Three Halo homers power a 7-3 victory

ALBERT PUJOLS hit his 596th career home run Tuesday in the Angels’s 7-3 win over Oakland (Flickr/Keith Allison photo).

Three home runs helped power the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-3 win over the Oakland A’s Tuesday night in Oakland. Albert Pujols hit his 596th career homer in the first and teammates Ben Revere and Yunel Escobar also hit four-baggers in the victory.

The win put the Angels’ record at 17-18 and allowed the Halos to hang on – by a few percentage points – to second place in the American League West. The Angels are at .486 and the Seattle Mariners (16-17) are at .485.

Playing yet another game without Mike Trout, the Angels led 5-2 after two innings and coasted to the win. They had better situational hitting than usual, going 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Revere and Cliff Pennington each had two hits on the night.

Alex Mayer (1-1) had a somewhat rocky start but got the win. He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four hits and three runs, including two homers. He struck out seven batters but walked five. Yonder Alonso hit the two homers for Oakland, driving in three runs.

Jesse Chavez (2-4) is expected to make the start for the Angels Wednesday in Oakland.