Abreu, Pineiro lead Angels over Twins

Anaheim, CA – Bobby Abreu homered and scored twice as the 1 victory over the Twins in the finale of a three-game set.

Joel Pineiro (6-6) earned his first win since July 9, going seven innings and allowing one run on five hits and a walk.

"It feels nice. I was able to keep the ball down and I mixed my pitches," Pineiro said.

Jordan Walden pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his 28th save of the year.

The Angels still sit 3 1/2 games back of Texas for first place in the AL West after both clubs won on Sunday.

Kevin Slowey (0-4) allowed two runs on seven hits through seven innings. He did not issue a walk and struck out four as Minnesota fell to 3-11 in its last 14 games.

"I feel like I'm getting my rhythm down. I was down in the zone except to Abreu," Slowey said. "We're out there battling. It's tough to lose."

The Angels took the early lead on Abreu's solo home run in the first inning.

Hank Conger singled with one out in the third, advanced to third on Erick Aybar's base hit to right and crossed the plate on Howie Kendrick's grounder to third to give the Angels a two-run advantage.

Minnesota cut into the lead in the fourth on a solo shot over the right-center field wall by Joe Mauer.

But the Twins would only manage to put a runner in scoring position one more time against Pineiro, and the Angels put the game away in the eighth.

Reliever Alex Burnett hit Kendrick with a pitch to start the inning. After Abreu worked a walk, Torii Hunter brought Kendrick home with a single to left.

Jim Hoey then took the bump and gave up a run-scoring single to Vernon Wells. Hoey walked Alberto Callaspo to load the bases with one out, but Mike Trout grounded into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play to keep it a 4-1 game.

Game Notes

The Angels won the season series 6-3. They have won eight of their last nine home games and are 25-9 at Angels Stadium since June 13. They have homered in 23 of their last 26 games...Aybar increased his hitting streak to 14 games.