OAKLAND (CBS/AP) – Jered Weaver went seven innings for his career-best 17th win, Mark Trumbo hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Wednesday.

Bobby Abreu added two hits and scored twice for the Angels, who began the day three games behind first-place Texas in the AL West. The Rangers were scheduled to host Cleveland at night.

Josh Willingham matched his career high of 26 home runs with a solo shot off Weaver in the third but the A’s managed only two baserunners over the final six innings.

Weaver (17-7) allowed six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. He pitched out of a bases-loaded situation in the first and escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the second to beat the A’s for the third time in four starts this season.

That lowered the lanky right-hander’s ERA to 2.40, second in the AL behind Detroit ace Justin Verlander (2.36). Weaver also improved to 13-0 this year when going at least seven innings.

That’s been big for the Angels, who are 21-10 in games Weaver starts and 61-57 otherwise.

It was also marked Los Angeles’ second straight win in Oakland after losing 10 of its previous 12 at the Coliseum.

Scott Downs pitched a scoreless eighth and Jordan Walden worked the ninth for his 31st save, extending his Angels rookie record.

The A’s, who still lead the season series 9-7, had Weaver in trouble early but couldn’t deliver with runners on base and lost for the sixth time in nine games.

Oakland, which committed two errors to add to its AL-leading total of 119, has been held to one run or fewer 30 times this season.

Willingham drove in the A’s only run when he hit a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left-center. That tied his career high set in 2006 with Florida.

Oakland’s defense made several nice plays to help preserve the 1-0 lead until Los Angeles broke through in the sixth.

Howie Kendrick, who hit a pair of two-run homers in Tuesday’s 6-3 win, drew a leadoff walk and scored from first on Abreu’s double to right-center. Two batters later, Trumbo hit his 26th home run of the season to make it 3-1.

Rich Harden (4-3) didn’t make it out of the sixth, allowing three runs and seven hits. Since throwing seven scoreless innings against Toronto on Aug. 19, the Oakland right-hander is winless in four starts and has a 6.97 ERA during that span.

Trumbo also hit a hard single off the wall in the eighth. He needs three home runs over the final 13 games to become the second rookie in Angels history to have at least 30 home runs and 80 RBIs. Tim Salmon had 31 home runs and 95 RBIs in 1993.

Abreu, who led off the eighth with a walk, scored an insurance run when Trumbo stole second base and Oakland infielder Eric Sogard bobbled the throw from catcher Kurt Suzuki.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Read More: Rich Harden (P – OAK), Josh Willingham (LF – OAK), Bobby Abreu (DH – ANA), Jered Weaver (P – ANA), Jordan Walden (P – ANA), Mark Trumbo (1B – ANA), Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics, Sep 14, 2011 12:35 PM PDT

Mark Trumbo hit a go-ahead, two-run home run off Rich Harden in the top of the sixth inning, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday afternoon at Overstock.com Coliseum in Oakland. Jered Weaver allowed one run in seven innings to pick up his 17th victory of the season. The Halos are now two and a half games behind Texas in the American League West, with the outcome of the Rangers’ game against Cleveland Wednesday night pending.

Josh Willingham hit his second home run of the series, a two-run shot off Weaver in the third inning, to give Oakland a 1-0 lead. Bobby Abreu tied the score with an RBI double off Harden in the top of the sixth, and Trumbo followed with his team-leading 27th home run of the season, giving the Angels a 3-1 lead. The Halos added an insurance run in the eighth inning.

Weaver threw 115 pitches in his seven innings of work, allowing just one run, but he also had just one strikeout against two walks. The 17 wins are a new career high for Weaver. Jordan Walden pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 31st save of the season.

The Angels are off Thursday, but open a three-game series in Baltimore on Friday against the Orioles.

For more news and information on the Angels, be sure to read Halos Heaven.

OAKLAND, Calif. —
Angels 6, Athletics 3

Howie Kendrick homered twice, Erick Aybar scored the go-ahead run on a wild throw home in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Angels picked up a needed and rare win at the Oakland Coliseum, beating the Athletics 6-3 on Tuesday night.

Maicer Izturis added two hits and an RBI and Aybar also had two hits for the Angels, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Los Angeles remains three games behind division-leading Texas, which beat Cleveland earlier in the day. The Angels and Rangers finish the regular season with a three-game series in Anaheim.

Aybar, batting .476 over his last six games, singled leading off the seventh and was sacrificed to second. Hank Conger’s hit moved Aybar to third before Izturis hit a grounder to shortstop Cliff Pennington. Aybar broke for home on the play and made it safely when Pennington’s throw was wide of the plate.

Hisanori Takahashi (4-3), the first of four Los Angeles relievers used in the game, pitched 1 2-3 innings for the win while rookie Jordan Walden worked the ninth for his 30th save.

The Angels combined for seven walks but matched their season high of four double plays to limit the damage and win for only the third time in their last 13 games at the Coliseum.

It was also Los Angeles’ sixth victory on the road since Aug. 1.

Kendrick hit a two-run home run in the third off starter Guillermo Moscoso, then added another two-run blast in the ninth.

Josh Willingham doubled and drove in two runs for the A’s, who had won five of six against their AL West rivals before Tuesday’s loss.

The A’s left the bases loaded in the fifth and stranded eight runners overall.

Neither starter was around for the decision.

Oakland’s Guillermo Moscoso carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his previous start against Kansas City on Sept. 7 and retired the first six Angels before Aybar’s double in the third.

Peter Bourjos followed with a foul pop-up near the Angels bullpen that first baseman Brandon Allen chased down. Aybar wisely tagged up at second and beat Allen’s throw to third, then scored when the ball skipped past Oakland third baseman Scott Sizemore and Moscoso backing up on the play.

Izturis singled to keep the inning going, and Kendrick capped it with his 17th home run of the season to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.

Angels’ right-hander Jerome Williams had control problems in the bottom of the frame and nearly gave it all back.

A former first-round pick of the San Francisco Giants, Williams gave up an RBI double to Jemile Weeks and a bases-loaded walk to Josh Willingham — one of three free passes he issued in the inning.

Williams continued to struggle, giving up back-to-back walks in the fifth. Josh Willingham then doubled in front of diving right fielder Torii Hunter, scoring Cliff Pennington with the tying run.

Kendrick’s second home run came off reliever Michael Wuertz. The Angels slugger, who has four multi-home run games in his career, has 18 homers this season.

Notes: Oakland CF Coco Crisp had an MRI on his sore right foot and manager Bob Melvin said he expects Crisp play again this season. … Scioscia kept rookie 1B Mark Trumbo out of the lineup because he felt the veteran might be pressing a little. “This is a good time for him to catch his breath and hopefully finish strong,” Scioscia said. “The last 10 at-bats you’re seeing a little tighter grip on the bat. To reach our goal we need him to get back to where he could be. … RHP Jered Weaver, second to Detroit’s Justin Verlander for lowest ERA in the AL, pitches for the Angels on Wednesday. Weaver (16-7) has a three-game losing streak on the road. … RHP Rich Harden (4-2), who last beat Los Angeles more than a year ago, goes for Oakland. … Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Richard Seymour threw out the first pitch.

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

Read More: Joel Pineiro (P – ANA), Hideki Matsui (DH – OAK), Torii Hunter (RF – ANA), Erick Aybar (SS – ANA), Grant Balfour (P – OAK), Scott Sizemore (2B – OAK), Cliff Pennington (SS – OAK), Jemile Weeks (2B – OAK), Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels at Oakland Athletics, Sep 12, 2011 7:05 PM PDT

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.

For more news and information on the Angels, be sure to read Halos Heaven.