WEST SACRAMENTO — The setting could not have been more different, but the result was the same.
After the Angels swept a three-game series over the weekend at raucous Dodger Stadium, they headed north to play in the Triple-A park that is the temporary home of the Athletics.
The change of scenery notwithstanding, the Angels ran their winning streak to four with a 4-3 victory over the A’s on Monday night.
Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward sparked the Angels to a two-run lead in the third, and the pitchers did the rest.
Starter José Soriano went six, and relievers Ryan Zeferjahn, Hector Neris and Kenley Jansen finished.
The winning streak equals the longest of the season for the Angels (21-25).
Soriano gave up three runs in his third quality start in his last four outings.
Soriano did a nice job of keeping the ball on the ground — he got 11 outs on 10 ground balls — but his control wasn’t sharp, and that led to some trouble.
In the first inning, Soriano loaded the bases with no outs on a ground ball single, a walk and a hit batter. One run scored on a double play — the major league leading 13th of the season induced by Soriano — and another scored on an infield hit.
Soriano worked himself into another bases-loaded jam in the third, with two of his four walks. He escaped unscathed by striking out both Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz.
In the sixth, Soriano faced dangerous A’s leadoff hitter Lawrence Butler, with two on and two outs. Soriano got Butler on a dribbler in front of the plate with his 100th pitch of the night.
Zeferjahn, who had struggled against the Padres and Dodgers last week, worked around a walk and a hit batter in the seventh. Neris worked a perfect eighth. Jansen then worked around a two-out single to convert his ninth save in nine attempts.
There was little margin for error because the offense couldn’t produce much after their early outburst.
Schanuel hit a homer in the first inning, his first since April 13 and third of the season, and then he doubled in each of his next two trips.
All three balls were hit at over 100 mph, marking the first time in Schanuel’s young career that he’s done that three times in one game.
Schanuel is now hitting .373 with a .977 OPS in his last 61 plate appearances, dating back to May 3.
Ward put the Angels up 4-2 with a two-run homer in the third inning, his team-leading 13th homer of the season.
Ward began to turn his season around when the Angels had him take extra live batting practice against Angels minor league pitchers earlier this month. He’s now hitting .250 with seven homers and a 1.002 OPS in his last 58 plate appearances.
More to come on this story.
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