ANAHEIM -- John Lackey came within two outs of his first shutout of the season, and Torii Hunter had three hits as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland A's 5-1 Tuesday night.
Lackey (11-2) gave up seven hits and struck out five without a walk, allowing one runner as far as second base while lowering his ERA from 3.09 to 2.95. He lost the shutout bid when Jack Cust drove the right-hander's 91st pitch to center field for his 23rd home run.
Lackey, who led the American League with a 3.01 ERA last year before strained triceps sidelined him for the first 41 games this season, improved his career record against Oakland to 14-3 and won his 10th straight decision against A.L. West teams. The complete game was his third this season.
A's starter Greg Smith (6-13) gave up five runs and a career-worst 10 hits over six innings, slipping to 1-3 against the division-leading Angels this season.
The rookie left-hander, who beat the Angels 6-1 on June 30 in Anaheim with a four-hitter for his first complete-game victory in the majors, is 1-7 with a 4.72 ERA in his 10 starts since. Smith's loss total is the third-highest by an Oakland rookie behind Rick Langford's 19 in 1977 and Matt Keough's 15 in 1978.
Hunter, who came in 0 for 9 against Smith, had a hit in each of his first three plate appearances. He had an RBI double during a four-run third that enabled the Angels to grab a 4-0 lead. The Angels survived a scare during the rally when Hunter was struck in the head by a thrown ball while running the bases.
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