Greinke sharp in Angels' 6-1 win over Athletics

The timing couldn't be better for manager Mike Scioscia's ballclub.

Greinke pitched seven sharp innings to win his third consecutive start and the Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 6-1 on Tuesday night.

"You could see it coming his last couple of starts, just finding the release point," Scioscia said. "He did a great job of commanding the counts better. I thought he threw the ball exceptionally well tonight."

Greinke (4-2) scattered four hits, struck out four and walked two in his most recent gem.

Since beginning his Los Angeles career with two losses in five starts following a July 27 trade from Milwaukee, Greinke has settled into a groove. He's yielded four runs over his last 21 2-3 innings and has gone at least seven innings in each of his past three starts.

That's a far cry from the last time he pitched in Oakland on Aug. 8, when he was tagged for four runs in five innings. Greinke's only noticeable mistake this time came in the seventh, when he allowed a leadoff homer to Brandon Moss.

"I forgot about that, actually," Greinke said. "The Oakland game here I was throwing all sinkers and that's not really my game. Then I was trying to throw too hard the next two starts. So just trying to go back to normal, and it worked out good."

Scott Downs pitched the eighth and Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth to complete the four-hitter for the Angels, who remained 3½ games out of a wild-card spot in the American League. Los Angeles has won four of five on its six-game road trip and 11 of 14 overall.

Kendrys Morales had three hits and an RBI.

Moss' home run was one of the few bright spots for the A's, who have dropped two straight to the Angels following a nine-game winning streak. Oakland, tied for the wild-card lead, is four games behind first-place Texas in the AL West and 3½ ahead of the third-place Angels.

"It wasn't a horrible pitch to Moss. ... He just stayed inside it and he's a good low-ball hitter and he hit it out," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "Other than that, we didn't get too many good swings."