
May 25, 2011
A's (23-26) vs.
LA ANGELS (25-25)
Coverage begins at 6:30 P.M. on Comcast SportsNet California
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ANAHEIM (AP) -- Trevor Cahill continues to prove his stellar 2010 season was no fluke, boasting the second-best ERA in the AL. His recent statistics against the Los Angeles Angels are even more impressive.
Cahill looks to continue his mastery of the Angels on Wednesday night when the visiting Oakland Athletics hope to build off their first victory in nearly a week.
The A's (23-26) ended a six-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday after scoring 10 runs total during their skid. Oakland's only three victories in the last 10 games have come against the Angels (25-25), a team Cahill (6-1, 1.79 ERA) has dominated recently.
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The 23-year-old right-hander has allowed one earned run over 21 innings while winning his last three starts against Los Angeles.
Cahill, who went 18-8 with a 2.97 ERA in his second major-league season of 2010, has picked up right where he left off, giving up two earned runs or fewer in nine of 10 starts. His ERA trails only Josh Beckett (1.69) among AL pitchers.
He allowed one run in six innings Friday before Oakland fell 2-1 in 10 innings against San Francisco.
Though Cahill has been stingy on the mound, the A's offense hasn't exactly been scoring at a rapid pace. They finally broke out of their funk Tuesday, as David DeJesus went 3 for 4 with two homers and four RBIs. Josh Willingham added a two-run double.
Oakland ranks 12th in the AL with a .236 batting average.
"After six losses in a row, we needed that kind of game," manager Bob Geren said. "That's the team that we can be."
DeJesus is 12 for 28 lifetime against Angels starter Ervin Santana (2-4, 4.18 ERA), who is coming off his first shutout of the season.
The right-hander allowed four hits and struck out seven in Friday's 9-0 rout of Atlanta. The victory began a stretch of three wins in four games for the Angels prior to Tuesday's defeat.
"We just have to keep doing our job and stay positive. When the run support is like that, you have to feel comfortable," Santana said after Friday's contest.
Santana is 12-3 with a 1.99 ERA in 21 career appearances versus Oakland, but 2-2 with a 4.34 ERA in his last five starts against the A's.
Though Santana will be hoping for similar run support to what he got in his most recent outing, Los Angeles reverted back to it's low-scoring ways Tuesday. The Angels have lost four of their last five meetings with Oakland, getting outscored 27-6 in the defeats.
"When (the starters) are pitching well, they don't need a lot of support," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said. "But the operative word is obviously the difference between a lot and none, and we've been on that thin side in supporting these guys a lot this last month."
Torii Hunter is 3 for 15 with five strikeouts in his last five games against the A's and 3 for 14 lifetime against Cahill.