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A's know better than to count Angels out

ANAHEIM -- If there's any team in baseball that knows better than to write off another struggling club at the All-Star break, it's the Oakland A's. When the Midsummer Classic hit last season, they were 43-43 and nine games behind the Rangers.

So with the Angels in a similar situation this year -- currently nine games behind first-place Oakland after winning the first two games of the weekend series, A's manager Bob Melvin knows his SoCal rivals are far from finished.

"We were at .500 at the break and came out and played well and ended up winning the division," Melvin said. "I don't discount anybody at this point, especially not a team that's as talented as they are."

The Angels have struggled all season, but have shown occasional flashes of becoming the title contender many thought they'd be when the season opened. The only question is whether they can sustain it.

"It's a good team," Melvin said. "They're going to play good baseball at some point in time, as they did last year -- it was just a little late for them last year. But I think [it's open] for any team right now."

AJ Cassavell is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajcassavell.
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