"Lackey had a real good slider. It seemed like when he got two strikes, he expanded the strike zone. We just didn't have enough tonight," Orioles manager Dave Tremblay said.

Guthrie made it through three easy innings before giving up the homer to Abreu in the fourth.

Maicer Izturis tripled and Napoli walked to put runners at the corners. Chone Figgins drove them in two batters later to make it 2-1 and Abreu cleared the bases with his sixth homer of the season.

"The bad pitch to Abreu on the first home run was a changeup that I left up. I tried to go in with a fastball the second time and got it in there, but he did a great job on it," Guthrie said. "It really surprised me that he put that much barrel on the ball and was able to hit it out like that. But he always has a good quality at-bat. He's just a great hitter."

"It's great to see the power start to appear because that's something we obviously talked about in our lineups," Scioscia said. "We need more batter's box offense and slugging percentage and some guys are starting to get into their game and deliver and it's a big night for Bobby tonight. Hopefully he'll start doing it a little more consistently."

NOTES: Michael Trout, one of the Angels' first-round draft picks, signed a minor-league contract with the team on Thursday. Trout, a New Jersey native and the 25th overall selection, took batting practice in front of Scioscia and took in the game with his family. ... Orioles' 3B Ty Wigginton replaced Melvin in the lineup. Mora asked for the night off after the trip to the West Coast.

The 2008 All-Star hopes things will change Friday night when he's expected to return from the disabled list to face the Baltimore Orioles in the continuation of a four-game set at Angel Stadium.

Sidelined with right triceps inflammation, Santana (1-3, 7.47 ERA) hasn't pitched for Los Angeles since allowing six runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings of an 11-1 loss at Tampa Bay on June 11.

Now, after a solid effort against minor league competition Sunday and a productive bullpen session Tuesday, manager Mike Scioscia feels Santana is ready to go.

"We're going to see how he feels," he told the Angels' official Web site. "When you look at your rotation, you definitely want your best out there."

Santana, however, hasn't always been at his best this season. After matching a career high with 16 victories a year ago, the right-hander missed the first month of the season with an elbow injury and also dealt with a strained forearm last month. Those injuries could be a couple of reasons why he's allowed six or more runs in three of his six starts.