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Rodriguez earns 34th save against A's

Baseball Betting Lines

07/03/2008 - Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juan Rivera homered in the sixth to break a three-all tie and Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 34th save, tying a pre- All-Star break record, as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won 7-4 in the rubber match of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics.

"I don't want to pay attention to it right now. John Smoltz is one of the best pitchers in the big leagues," Rodriguez said. "I just want to do my job. When they call the bullpen, I want to get it done. I just want to stay healthy for the rest of the season."

Joe Saunders (12-4) struck out five batters in 6 1/3 innings allowing four runs -- two earned -- on six hits and two walks. Rodriguez tied Smoltz's record set in 2003 while with Atlanta with the save and Saunders' 12 victories tie Arizona's Brandon Webb for the major league lead.

"Twelve (wins) means I've gotten off to a good start. I didn't have much today, but I got some ground balls," Saunders said. "I think I found my curveball in the sixth inning. It was a battle today."

Rivera had three RBI and Erick Aybar hit a solo home run and scored twice for the Angels, who have won two in a row and three of four.

Dana Eveland pitched 5 2/3 innings giving up three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four as Oakland lost its second straight game and fourth in its last five.

Keith Foulke (0-3) took the loss allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning.

Mark Ellis was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI, while Rajai Davis had a double and a run scored for the Athletics.

A two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the Angels a 5-3 lead. Torii Hunter doubled to left with one out and remained there on a Howie Kendrick groundout. The A's brought Foulke in for Eveland to get the final out, but Casey Kotchman doubled to plate Hunter and tie the game. Rivera followed with his first homer this season.

Oakland had a chance to tie the game in the seventh, but Rob Bowen botched it with poor baserunning. Carlos Gonzalez hit a one-out single and come home on a Bowen grounder that Aybar threw wide of first, allowing Gonzalez to come all the way home as Bowen advanced to third. Donnie Murphy followed with a walk before Davis hit a grounder to third baseman Chone Figgins, who got Murphy out in a rundown as he tried to score on the play.

Aybar atoned for his throwing error in the bottom of the inning with his third homer.

The Angels scored for a third consecutive inning in the eighth on a Reggie Willits one-out sacrifice fly. Kendrick scored on the play after leading off with a single, moving to second on a passed ball, and to third on a Kotchman sacrifice fly.

Los Angeles scored in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. Aybar moved to third on a Vladimir Guerrero two-out single after reaching on a fielder's choice in the first inning. Aybar then scored on an Eveland wild pitch.

Kendrick led off the second with a double and advanced to third on a Kotchman groundout. Kendrick scored when Rivera grounded to shortstop Bobby Crosby, who failed to get Kendrick on a throw home instead of taking the easy out at first.

The A's cut the lead in half with a run in the fourth. Crosby hit a one-out single before scoring on an Emil Brown double one batter later. Crosby stopped at third but came home on a Gary Matthews throwing error while Brown was thrown out trying to reach third.

Murphy walked and Davis doubled to lead off the sixth. Ellis brought both runners home with a single to center giving Oakland a 3-2 lead.

Game Notes

All three of switch-hitter Aybar's home runs have come from the left side of the plate...Saunders is 4-1 lifetime against Oakland...Anaheim has won eight of its last 12.