Oakland Athletics vs Los Angeles Angels Box Score on Aug 05, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 6, 2017

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Rookie Paul Blackburn pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings, Rajai Davis had two hits and stole three bases and new Oakland catcher Dustin Garneau drove in two runs as the Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-0 Saturday night.

Blackburn (3-1), a 23-year-old the A's picked up cheaply from Seattle in the offseason, posted his fifth quality outing in his seventh major league start. He allowed just five hits, didn't walk a batter and retired 12 of the last 14 hitters he faced

The Angels had their four-game winning streak snapped and fell 2 1/2 games behind Kansas City in the race for the second AL wild-card playoff spot.

Blackburn, a 2012 first-round draft pick by the Cubs, was traded to Seattle last season in a deadline deal for left-handed reliever Mike Montgomery. The A's acquired him in November from Seattle in exchange for veteran utilityman Danny Valencia. Blackburn had a career minor league record of 34-23 in five-plus seasons with a 3.21 ERA.

He was promoted from Triple-A Nashville July 1 and has been stellar in his seven starts, going six or more innings in all but one and allowing a run or less four times.

Oakland starting pitchers had been struggling, allowing four runs or more in seven of their last eight games and only getting past the fourth inning three times while posting a 7.82 ERA.

The A's took a 3-0 lead against Angels starter Tyler Skaggs (1-2), and took advantage of the Los Angeles defense to score two runs with only one infield hit in the sixth to make it 5-0.

Reliever Cam Bedrosian walked Matt Chapman with one out and Mark Canha hit a hard one-hopper that second baseman Kaleb Cowart grabbed but couldn't dig out of his glove in time to make a throw.

Bedrosian got the second out, but third baseman Yunel Escobar, for the second night in a row, threw wildly to second base on a routine grounder, by Davis, to score Chapman and make it 4-0. The A's then pulled a nice double steal, Davis taking second and Canha scoring as Cowart's return throw home was late and in the dirt. It was Davis' 23rd steal.

Skaggs, making his first start since suffering a strained oblique in late April, had some first-inning struggles. Rajai Davis hit his first pitch for a single to center, and Davis promptly stole second and third. He then scored on a wild pitch, a breaking ball that darted sharply behind the batter, Khris Davis.

Skaggs created his own jam in the fourth. With two outs, he gave up a ground-rule double to left-center by Chad Pinder and issued a full-count walk to Chapman.

Canha hit a cue shot off the end of his bat that found the dead spot between Skaggs and first baseman Luis Valbuena to load the bases. Garneau, acquired Friday off waivers from Colorado, lined a 2-2 pitch to left to score Pinder and Chapman and make it a 3-0 A's lead.

Skaggs left after four innings, trailing 3-0, allowing six hits, three earned runs, two walks and a pair of wild pitches. He struck out three.

Blackburn worked efficiently through the Angels lineup twice, allowing just three hits and letting only one batter get beyond first.

NOTES: A's OF Matt Joyce received a two-game suspension without pay for directing a gay slur at a fan during Friday's game against the Angels. He will be required to take part in an outreach group, and the A's are donating Joyce's salary (around $54,000) to the same group. "I sincerely apologize to the fans, the Oakland A's, MLB and most importantly the LGBTQ community for my comments and actions," Joyce said in a statement. ... Oakland C Dustin Garneau, claimed off waivers from Colorado, started Saturday against the Angels and had a two-run single in his second at-bat with the A's. ... A's C Ryan Lavarnway was designated for assignment. He was 2-for-9 in five games for the A's. ... Angels RHP Daniel Wright was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake to make room on the roster for the return of LHP Tyler Skaggs. Wright did not pitch during his brief recall. ... Angels CF Mike Trout has a hit in 16 of 18 games since returning from the DL. He's hitting .361 with 13 runs scored, five home runs and 14 RBI. He needs two hits for 1,000 in his career.