Triggs pilots A's over Angels in rubber match

OAKLAND -- The A's picked up their second straight series win Wednesday, getting yet another strong performance from right-hander Andrew Triggs in a 3-1 victory over the Angels at the Coliseum.
Triggs provided six innings of one-run ball for the A's, who have won five of their last seven games after dropping eight of the previous nine. The right-hander held the Angels to three hits, walking three and striking out four while throwing a career-high 105 pitches to bring his ERA down to 2.21.
"It was huge, absolutely huge, and we know we're a good team when everybody is clicking," Triggs said. "We're coming around, and it was a really fun homestand, and we want to take that momentum into the next road trip."
Rookie Chad Pinder gave him all of the offensive support he needed, sending an opposite-field shot off the top of the right-field wall for a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth against Angels starter Jesse Chavez. Facing his former A's team for the first time, Chavez went 5 2/3 innings, allowing just two other hits -- both singles by Mark Canha -- with two walks and five strikeouts.

• Canha more comfortable after Minors stint
"He can hit," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Pinder. "You see a game where hits are at a premium, let alone extra-base hits, and he goes to right-center field on a ball that's really middle in and inside-outs it. He's got a lot of power."
Though his outing might have looked fine on paper, Chavez wasn't pleased with his performance after the game.

"Today was a little bit of trying to be too fine," Chavez said. "That's basically what I can sum it up [as]. One mistake -- a cutter that stayed up and didn't cut on me -- it got up in that jet stream and went out."
• 'One mistake' mars Chavez's good outing
Khris Davis sent in an insurance run in the eighth inning off right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, shaking off a three-strikeout day with an RBI single.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Triggs recovers: What began as a shaky start turned into a gritty performance by Triggs, who maneuvered his way through traffic to keep the A's afloat. Triggs walked each of his first three batters, throwing 12 of his first 14 pitches for balls, before striking out Luis Valbuena to get on the right track. From there, Triggs induced a run-scoring fielder's choice from Jefry Marte and limited the damage to one run by getting Ben Revere to fly out to end the inning. Triggs stranded two more in the fifth, ensuring a pair of defensive lapses behind him didn't cost the A's.
"Wow. That was Houdini," Melvin said. "It's one guy away from getting somebody up in the first inning."
"First couple pitches he had there, he wasn't having a real good feel for it, but everyone stayed behind him and he locked it in and got out of it with one and gave us a chance to win the game from the get-go," said catcher Bruce Maxwell, who exited in the fourth for precautionary reasons after taking a foul ball to the face mask. "It showed a lot of guts and a lot of strength from his end, and then he just built on that the rest of the game."

What a relief: Following Triggs' departure, the A's right-handed relief trio of Liam Hendriks, Ryan Madson and Santiago Casilla combined for three scoreless innings to keep the one-run lead intact. Oakland's bullpen did not allow a run during the series, totaling 11 shutout innings.

WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: The Angels will open a four-game set against the Tigers at home on Thursday at 7:07 p.m. PT, and they are hopeful that superstar Mike Trout can return to the lineup after missing five games with a strained left hamstring. Right-hander JC Ramirez (3-2, 3.74 ERA) will take the mound for Los Angeles.
Athletics: The A's will enjoy an off-day Thursday before beginning a six-game road swing through Texas and Seattle. Right-hander Jesse Hahn gets the start in Friday's 5:05 p.m. PT series opener with the Rangers. He's 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two games against them this season.
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