OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 13 (UPI) — Josh Willingham belted a three-run homer in the first inning Monday and the Oakland Athletics cruised to a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Willingham went 3-for-4, with an RBI single in the seventh for Oakland, which claimed a win in the opener of a three-game series.

Scott Sizemore contributed a solo home run to back Gio Gonzalez (13-12), who held the Angels to two runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings to pick up the victory.

Joel Pineiro (6-7) lasted only three innings for Los Angeles, surrendering five runs on five hits while walking a pair.

Vernon Wells drove in two runs with a solo homer and an RBI triple, and Erick Aybar went deep for the second-place Angels, who lost their second straight and fell three games behind idle Texas in the American League West.

Oakland, CA (Sports Network) – Josh Willingham hit a three-run home run and
finished with four RBI to help the Oakland Athletics take a 6-3 win over the
LA Angels of Anaheim in the opener of a three-game set.

Kurt Suzuki had three hits and Cliff Pennington added two hits, an RBI and a
run scored for the Athletics, who had lost four of six coming into the game.
Gio Gonzalez (13-12) gave up two runs on seven hits with a walk and six
strikeouts over 6 2/3 frames to get the win.

Vernon Wells hit a solo homer and had two RBI while Erick Aybar also hit a
solo home run for the Angels, who have dropped their past two games. Joel
Pineiro (6-7) went three-plus innings and was charged with four runs on five
hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts.

The loss moves the Angels to three games back of Texas for first place in the
AL West.

Oakland jumped on top in the first inning as walks by Jemile Weeks and Hideki
Matsui set the table for Willingham, who clubbed a shot over the wall in left-
center for a 3-0 lead.

The Angels made it a 3-1 game in the second as Torii Hunter hit a leadoff
single and later came home on a Wells triple.

Oakland added two more to its lead in the fourth. With men on second and
third, Tyler Chatwood took over for Pineiro on the mound and, after getting
the first out, gave up a single to Scott Sizemore to score one. Later in the
frame, Pennington made it a 5-1 game with a single.

Aybar’s solo homer in the seventh made it a three-run game, but the Athletics
got the run back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from Willingham.

Wells hit a leadoff homer in the ninth off of Grant Balfour, who set down the
next three batters to cap the win.

GAME NOTES:
Willingham has 25 home runs on the season and is one shy of matching his
season-best set in 2006…Oakland has won nine of the 14 games against the
Angels this season…The Angels batted 0-for-6 with runners in scoring
position and stranded six.

The Sports Network

OAKLAND, Calif. —
Athletics 6, Angels 3

Josh Willingham hit his 25th home run and drove in four runs to help the Oakland Athletics chase starter Joel Pineiro early again in a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.

Willingham’s three-run shot in the first inning off Pineiro (6-7) started a second straight brief outing for the Angels right-hander at the Coliseum. Los Angeles fell three games behind first-place Texas in the AL West.

Pineiro allowed four runs on five hits in three-plus innings. His short start still lasted longer than his previous performance in Oakland on July 17, when he gave up eight runs in one-third of an inning.

Gio Gonzalez (13-12) struck out six and gave up two runs in 6 2-3 innings.

Erick Aybar and Vernon Wells each hit solo home runs late for the Angels, who had won six of their last eight games to climb back into the playoff race. With only 15 games remaining, time is running out to catch the Rangers.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia had hoped that Pineiro’s struggles were over. He had a six-start winless streak until his last outing — allowing one run in seven innings in a 4-1 victory over Minnesota — and seemingly fixed the mechanics in his release point that were at the root of his problems.

All that washed away quickly.

Pineiro walked two of the first three batters and pitching coach Mike Butcher visited the mound for a chat before Willingham came to the plate. Willingham sent a 1-1 pitch soaring into left-center field, skipping off the top of the wall for a home run to put the A’s ahead 3-0 in the first inning.

After Torii Hunter singled leading off the second, Wells hit line drive that ricocheted off the wall just below the foul pole in right. The ball skipped back over the outstretched arms of David DeJesus, giving Wells a triple and allowing Hunter to score to bring the Angels within 3-1.

Ryan Sweeney singled and Kurt Suzuki hit one his two doubles to start the bottom of the fourth. That was enough for Scioscia to pull Pineiro for Tyler Chatwood after a start that was reminiscent of Pineiro’s last visit to Oakland, a 9-1 loss that was the shortest appearance by an Angels starter — not counting an injury or ejection — since Aug. 28, 2007.

The A’s kept piling it on with a rare display of pop. Scott Sizemore hit a run-scoring single and Cliff Pennington knocked a two-out RBI single later in the inning to put Oakland ahead 5-1. After Aybar hit his 8th home run of the season in the seventh, Willingham answered with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to give the A’s a 6-2 lead.

Wells homered for the 21st time this season in the ninth off Grant Balfour.

NOTES: The A’s held out closer Andrew Bailey as a precaution after he was hit just above his left ear by a foul ball from teammate Kurt Suzuki during batting practice. He passed an initial concussion test. Bailey said his vision momentarily went black but joked that his sunglasses saved him and he’ll be fine. … Scioscia said ace Jered Weaver, who is scheduled to start Wednesday in Oakland, could pitch on three days’ rest Sunday at Baltimore. That would allow the right-hander to get an extra start in the season finale at Texas on normal rest. … Oakland CF Coco Crisp was scheduled to have a precautionary MRI exam on his right foot, which he injured taking two foul balls off last week. Manager Bob Melvin said he was hopeful Crisp could return this season. … The Angels will send RHP Jerome Williams (3-0, 3.51 ERA) to the mound Tuesday against A’s RHP Guillermo Moscoso, who didn’t allow a hit until the eighth inning in his last start against Kansas City.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The math made it certain Sunday: The Oakland Athletics have missed the playoffs for a fifth straight season.

