Oakland split an unusual series in Anaheim by beating the Angels 15-8 on Thursday night. In the first game of the series and the last, the A's outscored the Angels 29-10. In the middle two games, Oakland scored just one run, total.
Thursday night's drubbing of their rivals put the A's back into a tie atop the AL West with the Angels, and Oakland's schedule now gets a little easier after a first month that included a trip to Japan to play the World Series champion Red Sox. The A's return to the Coliseum to play Texas over the weekend, then Baltimore is in town next week. Oakland will play at home five out of the next 6 1/2 weeks, and the strength of schedule takes a bit of a dip. As A's second baseman Mark Ellis noted, Oakland already has faced five pitchers who are among the AL ERA leaders.
Bobby Crosby pointed out after Thursday's game that if Jack Cust is about to get hot -- Cust went 4-for-4 with a homer and two walks -- that the A's offense will be in even better shape. Oakland has been among the AL leaders in runs much of the season despite Cust's slow start.
Cust led the team in homers and RBIs last year even though he didn't join the team until early May, but entering Thursday, he was hitting .176 with one homer. After Thursday's game, he's up to .222 and he said he feels great at the plate.
A'S 15, ANGELS 8: Jack Cust dropped a flyball with two outs in the second, leading to five unearned runs by the Angels off Justin Duchscherer. The A's regained the lead 7-6 on Cust's second homer of the season, a solo shot that kicked off Oakland's eight-run fifth inning. Cust went 4-for-4 with two walks while lifting his average from .176 to .222. He scored three runs.
