The Angels got their second straight win against the A’s for a 6-1 win and first place position in the AL West.
The offense was led by Casey Kotchman, who gave the Angels a 2-0 lead in the second with a 2-RBI double. Kotchman ended up 3 for 4 with 3 RBI on the night. Kotchman scored a run in the third off a Torii Hunter RBI single. The Angels then added to their 3-1 lead in the sixth with three more runs, an RBI double by Kotchman, a Juan Rivera run off a squeeze bunt from Jeff Mathis, and an RBI single by Chone Figgins.
Santana got his fifth win of the season to match Joe Saunders for perfect 5-0 records. Santana went 6 2/3 innings, giving up one (unearned) run and four hits. Santana improves his record against the A’s to 8-1 with a 1.25 ERA. Darren Oliver and Justin Speier came out of the pen to hold the Angels at one run.
The 1-2 punch of Santana and Saunders finish with a 2.27 ERA for their April starts.
