ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Andrew Heaney didn't need much time to get back in a groove, and it's just soon enough for the Los Angeles Angels and their postseason push.
Heaney struck out a career-high 10, Martin Maldonado had three hits and scored twice and the Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 3-1 on Monday night.
Heaney (1-0), making his third start since Tommy John surgery, struck out the side in the first and the sixth innings. He had his best outing since the surgery, allowing two hits in six innings. He walked three and gave up one home run but worked his way out of trouble behind a strong curveball.
The Angels (67-65), who had lost four of their last five before Monday, moved within one game of Minnesota for the second AL wild-card spot.
Heaney is back and right in the race for the playoff spot.
"This was in line with what his talent says he can do," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He did a great job keeping those guys off-balance. ... He made pitches. Got out of a jam in the second and the fifth. His game plan was great. He and (Maldonado) worked great. He used his breaking ball, changeup, fastball on both sides of the plate. It was great to see that."
Blake Parker pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save.
Daniel Gossett (3-7) allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings.
"He went deep in the game. He got off to a little bit of a slow start command-wise and recovered really well," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Gossett.
In the seventh, Ben Revere doubled to right, and Maldonado slid home headfirst on a throwing error by right fielder Matt Joyce. The catcher scored from first to give the Angels a two-run lead.
Heaney got himself into trouble in the fifth but worked himself out. He got two outs, then walked back-to-back batters. They advanced to second and third via a wild pitch, but then he struck out Chad Pinder on a curveball.
Heaney has been his most effective when that curve has been working. This was the first time since returning from his surgery that he appeared to have full command of it.
He threw 94 pitches over six innings and reached 96 mph on his fastball.
HOME BOY HOMERS
Oakland's Dustin Garneau homered for the first time this season to lead off the third inning and tie it at 1. Garneau is from San Pedro and played at nearby Cal State Fullerton, so this was a special one.
"My family is back in L.A., so they came down here. It's close enough," Garneau said. "Had a good crowd tonight."
Garneau estimated he had about 50 friends and family members in attendance.
TROUT OUT
Angels star Mike Trout was not in the lineup due to neck stiffness from having crashed into the outfield wall a day earlier. Trout is in an 0-for-17 slump. The longest slump of his career came in 2014 when he went 0 for 18.
DEFENSIVE BATTLE
The Angels made two great defensive plays to keep Oakland at bay. Kaleb Cowart made a diving stop in the seventh to rob Matt Chapman of a hit. In the eighth inning, Revere made a sprinting snare of a ball in left field to rob Pinder of a hit with a runner on second base.
HEAT OF THE MOMENT
The Angels didn't take batting practice outside and instead hit in the cages indoors. Temperatures were in the 90s in Anaheim during the afternoon. The A's are expected to not take batting practice either Tuesday or Wednesday but did so on Monday.
TRAINERS ROOM
A's: RHP Paul Blackburn (right hand contusion), who is on the 10-day disabled list, was scheduled to have tests Monday but results were not yet available.
Angels: Scioscia hopes to get Trout back Tuesday.
UP NEXT
A's: RHP Chris Smith (0-3, 5.56 ERA) is still looking for his first win since being promoted on July 8. He's just 0-2 with a 7.30 ERA in his last five outings (four of which were starts).
Angels: RHP Troy Scribner (2-1, 4.00 ERA) makes his fourth start. The Angels are 4-1 in games he's pitched this season. He had a career-high six strikeouts last Thursday in a 3-0 loss to Texas.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball





Final
Series: Game 1 of 3

Athletics 1

(58-73, 21-42 away)

Angels 3

(67-65, 36-31 home)









10:07PM,EDT,August 28,2017
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim,California 

