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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Mark Trumbo hit a home run for the third consecutive day, Howie Kendrick and Mike Trout also homered and the Los Angeles Angels ended a four-game losing streak, beating the Oakland Athletics 5-4 on Wednesday.

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Yoenis Cespedes drove in four runs, Seth Smith knocked in three with a bases-loaded double and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-6 on Tuesday.

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You cannot lose a game like this if you're the Los Angeles Angels, not when leading 6-2 in the eighth inning, not while coming off losing three of four to Seattle, not when your team is struggling and staring at a second straight disastrous April.

The Angels did lose to the Oakland A's, when Brandon Moss' two-run walk-off homer in the 19th inning gave the A's the dramatic 10-8 victory in a game that lasted 392 minutes and required 597 pitches to compete. It might end up being the game of the year. The painful defeat dropped the Angels to 9-16. They're already 7 games behind the Rangers and 5 games behind the A's in the AL West, and you have to wonder if long-time manager Mike Scioscia will survive much longer.

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SEATTLE -- Jason Bay and Michael Morse hit solo home runs, leading the Seattle Mariners over the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Sunday.

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SEATTLE -- Hank Conger and Mark Trumbo each hit two-run homers, and C.J. Wilson worked out of a pair of bases-loaded jams to help give the Los Angeles Angels a 6-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

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The past week for the Los Angeles Angels was definitely a mixed bag. Facing tough opponents in the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers, Mike Scioscia is probably happy to come out of those two series in the black. Let’s take a look at the good and the bad.

The Good: Josh Hamilton wakes up

Hamilton is riding a mini four-game hitting streak. Baby steps indeed, but he’s been a streaky player in his career. Hamilton’s plate discipline in the last four games still leaves a lot to desire as he swung at eight of the 23 pitches he saw that were out of the strike zone (35 percent). But it is still far better than how he started the season. In the first 17 games Hamilton swung at 43 percent of pitches out of the zone.

The difference for Hamilton is that when he does get pitches to hit in the zone he’s not wasting them, hitting 6-13 (.462) on those pitches. Before this recent stretch, Hamilton was hitting only .231 on pitches in the zone.

The Bad: Hitting with runners on

In the last two games the Angels have had a total of 25 at-bats with runners on. In those opportunities they have just four hits. Most of those outs haven’t been productive either with nine of them coming via strikeout. The games both ended up as convincing losses, but it’s tough to put pressure on opponents when you’re not stringing hits together.

Today’s matchup

C.J. Wilson (LAA) vs Aaron Harang (SEA)

C.J. Wilson has been consistent this season … consistently average. He’s finished six innings in each start this year and allowed nine hitters to reach base in each start as well. Control has been an issue for Wilson so far as his 5.6 walks per nine innings are on pace to be a career high.

Angels hitters will look to punish Seattle Mariners starter Aaron Harang, who has gotten pummeled for four home runs in 9 2/3 innings pitched this season. His .711 opponents slugging percentage is the worst in baseball among pitchers who have thrown at least nine innings.

SEATTLE -- Carlos Peguero hit a mammoth homer in his first at-bat of the season, and Kyle Seager had a two-run homer to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-0 on Thursday night.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Nelson Cruz capped a nine-run fourth inning with a three-run homer, Lance Berkman had four RBIs and the Texas Rangers helped Yu Darvish cruise to an 11-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night in the rubber game of the series.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Howie Kendrick hit his second home run of the game in the 11th inning and finished with four RBIs, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mark Trumbo homered leading the bottom of the 13th inning and Albert Pujols doubled home two runs, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-3 victory over Detroit on Sunday for their second straight series sweep of the Tigers.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Trout capped a nine-run first inning against Rick Porcello with his first career grand slam, Garrett Richards pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and the Los Angeles Angels routed the Detroit Tigers 10-0 on Saturday.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Peter Bourjos had three hits and three RBIs, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols drove in two runs apiece, and the Los Angeles Angels slowed the worst start in franchise history with an 8-1 victory over Torii Hunter and the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.

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You hate to push the panic button in April, but if any team needs to do it -- especially in light of last season's slow start -- it is the Los Angeles Angels. The Halos are 4-10, matching their worst start since 1961, the franchise's first season.

Only two teams have been as bad as the Angels this season: the Miami Marlins and the Houston Astros. Not exactly the kind of company you'd like to keep with two former MVPs on the team and another who could have been MVP last season. The two straight days off (one due to weather, one scheduled) couldn't come at a better time.

So what areas need to be addressed immediately to start a turnaround?

Stop giving away outs
Being aggressive at the plate can be a good thing. It puts pressure on opposing pitchers and fielders. But being too aggressive can be detrimental. The Angels have swung at a league-high 33 percent of pitches outside the strike zone. Opponents realize this as well as only 48 percent of pitches to Angels hitters have been in the zone -- the fourth-lowest rate in baseball.

The Angels have also been awful on the basepaths. They have a league-worst 43 percent success rate on steals. Last season they were second in baseball at 80 percent.

Starting pitchers and defense need to step up
Missing Jered Weaver is tough, but he's only a fifth of a rotation that has been the worst in baseball with a 6.07 ERA. New arrivals Tommy Hanson, Jason Vargas and Joe Blanton have combined to give up 33 ER in 40 1/3 IP.

Baseball Info Solutions tracks defensive plays and after being the third-best defensive team in 2012 according to the metric Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), the Angels rate a -16 in the stat in 2013. That is tied with the Minnesota Twins for worst in the majors.

Friday's Matchup
Anibal Sanchez (DET) at Tommy Hanson (LAA)

Hanson had a decent start to his Angels career, beating the Texas Rangers in Arlington despite giving up two home runs. His home debut against the Houston Astros didn't go well as he consistently left pitches in the middle of the strike zone. The Astros knocked him around for eight hits and five runs in five innings.

Whether it is repeated injuries or overall mileage on his arm, Hanson is not the same pitcher who dominated early in his career with the Atlanta Braves. His fastball, which used to sit in the low 90s, is averaging 88 MPH through two starts.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Left-hander Jason Vargas (0-2) gave up five runs and nine hits with two walks in just 3 1/3 innings for the Los Angeles Angels, who fell to the Minnesota Twins, 8-6, on Tuesday night and are off to another slow start after spending big in the winter to chase a championship. They have lost 10 of their first 14 games thanks, in large part, to poor starting pitching.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Josh Hamilton homering and Albert Pujols hitting a game-ending double. Just what the Los Angeles Angels needed to end a five-game losing streak.
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