In this series, each team won a game the other probably should have secured and each team flat out won a game. Today was the Angels' turn to outclass the A's plain and simple, breaking a 1-1 tie on Torii Hunter's 3-run HR off of Brett Anderson and then putting it out of reach on Kendry Morales' 3-run shot in the 8th off of Jay Marshall.

The A's are going to have to figure out how to get Kendry Morales out -- or least keep him from playing pepper with the wall and with the bleacher fans -- because the A's and Angels match up 19 times/year and Morales is going to be around for a while.

Figuring out how beat John Lackey may be less likely but also less urgent, as the ugly-but-effective right-hander is a free agent after 2009. The A's scored their only run on a pickoff throw that bounced away; enough said.

Hey, if the A's can play even with the Angels going forward, they're in great shape. But...still a ways to go, methinks.