123456789 R H E
OAK 001000000 1 4 1
LAA 10010010 - 3 9 0
W: A. Heaney (1-0)
L: D. Gossett (3-7)
S: B. Parker (3)




View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-PitchInning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Oakland - Top of 1stSCORE
Andrew Heaney pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Semien struck out swinging.00
Pinder struck out swinging.00
Lowrie struck out swinging.00
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 1stSCORE
Daniel Gossett pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Maybin doubled to left.00
Revere lined out to right.00
Maybin to third on passed ball by Garneau.00
Pujols struck out swinging.00
Calhoun singled to deep right, Maybin scored.01
Simmons reached on bunt single to third, Calhoun to second.01
Calhoun to third, Simmons to second on wild pitch by Gossett.01
Valbuena lined out to first.01
1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors
Oakland - Top of 2ndSCORE
Andrew Heaney pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Davis walked.01
Healy singled to center, Davis to third.01
Canha struck out swinging.01
Chapman popped out to second.01
Joyce grounded out to second.01
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 2ndSCORE
Daniel Gossett pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Cron singled to left.01
Maldonado singled to shallow left center, Cron to second.01
Cowart sacrificed to third, Cron to third, Maldonado to second.01
Maybin grounded into fielder's choice to third, Cron out at home.01
Revere struck out swinging.01
0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors
Oakland - Top of 3rdSCORE
Andrew Heaney pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Garneau homered to left (383 feet).11
Semien lined out to center.11
Pinder grounded out to pitcher.11
Lowrie struck out looking.11
1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 3rdSCORE
Daniel Gossett pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Pujols grounded out to third.11
Calhoun popped out to shortstop.11
Simmons struck out swinging.11
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Oakland - Top of 4thSCORE
Andrew Heaney pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Davis lined out to third.11
Healy grounded out to shortstop.11
Canha struck out swinging.11
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 4thSCORE
Daniel Gossett pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Valbuena popped out to shortstop.11
Cron struck out looking.11
Maldonado singled to left center.11
Cowart doubled to deep left, Maldonado scored.12
Maybin struck out looking.12
1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors
Oakland - Top of 5thSCORE
Andrew Heaney pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Chapman flied out to left.12
Joyce flied out to center.12
Garneau walked.12
Garneau to second on wild pitch by Heaney.12
Semien walked.12
Garneau to third, Semien to second on wild pitch by Heaney.12
Pinder struck out swinging.12
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 5thSCORE
Daniel Gossett pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Revere walked.12
Pujols lined out to center.12
Calhoun struck out looking.12
Revere caught stealing second, catcher to second.12
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Oakland - Top of 6thSCORE
Andrew Heaney pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Lowrie struck out swinging.12
Davis struck out swinging.12
Healy struck out swinging.12
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 6thSCORE
Daniel Gossett pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Simmons lined out to second.12
Valbuena grounded out to second.12
Cron grounded out to shortstop.12
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Oakland - Top of 7thSCORE
Keynan Middleton pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Middleton relieved Heaney.12
Powell hit for Canha.12
Powell singled to shallow center.12
Chapman grounded out to second, Powell to second.12
Joyce grounded out to second, Powell to third.12
Maxwell hit for Garneau.12
Maxwell struck out swinging.12
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 7thSCORE
Daniel Gossett pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Powell in center field.12
Maxwell catching.12
Maldonado singled to left.12
Cowart flied out to left.12
Maybin popped out to third.12
Revere doubled to right, Maldonado to third, Maldonado scored on throwing error by right fielder Joyce.13
Dull relieved Gossett.13
Pujols grounded out to shortstop.13
1 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors
Oakland - Top of 8thSCORE
Yusmeiro Petit pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Petit relieved Middleton.13
Semien doubled to deep right center.13
Pinder lined out to left.13
Lowrie walked.13
Davis grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Lowrie out at second.13
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Los Angeles - Bottom of 8thSCORE
Santiago Casilla pitching for OaklandOAKLAA
Casilla relieved Dull.13
Calhoun grounded out to first.13
Simmons struck out swinging.13
Valbuena struck out swinging.13
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Oakland - Top of 9thSCORE
Blake Parker pitching for Los AngelesOAKLAA
Parker relieved Petit.13
Healy struck out swinging.13
Powell walked.13
Chapman struck out swinging.13
Powell to second on fielder's indifference.13
Joyce struck out swinging.13
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors




Oakland Athletics
HittersABRHRBIBBSO#PAVGOBPSLG
Semien SS30101115.259.349.394
Pinder 2B40000211.244.295.465
Lowrie DH30001322.268.345.439
Davis LF30001115.234.323.516
Healy 1B40100215.264.296.462
Canha CF2000028.205.252.402
a-Powell PH-CF
1010107.280.386.347
Chapman 3B40000113.239.307.500
Joyce RF40000124.232.331.448
Garneau C1111109.154.267.308
b-Maxwell PH-C
1000018.229.320.299
Totals30141514147   
a-singled to shallow center for M Canha in the 7th
b-struck out swinging for D Garneau in the 7th
BATTING
2B: Semien (12, Petit)
HR: Garneau (1, 3rd inning off Heaney 0 on, 0 Out)
RBI: Garneau (3)
GIDP: Davis
Athletics RISP: 0-9 (Chapman 0-1, Davis 0-1, Canha 0-1, Joyce 0-3, Maxwell 0-1, Pinder 0-2)
Team LOB: 7
FIELDING
E: Joyce (6, throw)
PB: Garneau.

Game Information

StadiumAngel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
Attendance33,719 (74.1% full) - % is based on regular season capacity
Game Time2:53
Weather87 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind3 mph
UmpiresHome Plate - Mike Winters, First Base - Marty Foster, Second Base - Mike Muchlinski, Third Base - Ben May