OAKLAND -- Jered Weaver blanked the A's through the first six innings, and his offense came to life against Scott Kazmir in the meantime, pushing the Angels to a sweep-avoiding 9-4 win at O.co Coliseum on Sunday night.After a couple of nail-biting losses on Friday and Saturday, the Angels cruised to their first victory in six games in Oakland this season, finishing their 10-game road trip with seven wins and pushing them 25 games above .500. 
They now hold a one-game lead on the A's for first place in the American League West -- and for the best record in baseball -- with exactly five weeks left in the season.Kazmir entered with 14 wins and a 2.73 ERA, but the Angels forced him out of the game after recording just nine outs. They had the leadoff batter on in each of the first six innings, got 12 hits and two walks from the first 23 batters, built an 8-0 lead through the first four frames and finished with a new game high in runs since the All-Star break.Kole Calhoun had three hits, Erick Aybar and Albert Pujols each had a couple, Chris Iannetta reached three times and two of the Angels' biggest stars showed some much-needed positive signs.Josh Hamilton singled and scored in the second, turned an inside fastball into his 10th home run in the third, and added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, making him 6-for-19 with eight RBIs since taking two days off to recover from a serious slump.Mike Trout -- with a .229 batting average in the second half entering the series finale -- dropped the barrel on a Jesse Chavez cutter in the sixth and pulverized it out to center for his 29th home run, a ball that landed in the camera well perched above the fence.Weaver handled the rest, relying on a dominant curveball to breeze through the first six frames. He exited with two outs in the seventh, after giving up a two-run homer to Alberto Callaspo and a solo shot to Andy Parrino, but Weaver walked none, struck out eight, earned his 14th win and put his ERA at 3.72 through 28 starts.The Angels may not have Garrett Richards for the rest of the season, but they still have their longtime ace.Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
They now hold a one-game lead on the A's for first place in the American League West -- and for the best record in baseball -- with exactly five weeks left in the season.Kazmir entered with 14 wins and a 2.73 ERA, but the Angels forced him out of the game after recording just nine outs. They had the leadoff batter on in each of the first six innings, got 12 hits and two walks from the first 23 batters, built an 8-0 lead through the first four frames and finished with a new game high in runs since the All-Star break.Kole Calhoun had three hits, Erick Aybar and Albert Pujols each had a couple, Chris Iannetta reached three times and two of the Angels' biggest stars showed some much-needed positive signs.Josh Hamilton singled and scored in the second, turned an inside fastball into his 10th home run in the third, and added a sacrifice fly in the fourth, making him 6-for-19 with eight RBIs since taking two days off to recover from a serious slump.Mike Trout -- with a .229 batting average in the second half entering the series finale -- dropped the barrel on a Jesse Chavez cutter in the sixth and pulverized it out to center for his 29th home run, a ball that landed in the camera well perched above the fence.Weaver handled the rest, relying on a dominant curveball to breeze through the first six frames. He exited with two outs in the seventh, after giving up a two-run homer to Alberto Callaspo and a solo shot to Andy Parrino, but Weaver walked none, struck out eight, earned his 14th win and put his ERA at 3.72 through 28 starts.The Angels may not have Garrett Richards for the rest of the season, but they still have their longtime ace.Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
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