ANAHEIM
Cameron Maybin Jersey , Calif. (AP) — Against one of the best bullpens in baseball, the Los Angeles Angels treated all of the late innings like they were
the ninth and the tactic was rewarded when they rallied for a 4-3 victory over
the Oakland Athletics.Kole Calhoun and Justin Upton hit two-run homers and
Albert Pujols reached another milestone as the Angels were forced into comeback
mode early on Friday night.With a single in the sixth inning, Pujols recorded
his 1,000th career hit with the Angels. He became just the ninth player all-time
with at least 1,000 hits in each league after getting 2,073 with the St. Louis
Cardinals. Four former Angels are on the list: Dave Winfield, Frank Robinson,
Vladimir Guerrero and Orlando Cabrera.Upton’s two-run shot in the sixth inning
off Oakland rookie reliever Lou Trivino proved to be the difference. Trivino
(8-2), who had given up more than one earned run just once in his previous 46
outings, lost a game for the first time since June 5.It might have been the
sixth inning, but Upton came to the plate with a ninth-inning mentality as the
A’s not only had their regular stable of relievers available, they also had
newly-acquired right-hander Fernando Rodney for the first time.“They have a
strong bullpen with guys that can beat you in many ways,” said Upton
http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-reggie-jackson-jersey , who admitted his plan was to attack the first strike he saw. “You play to your
strengths against those guys. Just compete. Those guys are pitching well this
year.”Upton hit a two-run home run for the third consecutive game.The Angels
trailed 3-0 just four batters into the game. Starter Felix Pena regained his
composure and gave up just two more hits and no runs while pitching into the
sixth inning.“I felt like in the first inning I was a little overamped so I went
back to the video room to watch some video and I was able to make the
adjustments,” said Pena, who had a similar slow start in his last home outing on
July 29 but never made it out of the opening inning.Los Angeles improved to 8-1
over its last nine home games.Matt Chapman and Khris Davis each hit home runs in
the first inning for the A’s, who are now 13-6 since the All-Star break. Chapman
hit his 16th homer while Davis’ two-run shot was his 33rd.Oakland starter Brett
Anderson gave up two runs on four hits with no walks, but was removed after five
innings having thrown just 63 pitches. When asked if A’s starters are growing
accustomed to being pulled earlier than usual in favor of a strong bullpen,
Anderson offered a simple “no.”“It’s going to take some getting used to,”
Anderson said. “In a tie game in the seventh the last time, you kind of see it.
This one was a little early. But we’ve lived and died by our bullpen and those
arms are tremendous down there so more times than not we’re going to come out
with the victory.”Calhoun connected for a two-run drive in the third, his 16th
of the season and 11th over his last 25 games. Calhoun’s 15 home runs since June
18 lead the American League.Calhoun had just one home run and was batting .145
over 50 games when he went to the 10-day disabled list with a strained right
oblique. In the 44 games since he has returned, he has hit 14 of his 15 home
runs, with 34 runs scored and 35 RBIs.Jim Johnson (4-2) retired the only batter
he faced for the win. The Angels used three more pitchers in the ninth, with
Blake Parker getting the final out for his 11th save.“(The bullpen) came in and
made pitches and it was a great job,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “After
that first inning
Andrelton Simmons Jersey , this game could go south in a hurry when you give up a three-spot. But Felix got his bearings and the bullpen was
exceptional.”Rodney made his A’s debut, striking out a batter during a perfect
seventh inning. Rodney was acquired Thursday in a trade from the Minnesota
Twins. One plan for Rodney is to use him to help ease the heavy workload on
Trivino.“We won’t have to potentially use Lou for more than one inning,” A’s
manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ve used him quite a bit where he has to come in and
clean up an inning and go back out for the next inning, which is really tough to
do.”RODNEY ARRIVESMelvin says Rodney doesn’t have a set role. Instead, Melvin
expects to mix and match his late-inning relievers in a stacked Oakland
bullpen.“More than anything, it probably allows us to not overuse a Lou Trivino,
to not overuse a Yusmeiro Petit,” Melvin said. “As much as we use our bullpen on
certain days, we’re not afraid to move guys to the back end of the bullpen if a
(Blake) Treinen or (Jeurys) Familia needs time off, so it just makes us
better.”Rodney had 25 saves for the Twins in 46 appearances with a 3.09 ERA, but
the closer job will still belong to Treinen.VLAD THE HALL OF FAMERThe Angels
honored new Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero with an on-field pregame ceremony
that pushed back first pitch about a half hour. Guerrero, who made quick
introductory speech at Cooperstown last month, was even quicker when he spoke to
the crowd in both English and Spanish on Friday.“His forte is to not go up there
and spew accolades about himself
http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-yunel-escobar-jersey , and I think it makes him all the more special,
