| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Angels 2, Athletics 1
Tuesday July 29, 2003ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Jarrod Washburn's season began with a thud. He landed hard on his shoulder early in spring training after getting his feet tangled up in a fielding drill.
The spill had a lot to do with the left-hander's mediocre first half. Washburn still isn't 100 percent physically, but he has adjusted to pitching with the residual discomfort.
He matched zeros with Barry Zito on Monday night, pitching seven scoreless innings to lead the Anaheim Angels over Oakland 2-1.
``Not to use that as an excuse, but, yes, it has affected me this year,'' Washburn said. ``It still affects me a little, but it's not excruciating pain and something I can't deal with.
Washburn didn't give up a home run after giving up 19 in 55 innings. It was the first time he did not allow one in 11 starts since May 29 at Tampa Bay.
``I know it's the first time in a long time that I've done that, so it feels good to throw the ball the way I know I can,'' Washburn said. ``It's been frustrating the last few weeks for me, so it's nice to be going back in the right direction.''
Zito, who went 0-3 with a 4.28 ERA in his previous four starts, gave up four hits and walked none, displaying the form that won him 23 games and the AL Cy Young last season.
``I just have to give the team a chance to win,'' Zito said. ``That's all I did. I seem to draw a good pitcher in every series. I've just got to keep battling. It'll turn around. I just have to not get frustrated and not put pressure on myself.''
Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson hit run-scoring singles in the eighth inning, helping the Angels avoid a four-game sweep by the Athletics.
David Eckstein drew a two-out walk in the eighth from Ricardo Rincon (6-4). Darin Erstad sent Eckstein to third with a single that stopped an 0-for-14 slide.
Salmon then bounced an 0-2 pitch off new pitcher Chad Bradford's glove for an infield hit that put Anaheim ahead, and Anderson followed a run-scoring single to center.
``That's a tough play. It was just two inches too high,'' Macha said of Salmon's hit. ``But the problem with the inning was walking Eckstein with two outs.''
All-Star reliever Brendan Donnelly (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth, escaping his own jam by striking out Miguel Tejada with a runner at third.
Troy Percival got three outs for his 23rd save in 24 chances, despite allowing a leadoff homer in the ninth by Erubiel Durazo.< ^Notes:@ A pregame moment of silence was observed for Bob Hope, which was preceded by a rendition of ``Thanks for the Memory'' by organist Peggy Duquesnel. ... Tim Salmon prevented a run in the second when he made a sliding catch of Adam Piatt's fly in right field and doubled up Terrence Long at first base to end the inning. ... Washburn retired 15 consecutive batters at one point. Eric Chavez broke the spell with a line single to center with two outs in the seventh, moments after a cloudburst sent most of the crowd scurrying for cover. ... Tejada was 0-for-2 against Washburn, and has only one hit in 38 career at-bats against him.
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