DeJesus powers A's to 6-1 win over Haren, Halos

May 24, 2011BOX SCOREA'S POSTGAME VIDEOMLB PAGEMLB SCOREBOARD
ANAHEIM(AP)Guillermo Moscoso was an unlikely shutdown starter. David DeJesus was an even more improbable power source.Together, they propelled the Oakland Athletics to a skid-snapping win.DeJesus hit two homers and drove in four runs, Moscoso pitched six scoreless innings to win his first major league start, and Oakland ended a six-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.DeJesus also had a ninth-inning RBI double in a surprising burst of power from a veteran with just two multihomer games in his career - both in the past month. The longtime Kansas City outfielder laughed at his own outburst when he finally had a chance to cool down from a workout immediately after the game."It's really weird right now," said DeJesus, who had his first career two-homer game May 4. "I don't understand how it happens, but I'll take it."DeJesus doubled his season homer total with a second-inning solo shot and a two-run homer in the fourth off Dan Haren (4-3), whose winless streak reached seven starts since he began the season 4-0. DeJesus was 2 for 18 in his career against Haren coming in."It shows that baseball is a crazy game," DeJesus said. "One year, it could be tough, but you have great at-bats. Numbers can lie."After hitting just two homers in the past 11 games, Oakland got its first run on DeJesus' full-count blast. The A's jumped to a 5-0 lead on his first-pitch homer in the fourth."I've had his number for a long time now, and he got the best of me today," Haren said. "He hit two fastballs. I mean, I throw fastballs, but not too many of them. I kind of got away from my game, I guess, and threw too many fastballs."Josh Willingham hit a two-run double in the third for the A's, who had fallen into last place in the AL West while scoring just 10 runs during their six-game skid."After six losses in a row, we needed that kind of game," Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "That's the team that we can be."Moscoso (1-0) largely baffled the Angels while picking up his first major league victory in his Oakland debut, giving up three hits and never allowing a runner to reach third. Moscoso made brief appearances in the Texas Rangers' bullpen during the past two seasons, but has been a starter for most of his minor-league career.Moscoso was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento earlier Tuesday to fill the rotation spot of Tyson Ross, who has a strained left oblique muscle. The Venezuelan right-hander walked three batters but never faced serious trouble from the punchless Angels."I'm very happy with the job I did today, and when the team has six losses, I've got a pretty big responsibility," Moscoso said. "I felt pretty normal. I'm pretty focused before a game."Haren yielded seven hits and a season-high five runs over seven innings, getting soundly outpitched by the A's newcomer. Although Haren wasn't sharp, the three-time All-Star again received pathetic run support: The Angels have scored seven total runs for Haren during the right-hander's seven-game winless stretch."I'm kind of used to it, actually," Haren said. "The starting pitchers have been walking a fine line, that's for sure. But I think it makes us better pitchers, going out there and battling from Pitch One."Torii Hunter had a run-scoring single in the eighth inning against A's reliever Craig Breslow, but the Angels are scuffling around .500 largely because they can't score runs for their stellar rotation. Ace Jered Weaver, who hasn't won in five starts, has received minimal support for the second straight season."When those guys are pitching well, they don't need a lot of support," Angels 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."Coco Crisp snuffed the Angels' only attempt at a rally with a diving catch on Maicer Izturis' sinking two-out liner into the right-center gap with two runners on in the fifth inning.The A's won at Angel Stadium for just the second time in 11 games.NOTES: Haren, who won 43 games during three strong seasons in Oakland, retired the last 10 batters he faced. He had allowed just three homers in his previous 10 starts. ... The Angels hosted a particularly unsatisfying bobblehead night, handing out dolls in the image of slugger Kendrys Morales. He won't play this season while recovering from a broken left ankle. Morales' first name on the bobblehead box also was spelled "Kendry," as his name had been spelled for years before he corrected it during spring training. ... Scioscia appeared optimistic 2B Howard Kendrick could return soon from tightness in his right hamstring. The .322 hitter has missed five straight games.