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A's Hold Off Red-Hot Angels to Remain in First.

Things were looking pretty good for the Athletics as they head into the month of June. The A's had a great May, and were putting distance between themselves and the Texas Rangers. But as June wore on, a new threat emerged in the AL West. The Anaheim Angels put together a red-hot performance leading up to the All-Star break and threatened the A's quest for a second straight division title.

Oakland began the month by welcoming the lowly Baltimore Orioles to town. The A's swept Baltimore in three games. Meanwhile, the Angels were being swept by the Kansas City Royals. When the Angels came in it looked to be easy pickings for the A's. However, Anaheim turned the tide on the A's and swept them in three straight.

The Athletics limped across the Golden Gate Bridge to play their Bay neighbors, the San Francisco Giants. The Giants took 2 out of 3 from the A's earlier in the season. The Giants would repeat the feat by beating the A's twice again, including a heartbreaking 1-0 loss for Tim Hudson. Oakland recovered to take 2 out of 3 from the Padres, but San Francisco would again beat up the Athletics in a three game set in Oakland. This series would include another 1-0 loss, with Jeff Andrews pitching the losing effort this time around. Meanwhile, the Angels began to get hot as they rattled off 7 straight wins and began to cut into the A's lead.

In late June, the A's would have a 12 game stretch against the Mariners and Rangers that would end in mixed results. Oakland would manage to win 5 of the 6 games against Seattle, including a three game sweep at home. However, the Rangers continued to give Oakland fits as they have all season. The A's only managed to win 2 of the 6 games with Texas. At the same time the Angels continued their roll, winning three more to extend their winning streat to 10 games before dropping a game to Seattle. The Angels were starting to breath down the A's backs. 

As the calendar flipped to July the Angels came to Oakland for a critical four game set. Before the series started A's GM Billy Beane beefed up the team. Beane traded two prospects, AAA outfielder Mario Encarnacion and first baseman Mario Valdez along with backup catcher Sal Fasano to the Baltimore Orioles for catcher Brook Fordyce. Fordyce came to the A's hitting .274 with 20 homeruns and 69 rbi's. He immediately replaced Ramon Hernandez as the starting catcher.

In the first game of the series against the Angels the offense carried the A's to an 8-4 win. Corey Lidle would be the story of game 2. Filling in for Jeff Andrews, who would miss the start with a pulled bicep, Lidle would no-hit the Angels for eight innings before giving up a ninth inning lead off single to Darin Erstad. Erstad would come around to score, but the Athletics would win the game 4-1. Gil Heredia would shut-out Anaheim 4-0 in game 3, but the Angels would salvage the last game of the series with a 3-2 win over Mark Mulder. 

The A's wrapped up the first half of the season by taking 2 out of three from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hudson would pick up his 11th win and Andrews would pick up his 10th. Overall, Oakland extended their lead in the division to seven games and would finish with a record of 20-15 from June 1st until the All-Star break. Most of the Athletics head for the days of rest after the game, but Andrews, Hudson, and Giambi caught a plane to Seattle to represent the A's in the All-Star game, which the National League ended up winning 4-0. Giambi started and went 0-3 with a strike-out. Hudson pitched an inning and a third and gave up two singles. Hudson was relieved by Mike Mussina of the Yankees, who would allow another single before giving up a Grand Slam to Edgar Rentaria of the Cardinals. Andrews did not appear in the game.


AROUND THE LEAGUE

NL EAST-The Atlanta Braves shocked baseball when they traded shortstop phenom Rafael Furcal to the Dodgers for pitcher Kevin Brown. They also added pitcher Jason Schmidt from the Pirates. The Braves proceeded to blast the competition enroute to a 27-8 month and a commanding 11.5 game lead in the East. The Mets continue to lead the wildcard chase with the Marlins nipping at their heals. The Phillies are still in the race, but are fading fast.

NL CENTRAL-Cincinatti extended their overall division lead to 6 games. Houston has pulled into second and are in the wildcard chase. The Cubs are also still alive, but the Cardinals have fallen from contention. Meanwhile, the Pirates have already been dumping talent in order to rebuild their team.

NL WEST-San Francisco extended their lead in the west to 6.5 games. Arizona passed Colorado to pull into second place. San Diego and Los Angeles are battling for the worst record in the National League.

AL EAST-The Boston Red Sox maintained their 5 game lead over the Yankees. Ramon Martinez was the AL starting pitcher in the All-Star game and looks to be the favorite for the Cy Young with 14 wins and an ERA around 1.5. New York is hanging in the wildcard race at a game above .500. Toronto stumbled in June and have fallen 10.5 games out and are in danger of fading from the wildcard race.

AL CENTRAL-Kansas City and Cleveland both raced past the Twins in the Central Division race. The Royals have the overall lead with the Indians a half a game back. Kansas City's Jermaine Dye is making a case to be the AL MVP with a .320 average and 28 homeruns. The Twins remain two back and still in the hunt. The Chicago White Sox are an even .500 and 3.5 gaes out of first.

AL WEST-The Anaheim Angels cut into the gap between themselves and the Athletics, but Oakland retained a comfortable 7 game lead in the division. Texas remains in the hunt at 7.5 back. Seattle is fading from the race at 15 games off pace.

See All-Star Break standings, All-Star Break stats, and All-Star Break scores.