Garland helps Angels top Jays for 100th career win
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(AP) - Jon Garland pitched a six-hitter for his 100th major league victory, Jeff Mathis tied a career high with three RBIs and Juan Rivera homered to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
Garland (8-5) went the distance for the ninth time in 241 career starts and first time in 18 outings with the Angels, who obtained the right-hander in a trade that sent two-time Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Chicago White Sox in November.
Garland struck three and walked none while reducing his ERA to 3.76, the lowest it's been since he gave one run over eight innings at Minnesota in his official Angels debut on April 1. He was 0-2 in his previous six starts at the Big A since beating Baltimore on May 3.
Rivera, starting in right field for the first time this season, homered in the second inning against Jesse Litsch (8-5) and helped cut down a runner at the plate in the fourth.
The AL West-leaders committed their ninth error in six games when shortstop Erick Aybar mishandled Vernon Wells' two-out line drive in the fourth inning. Wells tried to score on a double to right field by Lyle Overbay, but second baseman Howie Kendrick took Rivera's one-hop relay from the warning track and fired to Mathis for the tag on Wells.
Garret Anderson opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first and Rivera made it 3-0 with his homer to left-center. Rod Barajas homered for Toronto with two out in the fifth to end an 0-for-17 drought, but the Angels increased their margin to 5-1 in the sixth with a two-run single by Mathis that chased Litsch. Mathis then scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Brandon League.
Litsch was charged with six runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander is 1-4 with a 5.27 ERA in six starts after going 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA in May.
Mathis, who started the day batting .212 with 20 RBIs, drove in the Angels' final run with a seventh-inning single.
For the first time in their 41-year history, the Angels will be sending three pitchers to the All-Star game _ starters Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana, and major league saves leader Francisco Rodriguez. Saunders and Santana, each of whom began the season 6-0, are first-timers in the Midsummer Classic. It also is the first time no Angels position player was selected since 1999, when their only representative was closer Troy Percival.
Rodriguez, whose previous two All-Star appearances were in Houston and San Francisco, will be returning to the site of his first career postseason victory. He pitched two innings for the Angels in Game 2 of the 2002 AL division series at Yankee Stadium, which the Halos won 8-6 after K-Rod inherited a 4-3 lead from Kevin Appier in the sixth inning and gave up a two-run homer to Alfonso Soriano.
Notes:@ Blue Jays RHP Roy Halladay was Toronto's only All-Star representative, making the team for the fifth time _ two shy of RHP Dave Stieb's franchise record. ... Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of the night former Angels CF Fred Lynn hit the only grand slam in an All-Star game. It came at Chicago's old Comiskey Park against Atlee Hammaker of the Giants. ... Garland won his fifth straight decision against the Blue Jays, improving to 11-2 lifetime against them.