Cooper Earns Straight A’s

Angel first baseman Mo Vaughn knew something different--and something special--was happening in Edison Field Friday night when he looked up and saw that the clock read 9 p.m., the scoreboard said seventh inning, “and these cats only have two hits,” Vaughn said, referring to the Oakland A’s.

“It was moving so fast . . . it was strike one, strike two, to hitter after hitter.”

That was the key for young right-hander Brian Cooper, who went the distance on a three-hitter, striking out four and walking only one, to lead the Angels to a 7-0 victory over the A’s before a crowd of 28,765.

Oakland, with its predominantly left-handed hitting lineup and its patient approach, leads the major leagues in walks and ranks second in runs, and Cooper knew the only way to subdue the A’s was to limit walks in front of Oakland’s big bats.

“I’m a better pitcher when I know guys are looking for walks,” Cooper said. “I can throw my sinker down the middle and let it run. Sometimes you tend to be too fine, to nibble, but I knew if I went right at them, if I was aggressive, I’d have them right where I wanted.”

Cooper’s 123-pitch gem was the first complete game and shutout of his career, the Angels’ first shutout since Scott Schoeneweis blanked Toronto April 10, and it pulled the Angels to within five games of Seattle in the American League West.

The Angels broke open a 2-0 game with five runs in the sixth, a rally that featured home runs by Garret Anderson, Bengie Molina and Benji Gil.

The A’s, who were shut out for only the third time this season, managed three singles against Cooper (3-2) and failed to advance a runner past first.

“He has a sinker and a slider, and he’s not real intimidating on the mound,” Angel Manager Mike Scioscia said of Cooper. “But he executes his pitches in jams, he uses all of his pitches, he throws inside well, and he doesn’t scare off easily.”

Cooper’s was not the only complete game of the night. The Angels threw one of their most complete games of the season at the A’s, combining Cooper’s superb start with some rare offensive diversity and some outstanding defense.

Anderson leaped above the wall in center field to rob Randy Velarde of a home run in the fourth, and right fielder Tim Salmon turned Velarde’s hit-and-run liner into an inning-ending double play in the sixth.

The Angels had to scratch and claw for their first two runs, using Darin Erstad’s leadoff single and stolen base, Gil’s sacrifice bunt and Salmon’s sacrifice fly to score in the first, and some aggressive baserunning to take a 2-0 lead in the second.

Adam Kennedy beat out an infield single with one out and forced out on Erstad’s fielder’s choice. Erstad took third on Gil’s single to left and scored on Vaughn’s RBI single to center.

This is what Scioscia wants to see the Angels do more often. They relied so much on the long ball in June they seemed to forget how to play little ball--advancing runners with bunts, taking the extra base, scoring runners from third with outs.

Of course, Scioscia is not about to throw back any of those home-run balls. For all the effort it took for the Angels to score twice in the first two innings, they scored twice as many runs with three swings of the bat in the sixth.

Anderson smacked Oakland starter Mark Mulder’s first pitch of the inning into the right-center field seats for his 22nd home run. That surpassed his career-high of 21 homers, set in 1999, a week-and-a half before the All-Star break.

Molina drove a fly ball over the wall in left-center for a 4-0 lead. Kennedy’s double and Erstad’s RBI single made it 5-0, and Gil greeted reliever T.J. Mathews with a two-run homer for a 7-0 lead.

That gave the Angels 124 home runs this season, the most they’ve had before the All-Star break, and 75 homers at home, the most in franchise history . . . for an entire season.

“I was more excited with the way we scored our first two runs,” Scioscia said. “I know we can drive the ball, but to divert pressure away from our big guys, the little game has to be prevalent.”