Angels 10, Mariners 3
SEATTLE -- The Angels' Andrew Heaney outdueled the Mariners' Taijuan Walker in a battle of two of the top young starting pitchers in the American League, leading Los Angeles to a 10-3 win over Seattle on Sunday.
Heaney (3-0) threw seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits, to earn his third win in four starts this season. The 24-year-old former Miami Marlin has yet to allow more than two runs in a start since making his American League debut June 24.
Los Angeles (48-40) surpassed the Houston Astros to take over first place in the American League West heading into the All-Star break. The Angels will spend more time atop the division during the break than they had during the entire first half, when Los Angeles led the AL West just three days -- the most recent of which came on April 17.
The Angels finished off their nine-game road trip with a 7-2 record to overtake the struggling Astros, who are now a half-game back at 49-42. Los Angeles was six games behind Houston after the games of June 3.
Heaney walked one and struck out six, using inning-ending strikeouts to get out of jams in the second and fifth inning.
Angels third baseman David Freese had two doubles, including a two-run hit off the top of the wall that broke the game open in the Angels' six-run sixth. Catcher Chris Iannetta added a two-run homer to cap the inning, giving Los Angeles a 9-0 lead.
Walker (7-7) gave up seven hits and seven runs -- six earned -- and hurt his cause with a run-scoring throwing error in the sixth inning. He came out after the first four batters of the sixth reached base, having thrown 87 pitches over five-plus innings while striking out seven.
Walker struggled in each of his past two outings, allowing 11 earned runs over 11 innings, after winning five consecutive starts in June and early July.
Heaney has put together four solid starts while filling in for injured veteran Jered Weaver, meaning the Angels might have a tough decision to make when their Opening Day starter comes off the disabled list. The left-handed rookie has a 1.32 ERA.
Heaney was ranked by Baseball America as the Angels' top prospect heading into the season, while Walker held that designation for the Mariners for two seasons before making the Opening Day roster this year.
The Angels jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks in part to some sloppy defense by Seattle, before the six-run sixth blew the game open.
The first Los Angeles run, in the second inning, came when a Matt Joyce ground ball went through the legs of Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano. The Angels took a 2-0 lead on a wild pitch.
One inning later, things got even stranger when shortstop Erick Aybar doubled and tried to score on an errant throw from Seattle left fielder Mark Trumbo. With center fielder Mike Trout standing on first base, Aybar chopped a bloop hit that dropped inches from the foul line in left. As Trout rounded third and was being held up by the third base coach, Trumbo threw home and missed the target so badly that Walker had to run track down the ball behind home plate.
Walker turned and tried to throw out Trout, who had broken for home, but his throw was off the mark as well. Trout slid into home for a 3-0 lead. Aybar then rounded third and tried to come home, only to be thrown out by Cano, who retrieved Walker's throw in the infield.
A Walker throwing error resulted in a Los Angeles run in the sixth. After Trout reached on a hit-by-pitch and first baseman Albert Pujols singled, Aybar tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Walker fielded the bunt and tried to force Trout at third base, but his throw was off target and ended up in left field, allowing Trout to score for a 4-0 lead. Freese followed with a two-run double off the top of the wall in right-center.
Three batters later, after rookie lefty David Rollins came on to replace Walker, Iannetta hit his fifth homer of the season to put the Angels ahead 9-0.
Seattle finally got on the board after Heaney came out, scoring on an RBI groundout from pinch hitter Dustin Ackley and an RBI single from third baseman Kyle Seager in the eighth. Pinch hitter Seth Smith added a solo homer in the ninth.
The Angels had 14 hits in the win, and they outscored opponents 65-30 during the 10-game road trip.
Seattle (41-48) has played 13 games in July and has yet to put together a two-game streak -- of wins or losses -- this month.
NOTES: Angels LHP Hector Santiago was added to the American League All-Star team Sunday. He will replace Oakland RHP Sonny Gray, who pitched Sunday and won't be eligible to throw in Tuesday's All-Star Game. ... Seattle LF Franklin Gutierrez was a late scratch because of a stiff back. DH Jesus Montero replaced him in the lineup, while Mark Trumbo moved into left field. ... The Angels have two All-Star Game starters (OF Mike Trout and 1B Albert Pujols) for the first time since 2003 (3B Troy Glaus and OF Garret Anderson). ... After the All-Star break, Los Angeles will begin a 10-day homestand with a Friday game against the Red Sox. The Mariners will kick off an East Coast road trip with a three-game series against the New York Yankees.