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Facing a struggling pitcher like Scott Kazmir might help the Oakland Athletics bounce back from a dismal end to their latest road trip.
Looking for a another successful effort against the Los Angeles left-hander, the A's try to avoid a fifth consecutive loss as they host the Angels on Friday night.
Oakland (65-68) was outscored 29-11 while being swept in a four-game set at Yankee Stadium this week. The A's, who totaled five fewer hits than New York did runs, mustered only a Mark Ellis single against CC Sabathia and Jonathan Albaladejo in a 5-0 loss Thursday to conclude a 4-6 road trip.
"We got beat up pretty good," manager Bob Geren told the Athletics' official website.
Losers in six of eight, Oakland returns home looking for a third straight victory over the Angels (65-69). The second-place A's are one-half game ahead of Los Angeles in the AL West but 10 behind Texas.
Though the A's struggled to produce in the Bronx, they have outscored Los Angeles 44-22 while going 4-3 versus Los Angeles at home.
Oakland roughed up Kazmir (8-12, 6.34 ERA) for 13 runs and 11 hits in five innings of a 15-1 home win July 10. They were the most runs allowed by an Angels pitcher since Scott Schoeneweis gave up 11 against Baltimore on May 23, 2001. Kazmir had given up one run and eight hits to win his previous two outings against the A's.
"(It was) a tough one to swallow,'' said Kazmir, 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 16 starts versus Oakland.
Following that outing, Los Angeles placed Kazmir on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue. He is 1-3 with a 4.33 ERA in five starts since returning. Kazmir has allowed four runs in each of his last three starts, the latest over 5 2-3 innings of a 5-0 loss to Baltimore on Saturday.
"I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to quit. That's not in my DNA,'' said Kazmir, who is winless since Aug. 7. "It's just frustrating.''
Rajai Davis is 6 for 12 with a homer off Kazmir but 1 for 16 in his last four games. He is 12 for 28 with seven RBIs versus Los Angeles this season.
Gio Gonzalez (12-8, 3.23) looks to win his third straight start as he takes the ball for the A's in the series opener.
The left-hander allowed two runs in six innings of an 8-2 win at Texas on Sunday to improve to 3-1 with a 1.36 ERA in his last five starts.
Gonzalez is 2-1 with a 4.22 ERA in four starts versus Los Angeles, which won its first series in six tries after taking two of three at Seattle this week.
Los Angeles' Hideki Matsui is batting .208 versus left-handers this season, but his homer off southpaw Jason Vargas helped the Angels to a 4-2 win over Seattle on Wednesday.
Matsui is 2 for 14 in his last six games but is batting .298 with two homers and nine RBIs against the A's this season.
The Angeles have averaged 3.3 runs while losing 12 of 18 games.
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