The A’s were eliminated from postseason contention with an 8-1 loss to the AL West-leading Texas Rangers.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin said his focus remains on finishing strong and pointing toward next season, and his players agree.

“We’re here playing to get into the playoffs and win a World Series, so it’s a learning experience,” said Eric Sogard, whose ninth-inning homer accounted for his team’s lone run. “Anything we can get from here on out we can take into next year and hopefully get into the playoffs.”

Player evaluation has been the A’s focus for quite a while, and that will continue over the last 16 games. But the A’s also have games left against playoff contenders, and Melvin knows he must strike a balance.

“You want to evaluate talent going forward, but you’ve got to put forth your best lineup and continue to play your veterans,” he said. “Pretty much everybody we play is a contender — the Rangers, Angels and Tigers.”

The A’s managed only five singles in eight innings against C.J. Wilson (16-6). The left-hander struck out 11 and walked one, following up on his first career shutout — an 8-0 win at Tampa Bay last Tuesday.

Adrian Beltre homered twice for Texas to reach 301 for his career. Beltre has seven homers in his last eight games against Oakland and 15 RBIs against the A’s this season.

Josh Outman (3-5) got a spot start for Oakland, replacing Rich Harden, whose turn in the rotation was pushed back to give him extra rest. Outman allowed four runs and eight hits over 4 2-3 innings.

Outman, whose previous three appearances came in relief, was making his ninth start of the season, first since July 2.

The Rangers broke up a scoreless game in the fifth when Craig Gentry led off with his first career triple and Ian Kinsler drove him in with a single.

Kinsler advanced to second on his 23rd straight stolen base, tying his club record, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Josh Hamilton’s sacrifice fly.

Michael Young reached on an infield single and Beltre followed with a two-run homer to left field. Beltre also doubled in the second to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.

“It’s always a good-hitting lineup, especially in this park, no matter what nine they throw out there,” Outman said. “I battled through the first four innings, then in the fifth I was a little leg-weary. I felt like every mistake I made, they capitalized on.”

Beltre led off the seventh against Andrew Carignan with his 23rd homer for his 22nd career multihomer game.

NOTES: The A’s open a three-game home series against the Angels on Monday night with LHP Gio Gonzalez (12-12) getting the start against RHP Joel Pineiro (6-6). … Oakland called up OF Jai Miller from Triple-A Sacramento and had him in the starting lineup. Miller spent the season with Sacramento, batting .276 with 32 homers and 88 RBIs in 110 games. He was acquired by Oakland off waivers in April from Kansas City. … X-rays showed no fracture in Oakland OF Coco Crisp’s lower leg injury. He was out of the lineup for the second consecutive day, and Crisp probably won’t play in the Angels series. … Oakland 1B Brandon Allen is in an 0-for-18 slide and was hitless in three at-bats, all strikeouts against Wilson.

Read More: Trevor Cahill (P – OAK), Hideki Matsui (DH – OAK), Bartolo Colon (P – NYY), Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees

The Oakland Athletics open up a three game series with the New York Yankees Monday night sending out Trevor Cahill to face Bartolo Colon. Cahill is coming off a poor outing against the Angels in which he gave up ten hits, walked five batters and took his second straight loss. He only gave up four runs (three earned), but he lacked the control that has been key for him in 2011.

Cahill will face a Yankees lineup that leads the American League in runs scored and OPS. They have three players with double digit home run totals, with two more at nine home runs. Given the A’s struggles scoring runs this season, Cahill will have to pitch a pretty solid game if Oakland is going to take the first game of the series.

The A’s decided not to go with Ryan Sweeney against the right-hander Colon. They find themselves in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to their starting lineup. Matsui is struggling to get going with a line of .226/.282/.346. He’s generally been a slow starter so the team has to be hoping he’ll heat up with the weather in June. The question becomes how long does the team wait before making playing time adjustments?

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

New York Yankees
1. Derek Jeter SS
2. Curtis Granderson CF
3. Mark Teixeira 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Robinson Cano 2B
6. Russell Martin C
7. Jorge Posada DH
8. Nick Swisher RF
9. Brett Gardner LF

Read More: Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners

The Oakland Athletics open a three-game series with the New York Yankees on Monday looking to build on their current four-game winning streak. The A’s dropped to four games under .500 following a sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. The A’s rebounded by splitting four games at the Angels and following that up with a three game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles.

The AL West is one big knot at the moment as all four teams are playing fairly well. The Seattle Mariners are the hottest team in the division having won eight of their last ten, including a series victory over the Yankees. The Mariners entered the season with a lot of question marks and they appeared set to finish in the cellar. A weak start reinforced that view, but their recent run has them providing stiff competition for the rest of the division.

The A’s schedule includes no divisional matchups the entire month of June. The A’s wrap up the first half of the season with seven games against Seattle and Texas but will be everywhere but the West for June. Given the relative lack of divisional contests in June, it’s possible the next few weeks could tighten up the wildcard race as well. Of course, that would require the AL West teams maintaining their hot streaks. It should make for an interesting June.