Athletics 7, Angels 3

OAKLAND, Calif. – Damian Miller hit two of Oakland’s five home runs, and the Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the Anaheim Angels with a 7-3 victory.

Kirk Saarloos (1-0) pitched five-plus shutout innings in a spot start, receiving a standing ovation when he left following back-to-back singles by Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero.

Saarloos was 0-5 in his previous 10 major league starts and hadn’t won a start since Aug. 25, 2002, when he beat Cincinnati. He has two relief wins since.

Bobby Crosby, Jermaine Dye and Bobby Kielty also connected for Oakland.

After Anaheim scored three runs in the seventh against Justin Lehr, Chad Bradford and Octavio Dotel finished up.

Kielty, playing for the first time since he was scratched Sunday with a ribcage injury, also made two impressive plays in left field. Adam Kennedy singled in the fifth and was going for second, but Kielty threw him out. In the sixth, Kielty ran down a shallow fly to left-center by Garret Anderson and skidded on his knees to make the tough catch.

Jarrod Washburn (8-4) failed to win for the seventh time in eight starts following a six-start winning streak. Jose Molina hit a solo homer and Kennedy had four hits for the Angels, who lost their fourth straight game and sixth in eight.

Manager Mike Scioscia called a team meeting after Wednesday’s 4-2 loss.

Washburn, who beat the A’s in back-to-back April starts, allowed six runs – all on homers – and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first when he got Crosby to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Saarloos, who allowed five hits, retired seven straight after David Eckstein’s leadoff single in the first before Kennedy doubled in the third. The right-hander was called up Sunday from Triple-A Sacramento to help the ailing A’s, who have five players on the disabled list.

Saarloos, 25, was acquired from Houston on April 16 for Chad Harville and assigned to Sacramento. He was 0-2 with a 15.43 ERA in two starts at Triple-A New Orleans and 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in four outings for Sacramento.

Kielty, still unable to bat left-handed, hit a 3-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers in the third for his sixth homer of the year. Crosby connected an inning later, sending his 11th homer deep to center.

Dye hit his team-leading 16th homer in the sixth, a two-run shot and the first of his career against Washburn. Dye is batting .448 (13-for-29) against Washburn. Miller connected for his sixth homer three batters later, also driving in two runs.

Miller added a solo shot in the eighth for his fourth career multihomer game and first since April 11, 2002, for Arizona at Colorado.

Anaheim left Oakland with a three-game sweep April 23-25, but now the A’s lead the season series 7-6. The teams, considered the favorites to win the division when the year began, don’t play again until Sept. 24-26.

Notes: Angels DH Tim Salmon missed his second straight game with the flu. … Dye has 18 homers and 47 RBIs in his career against Anaheim. … Angels 1B Darin Erstad was a late scratch with irritation of the knuckle on his right middle finger. … Kennedy had his second four-hit game this year.

AP-ES-07-01-04 1823EDT