OAKLAND, Calif. >> Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels will outspend the Oakland Athletics any day.
So far this season, that’s about all the Angels can do better than their AL West rival.
Tommy Milone scattered five hits over seven innings and ‘Iolani School product Kila Ka‘aihue drove in the go-ahead run, leading the pesky A’s past the Angels 2-1 on Monday night.
Oakland, with a league-low $53 million payroll, is 5-2 against Los Angeles, fourth on the salary list at $155 million, this year.
“The confidence grows every time you play a good game against them,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “The fact that we’re winning some close games here recently against the division and a good team like the Angels, confidence goes a long way.”
Nothing flashy about the way the A’s keep winning.
Milone (6-3) struck out three, walked one and never allowed the anemic Angels offense to get going. The lefty’s only blemish was an RBI double by Mike Trout in the fifth that landed between two Oakland infielders.
Ryan Cook pitched a perfect eighth to extend his scoreless streak to 212⁄3 innings to start the season, and Brian Fuentes tossed a perfect ninth for his fourth save in five chances.
“Tremendous amount of confidence right now,” Milone said. “It’s easy when you have such a big park with a lot of foul territory. I feel like when I’m here, I’m not afraid to pitch to contact.”
Baldwin High alum Kurt Suzuki drove in a run on a double-play groundout in the second and Ka‘aihue’s RBI single in the third snapped former Waipahu High Star Jerome Williams’ four-game winning streak. Williams (4-2) hadn’t lost since his first start of the season, April 15 at the New York Yankees.
Williams has allowed two or fewer earned runs in five of his past six starts.
Los Angeles has lost three straight — all by one run — and four of five. The Angels are 3-9 in one-run games this season.
“There are a number of guys who aren’t swinging the bat to their capabilities,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “We’re in such a hole that we’re not going to make it up in one or two days.”
Another bad day for the Angels ended even worse.
The team learned in the afternoon that Vernon Wells tore a ligament in his right thumb stealing second base in Sunday’s 3-2 loss at San Diego. The outfielder will have surgery today in Los Angeles and be out for at least eight to 10 weeks.
