UNFINISHED JOB SHIELDS CAN'T HOLD LEAD IN ANGELS' LOSS OAKLAND 4, ANGELS 3.

Byline: Keven Chavez Staff Writer

OAKLAND - The practically untouchable bullpen, a seemingly endless supply of live arms, has been the Angels' lifeblood in recent seasons.

When the Angels get a lead, they keep it. But not this time.

Angels reliever Scot Shields was touched up by the Oakland A's for three runs in the seventh inning, negating a standout performance by starter Ervin Santana, and the Angels dropped the second game of a critical three-game series, 4-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 45,131 at McAfee Coliseum on Wednesday.

The Athletics' victory pulled them again into a first-place tie with the Angels in the American League West.

The Angels scraped across two runs off an unusually wild Barry Zito and Santana allowed just one, but both starters were gone as the game turned into a battle of the bullpens after six innings.

Shields got the call in the seventh and Oakland left fielder Jay Payton greeted him with a line-drive triple off the right-center field wall. One out later, Nick Swisher singled up the middle past a drawn-in infield to score Payton and tie the score 2-2.

Adam Melhuse, who hit a solo home run off Santana in the third inning, followed with a single. Both runners moved up on Jason Kendall's deep fly out to left. Then Mark Ellis tapped a bouncer over Shields, forcing Orlando Cabrera to charge from shortstop. But Cabrera could not handle an in-between hop, allowing Swisher to score the go-ahead run on the RBI infield single.

Shields' inning only got worse as he uncorked an extremely wild pitch directly to the backstop allowing Melhuse to jog home from third and give the A's a 4-2 lead.

Shields (7-7) had not allowed three runs over the course of his last 15 outings, a string of 19 innings.

Oakland relievers Justin Duchscherer (5-2) and Jay Witasick each pitched a shutout inning to turn the ball over to closer Huston Street. Street allowed a solo home run to Angels center fielder Steve Finley, but closed out the ninth inning for his 14th save.

Zito, who had won his previous eight starts, had trouble finding the strike zone early and the Angels made him pay in the third inning when Bengie Molina drilled a two-run double down the left-field line for a 2-0 lead.

Adam Kennedy led off the inning with a single and Zito issued a two-out walk to Darin Erstad and hit Vladimir Guerrero with a pitch to load the bases. Molina followed by stroking an 0-2 curveball off the left-field wall to give the Angels the two-run lead.

Zito was gone after six innings, having thrown five walks, one hit batsmen and 115 pitches. Zito's streak of eight wins in eight starts was broken, but the former AL Cy Young Award winner still has not lost a decision in his past 10 starts. His last loss came on June 17 against Philadelphia.

Adam Melhuse cut the A's deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the third with a solo home run to right off Santana.

It was the only damage off Santana, who scattered four hits and two walks over his six innings of work.

Finley's ninth-inning home run was his first since June 10 and just his second in the team's last 38 games.

Keven Chavez, [phone], ext. 2239

keven.chavez(at)sgvn.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera hops over Oakland's Bobby Crosby while completing a double play.

(2) Oakland starting pitcher Barry Zito allowed just two runs but walked five Angels batters on Wednesday night.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Box:

(1) ANGELS AT OAKLAND

- Keven Chavez

(2) GAME RECAP

(3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED

(4) ALMANAC