford's glove, enabling David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein, (born January 20, 1975 in Sanford, Florida), is a Major League Baseball shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is noted for his size, as he is a small (for professional sports) 5' 7", but weighs 175 pounds. to score from third with the game's first run. Anderson singled home Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a first baseman/center fielder in Major League Baseball currently with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to 2007, he had played his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006). with a key insurance run, capping a rally that started with two outs. ``It's better to be lucky than good right now,'' Salmon said of his poorly struck but well-placed RBI hit. ``We needed something like that.'' And they needed Washburn to regain his 18-win form from a year ago. He did just that, striking out seven while not giving up a home run for the first time since May 29, a 10-start span. It was his first start since his wife, Kerrie, gave birth to their second boy, Owen, on Friday. Washburn skipped his usual side session, and the respite provided him a clean slate Noun 1. clean slate - an opportunity to start over without prejudice fresh start, tabula rasa chance, opportunity - a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances; "the holiday gave us the opportunity to visit Washington"; "now is your chance" with at least one observer. ``(Owen) thinks I've got a zero ERA,'' Washburn said. ``It's been frustrating for me the last couple of weeks. I definitely had a clue tonight.'' Shut out for seven innings by Zito (USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. , Pierce College In 2006 the Library won a national Excellence award. Academics Pierce College offers associate's degrees, mainly in the arts and sciences. There are also certificate programs in early childhood education, social services, dental hygienist, and others. ), the Angels broke through with two outs against left-handed reliever Ricardo Rincon (6-4). David Eckstein walked and Darin Erstad snapped an 0-for-14 funk with a single that sent Eckstein to third. Chad Bradford came on to face Salmon, who chopped a ball back to the mound. From third base, Eckstein was yelling at the ball to ``get up.'' After it glanced off Bradford's glove, Salmon motored for first base, a process he said felt ``agonizingly slow, in my mind. The base seemed to get further and further away.'' But he made it in time, Eckstein scored, and Anderson followed with an RBI single. Troy Percival gave up a home run to Erubiel Durazo in the ninth but held on for his 23rd save. That ensured the Angels wouldn't waste Washburn's outing. He got a key assist from Salmon, whose sliding catch of Adam Piatt's sinking liner with two runners in motion saved at least one run and started an inning-ending double play. ``It felt good to get one of those my way, for once,'' Washburn said. He made the most of it. Piatt was the first of 15 consecutive A's Washburn set down into the seventh inning, when a rare July shower dropped rain on the crowd of 38,402, many of whom scampered for the concourses. Washburn had no choice but to dance between the raindrops after he gave up singles to Eric Chavez and David McCarty. But on his 110th pitch of the night, he blew a fastball by Terrence Long to end the threat and get the game to the Angels' bullpen. Brendan Donnelly (1-1) pitched the eighth for his first victory. Gabe Lacques, (626) 962-8811 gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: After giving up 10 earned runs in his last outing, Angels starter Jarrod Washburn struck out seven, tying a season high, in Monday's 2-1 win over Oakland. Matt Sayles/Associated Press |
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