Oakland A's Reach .500 with Series Victory over Angels, 4-2

Thanks to a couple of timely hits, solid bullpen support and a little help from the Los Angeles Angels defense, the A's are now .500. Tom Milone got his second win of the season, a 4-2 victory to help the A's take three out of four from the scuffling Angels.

The key inning was the fourth, when the A's scored a pair of unearned runs en route to a three-run inning to take a 4-0 lead. 

The inning started with back-to-back walks by Yoenis Cespedes and Jonny Gomes off Angels starter C.J. Wilson. Seth Smith then reached, when Wilson's errant throw got away from first baseman Albert Pujols, scoring Cespedes and Gomes. Kila Ka'aihue drove in Smith with a sharp single to center field to make it 4-0.

The Angels responded in the bottom of the fifth with two runs on a double and single from Vernon Wells and Mark Trumbo. Milone was able to escape further damage, retiring the next three Angels hitters in order.

The A's bullpen was fantastic, going four shutout innings and only allowing three hits to preserve the win. Milone, while not great, was good enough, going five innings and allowing two runs and seven hits, with a walk for his second win of the year. Grant Balfour pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save in as many chances.

But the key may have been Jordan Norberto. After Fautino de los Santos allowed a walk and hit two his only batters, Norberto retired all three batters he faced, including a big strikeout of Angels centerfielder Peter Bourjos. 

Good: A's bullpen. Emphatically. Norberto, Ryan Cook, Brian Fuentes and Balfour were rock solid in preserving the lead. Outings like this can do nothing but help Bob Melvin feel secure in going to his relievers.

Bad: 1-2-3 hitters. Jemile Weeks, Cliff Pennington and Josh Reddick went a combined 0-12 with five strikeouts. Not a good night at the dish for the top of the lineup. 

Ugly: Josh Donaldson. It is becoming a recurring theme for the converted starting third baseman. 0-3 tonight with two strikeouts and his third error of the year. He is now hitting .094 for the year. The only problem is, the A's do not have a viable alternative.

Now 7-7 on the year, the A's return home to the Coliseum to start a three-game set with the Cleveland Indians. Graham Godfrey gets the start against Ubaldo Jimenez. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.