ANAHEIM -- When Scott Kazmir lost his control, the Angels gained it.With an 8-1 win on Sunday, the Angels swept the A's in a four-game series for the first time since 1997, winning their sixth game in a row and building a season-high five-game lead over Oakland in the American League West.In their last 19 games, the Angels have gone 15-4 to turn a four-game deficit into a five-game division lead. The A's have lost five of their last six and 12 of their last 17 games. 
The Angels scored six runs in the second inning, aided by Kazmir's four walks (including two with the bases loaded) and run-scoring singles from Erick Aybar and Mike Trout. The Angels sent 10 batters to the plate but needed only three singles to score six runs.Trout set a career high in the seventh inning with his 31st home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center that put the Angels up 7-0. He finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs.Aybar extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games with a single in the second inning. Chris Iannetta added a solo shot in the eighth.Angels starter Matt Shoemaker, meanwhile, breezed through a toothless A's order, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out seven. Shoemaker has not allowed a run in his last 23 1/3 innings and notched his 14th win of the season, tops in the Majors among rookies.He became the first Angels pitcher with three straight seven-plus scoreless starts since Nolan Ryan in 1976-77.Josh Reddick singled home Sam Fuld in the eighth, breaking up a 29-inning scoreless streak for Oakland, the third-longest stretch in franchise history.Kazmir lasted just 1 1/3 innings and was charged with six runs on two hits and four walks.Matthew DeFranks / MLB.com
The Angels scored six runs in the second inning, aided by Kazmir's four walks (including two with the bases loaded) and run-scoring singles from Erick Aybar and Mike Trout. The Angels sent 10 batters to the plate but needed only three singles to score six runs.Trout set a career high in the seventh inning with his 31st home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center that put the Angels up 7-0. He finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs.Aybar extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games with a single in the second inning. Chris Iannetta added a solo shot in the eighth.Angels starter Matt Shoemaker, meanwhile, breezed through a toothless A's order, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out seven. Shoemaker has not allowed a run in his last 23 1/3 innings and notched his 14th win of the season, tops in the Majors among rookies.He became the first Angels pitcher with three straight seven-plus scoreless starts since Nolan Ryan in 1976-77.Josh Reddick singled home Sam Fuld in the eighth, breaking up a 29-inning scoreless streak for Oakland, the third-longest stretch in franchise history.Kazmir lasted just 1 1/3 innings and was charged with six runs on two hits and four walks.Matthew DeFranks / MLB.com
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