THIS ONE'S FOR ANGELS SURVIVE SWISHER'S GRAND SLAM, BEAT OAKLAND BY A RUN ANGELS 5, OAKLAND 4.

Byline: DOUG PADILLA  Staff Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. - In Jeff Weaver's postgame analysis, he reasoned Nick Swisher just knew a curveball was coming when the Oakland Athletics outfielder ripped the offering over the wall Saturday for his first career grand slam.

Of course Weaver did. Call it fate, destiny or any other cosmic force that just happens to bring the Angels and A's close together on the scoreboard.

Swisher's grand slam brought the A's to within a run, but the Angels bullpen held off their AL West division rivals for a 5-4 victory.

This is how these teams beat each other. If the Angels ran off and hid, like it looked they would do with a 5-0 lead by the fifth inning, then it just wouldn't be a typical showdown between the division foes.

The count of one-run gamesnow reaches 11 in the past 21 between the teams is now at 13 of the past 23.

``It's real good pitching, real good defense and pretty good hitters on both teams,'' reliever Scot Shields said, explaining the tense battles.

``It seems like every game we're playing against them is one run or two runs. It's good baseball and it's a lot of fun playing against them.''

It certainly was fun for Shields, who shut down the A's with a perfect eighth inning that he culminated by striking out the last two batters he faced.

The Angels bullpen was lined up perfectly behind Weaver as Brendan Donnelly pitched a scoreless seventh inning, Shields handled the eighth and Francisco Rodriguez picked up his sixth save with two strikeouts in the ninth.

Weaver let things get a little too close for comfort in the fifth inning but still walked away with his first victory as a member of the Angels. He was dominating early as he retired the first eight batters he faced and 12 of the first 14.

Trouble started in the fifth on a leadoff single by Jay Payton, which was followed by a one-out walk to Jason Kendall and an infield single from Dan Johnson. Weaver saved an RBI on Johnson's hit when he put his leg in the path of a bouncing ball that was behind him and heading toward center field.

After striking out Mark Ellis on a side-arm breaking ball to get within an out of escaping the jam, Swisher crushed a 1-0 pitch.

``I thought I could drop a curveball in there for strike one and obviously, he was waiting for it,'' Weaver said. ''That was the one pitch he looked like he was sitting on and I didn't take it as that.''

Weaver restored order by getting Eric Chavez on a popfly to end the fifth and pitched a perfect sixth inning.

Weaver (1-2) gave up six hits to go along with the four A's runs, with a walk and five strikeouts. Angels pitchers combined for just two walks a night after surrendering 10.

``I don't know what the history is but every game seems like it's nip and tuck here,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ``We had our guys (in the bullpen) lined up and they worked the way they're supposed to. That's a good sign from the back of the bullpen.''

Garret Anderson helped keep the offense moving with a 4-for-4 day, including his fourth home run of the season and second in two games. Anderson is now batting .330 in his career against the A's, his best mark against any AL team, and also has 20 home runs. The only team he has more home runs against is Texas (24).

``It's just one of those things that you can't explain why it happens,'' said Anderson, a product of Kennedy High of Granada Hills. ''You just try not to question it and not worry about it. The guys we face when we play them, I don't necessarily feel I do that well off of all the time. I guess the numbers say otherwise but I don't feel it.''

The Angels touched A's starter Dan Haren (0-2) for five runs on eight hits in 7 1/3 innings.

If the theme of the 10-game road trip continues, the Angels are due for a sloppy game today. Ever Since the road trip started in Baltimore the Angels have followed a well-played outing with an unsightly defeat.

It might help to explain why they are 9-9.

``It's frustrating because we all think we're better than that,'' said Adam Kennedy (Cal State Northridge), who had an RBI double. ''It's frustrating when you can't string together a couple good games in a row. You just need to be sharper.''

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Angels third baseman Chone Figgins looks to the ground, perhaps hoping to brace his fall, after leaping into the stands to catch a foul ball by Oakland's Mark Ellis in the seventh inning Saturday.

(2) Oakland's Nick Swisher watches his grand slam during the fifth inning, but the A's couldn't muster anything else against the Angels.

Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

(3) ESCOBAR

Box:

ANGELS at OAKLAND

- Doug Padilla