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Santana dazzles as Angels humbled Athletics

Sep 4, 2007 - 5:48 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- Ervin Santana put an end to an awful three-month stretch on Monday.

Santana pitched great into the seventh inning as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim avoided a three-game losing streak by posting a 9-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a three-game series.

Garret Anderson blasted a solo homer in the seventh and he has driven in a run in eight straight contests for the Angels (81-56), who maintained their 6 1/2 game lead in the American League West over the Seattle Mariners (74-62).

The 24-year-old Santana (6-12) registered his first win since June 9, going 0-6 with an 8.28 ERA over nine starts that was interrupted by a brief stint in the minor leagues. The Dominican righthander yielded five runs on four hits and two walks over just one-third of an inning in his last outing last Tuesday.

"This is definitely a step forward for (Santana)," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We're excited of what we saw and to see his delivery show some signs of consistency and continuity."

Santana responded nicely this time out. He hurled 6 1/3 scoreless frames, allowing just two hits with five walks and four strikeouts. The three-year pro was relieved after issuing a four-pitch walk to Jack Hannahan in the seventh, tossing 102 pitches in the contest.

"There was no pressure for me to perform well tonight," Santana said through a translator. "I just thought, 'I'm a good pitcher and I'm just going through some bad times, and I'm not the first one to go through bad times.'"

"He's starting to understand a little more about where his delivery has to be," Scioscia said. "Everybody says, 'Make adjustments,' but a player has to find that adjustment to make and I think he's had a lot of progress in that area."

The Angels are 6-2 over Anderson's current RBI streak. The 35-year-old outfielder is hitting .287 with 13 home runs and 65 RBI this season.

"Garret's really been able to carry the offense lately," Scioscia said. "He's doing what he's done his entire career."

Gary Matthews Jr. gave Los Angeles an early 1-0 advantage by belting a first-pitch offering from Oakland starter Chad Gaudin (10-10) over the center field wall to lead off the game.

Jeff Mathis hit a two-run shot to start a five-run rally in the fifth as the Angels extended their lead to 7-0.

"I was just trying to make contact and I got a pitch I could drive," Mathis said. "I'm starting to lay off pitches that I didn't lay off last year and getting myself into better counts."

Gaudin suffered his worst outing of 2007, surrendering seven runs and eight hits with two walks over five innings.

"Chad actually threw the ball pretty well," Athletics manager Bob Geren said. "He had one rough inning where a few thing happened. The hit-and-run turned into a home run, the ball got by the catcher for a run and Izturis capped off the Angels' rally."

The Athletics cut the deficit to 9-4 in the eighth inning. Shannon Stewart started the rally with a solo homer and Mike Piazza added a two-run shot later in the inning before Marco Scutaro's RBI single.

"It was a nice comeback at the end," Geren said. "It seems like we've done that a lot lately and I appreciate the effort because the offense never gave up."

Oakland added another run in the ninth.