MATT SHOEMAKER got the win in his return to the Angels’ mound as the Halos defeated the A’s 8-3 on Saturday (Keith Allison photo).

Now, this is the Angels’ team that fans have been waiting to see. 

Jumping out to a 7-0 lead in support of starter Matt Shoemaker, the Halos went on to an 8-3 win over the Oakland A’s on Saturday.

Shoemaker, who missed half of 2017 with an injury, pitched creditably, going 5 2/3 innings, yielding three earned runs on four hits. He struck out four and walked four.

But the real grins were on the offensive side, as the team belted out 12 hits. The top four of the lineup had eight of those hits.  Zack Cozart had two hits, two RBIs and scored twice. Mike Trout had three hits, scored two runs and drove in two. Justin Upton had a hit, scored a run and drove one in. Albert Pujols had two hits and two RBIs.

The excitement may be even bigger Sunday as the Angels (2-1) send two-way player Shohei Ohtani to the mound in his pitching debut for the Angels.