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Angels-Athletics Preview

Jul 10, 2010 - 6:59 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Los Angeles (46-42) at Oakland (41-45), 9:05 p.m. EDT

A visit to Oakland was just what the Los Angeles Angels needed to end a losing streak. Challenging in the AL West, however, has just been made tougher.

The Angels look to win consecutive games for the first time this month by continuing their road dominance of the Athletics on Saturday night.

Los Angeles (47-42) halted a four-game losing streak Friday when Erick Aybar connected for a solo homer in the 10th inning to clinch a 6-5 win at Oakland (41-46) in the opener of this three-game set. The victory was just the Angels' second in eight contests after winning 19 of their previous 28.

Los Angeles is 4 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Texas, which bolstered its division-title hopes Friday by adding ace Cliff Lee in a trade from Seattle.

"You never see a trade within the same division," center fielder Torii Hunter told the Angels' official website. "At least not since Babe Ruth got traded to the Yankees, and that brought a curse to Boston until 2004."

While Lee is scheduled to make his Rangers debut Saturday, the Angels will try to continue their road dominance of the A's. They've won 12 of the last 15 meetings in Oakland.

Having Scott Kazmir (7-8, 5.98 ERA) take the mound at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum may keep Los Angeles rolling there.

The left-hander is 5-1 with a 1.49 ERA in six starts at Oakland, and he's 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA in his last 10 overall meetings with the A's.

Kazmir won in Oakland again June 7, allowing one run in 6 1-3 innings of a 4-2 victory. However, he hasn't been nearly as effective in his last three starts, posting a 10.43 ERA and losing them all.

Kazmir yielded two runs in the first five innings Monday at Chicago, but allowed five in the next 1 1-3 before being pulled in a 9-2 loss. He matched season highs by serving up three homers and walking five.

"That's unfortunate that he got hit a little bit at the end," manager Mike Scioscia said. "He had a good slider. I think he pitched better than his linescore showed."

Losers of four in a row, the A's will turn to slumping Ben Sheets (3-8, 4.89).

The right-hander is 1-5 with a 4.11 ERA in his last 11 starts, but he's received three runs of support or fewer in nine of those games.

That trend continued Monday, as Sheets allowed three runs in 7 1-3 innings while the lineup managed only three hits in a 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees. Despite the defeat, Sheets is gaining confidence that he's overcoming the effects of elbow surgery, which cost him all of last year.

"I'm starting to feel better toward the end of games, which is good," Sheets told the A's official website. "I think my stuff is starting to get better, as opposed to earlier in the year, when it was decreasing a lot."

Sheets is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against the Angels this season. He was outpitched by Kazmir on June 7, yielding four runs in six innings.