OAKLAND, Calif., May 18 (UPI) — The Oakland Athletics pounded out 15 hits Tuesday and cruised to a 14-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The outburst of offense was more than enough support for Gio Gonzalez (5-2), who clamped down on the hapless Halos for seven innings, allowing one hit and one walk and striking out seven.

Jeff Mathis and Howie Kendrick accounted for the only two Los Angeles hits. Tyler Chatwood (2-2) took the loss in a 2 1/3 inning start. His line included seven runs — five earned — on seven hits and two walks.

The Athletics did not hit a home run in the game, the start of which was delayed 40 minutes by a rain. They led 7-0 after three innings and added six more runs in the sixth inning.

Coco Crisp and Mark Ellis both had three hits for the A’s. Ellis had four RBI in the game.

Read More: Jered Weaver (P – ANA), Los Angeles Angels

The Oakland Athletics open up their three game series with the Los Angeles Angels and are hoping their offensive explosion on Saturday and Sunday continues against Angels ace Jered Weaver. The A’s scored 14 runs in the final two games against Seattle and now face a pitcher in Weaver who is pitching as well as anybody in baseball. Weaver is sitting at 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. For those keeping count, that puts him on pace for upwards of 36 wins. I don’t think he’ll be winning 36 games, but it’s safe to say he could not be pitching a whole lot better.

The A’s send out Gio Gonzalez who will be looking to bounce back from his first poor performance of the season last Wednesday. He gave up four runs to the Boston Red Sox and suffered his first defeat of the season. He will be facing an Angels lineup that has been around the middle of the pack in terms of offense. Maicer Izturis is leading the way with a line of .338/.384/.500. Howie Kendrick has wielded the big stick thus far with six home runs on the season.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Daric Barton (L) 1B
3. David DeJesus (L) RF
4. Josh Willingham® LF
5. Hideki Matsui (L) DH
6. Kurt Suzuki® C
7. Mark Ellis® 2B
8. Kevin Kouzmanoff® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS

Los Angeles Angels
1. Peter Bourjos® CF
2. Bobby Abreu (L) DH
3. Torii Hunter® RF
4. Vernon Wells® LF
5. Alberto Callaspo (S) 3B
6. Howard Kendrick® 2B
7. Erick Aybar (S) SS
8. Mark Trumbo® 1B
9. Jeff Mathis® C

Lefty slugger Eric Chavez(notes) only appeared in 33 games for the Oakland Athletics last season, hammering out one home run and earning 10 RBIs in that time.

Now the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Chavez is getting a workout with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 20 and has workouts lined up with two American League teamsso he can prove that his beaten-up body is ready to handle another full season of work. Neither of those A.L. teams is his longtime employer, the A’s, the Chronicle reports.

If Chavez signs with the Dodgers, he would presumably platoon with righty third baseman Casey Blake(notes). Chavez has won six Gold Gloves, but his last one came in 2006.

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Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Related: Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics