SEATTLE -- Garrett Richards walked two batters in the first inning. He pitched out of a jam in the third with runners on second and third. He overcame errors and walks thanks to double plays and strikeouts. On a night the only offensive punch for the Los Angeles Angels came off the bat of Albert Pujols, it was Richards making sure those two runs stood up. Pujols homered for the second straight game while Richards and two relievers combined on one-hitter as the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 on Wednesday night. "Just with experience I think the game has slowed down for me and so its basically just come down to me executing pitches," Richards said. Pujols hit a two-run homer in the third off Seattle starter Roenis Elias (0-1). Richards (2-0) threw seven shutout innings. Abraham Almonte was the only Seattle batter to reach via hit when he singled in the third inning. Richards walked three batters and the Angels committed two errors, but struck out six. "Confidence is high. And I think that when youre confident youre pretty comfortable youre going to make those pitches at the very least," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think thats the next step Garrett has taken. I think hes getting to know his stuff better." The pitching effort was needed after the Angels had been knocked around by Seattle, getting outscored 31-11 in losing the first four meetings against the Mariners. The pitching, combined with the 494th homer of Pujols career provided a bright spot after a miserable start to the day and the news that Josh Hamilton could miss two months with a thumb injury. Hamilton is likely to miss the next six to eight weeks after suffering an injury to his left thumb the night before sliding headfirst into first base. An MRI Wednesday revealed a complete tear of the thumbs ulnar collateral ligament. Hell be examined in Los Angeles on Friday to determine if hell need surgery. Pujols blast went 418-feet into the netting beyond the Angels bullpen in left field, and like the night before, Mike Trout was on base. Pujols is now six homers shy of becoming the 26th player in baseball history to reach 500 homers in his career. "Albert has very high expectations for what he needs to do," Scioscia said. "He takes it very seriously. He assumes the leadership role, he wants to be the cornerstone of the lineup and he takes that responsibility. Its good to see him do some of the things hes capable of and hopefully itll be there for a long time." Richards throwing a gem in Seattle should not have come as a surprise. The last time he started in Seattle last August, Richards threw 7 1-3 shutout innings. In 12 innings this season, Richards has given up one earned run and struck out 13. His only issue is walks and pitch count. He walked five in his season debut against Houston last week, lasting just five innings. His one jam came in the third when Almonte got Seattles only hit and Brad Miller reached on an error. Robinson Cano grounded out to first and Richards struck out Justin Smoak to end the inning. "When you run into a buzz saw like that where a guy is throwing 96-97, getting an 86-89 slider over for strikes, its going to be a tough night," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He just out-dueled our guy." Notes: Angels SS Erick Aybar was a late scratch from the lineup after getting some pre-game dental work. He was replaced by John McDonald. ... Injured Seattle started Taijuan Walker (shoulder) threw five shutout innings for Double-A Jackson in a rehab outing on Wednesday. Walker struck out 10. ... One of Seattles other injured starters, Hisashi Iwakuma, threw his first bullpen session on Wednesday as he continues to work back from a finger injury that kept him from throwing for most of spring training. Yan Gomes Jersey . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. Jake Noll Jersey . Boston is making its first appearance in the ALCS since 2008. For Detroit, its a third straight trip to the ALCS and its fourth in eight years. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1247r-mat...-nationals.html. Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team. Stephen Strasburg Nationals Jersey . David Perron had a career high four-point night with two goals and two assists as the Oilers experienced an offensive explosion, blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 to record a rare home win for their second victory in a row. Frank Robinson Jersey . - A week after a late-game debacle on defence, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they can finish.RIFUGIO PANAROTTA, Italy -- Julian Arredondo claimed the biggest win of his career with a solo victory on the 18th stage of the Giro dItalia on Thursday, while Nairo Quintana retained the overall leaders pink jersey as the race returned to the mountains. The 25-year-old Arredondo had been part of a breakaway and made his move with just under four kilometres (2.5 miles) remaining to ride alone up the summit finish to Rifugio Panarotta. The Colombian had time to raise one arm into the air as he crossed the finish line, 17 seconds ahead of Fabio Duarte. Philip Deignan was 20 seconds further back at the end of the 171K (106-mile) leg from Belluno. "Its a win that Ive really searched for," Arredondo said. "I said it from the start, Im in this Giro to win at least one stage, and its from the start that I have been trying. "Until today, I managed three second places and two third places, I was only missing a win and we got that today. Weve tried so much and at the end we managed it. So tonight well celebrate." Quintana remained 1:41 ahead of fellow Colombian Rigoberto Uran, with Pierre Rolland moving into third place as former race leader Cadel Evans slipped to ninth. Rolland is 3:29 behind Quintana, two seconds ahead of Fabio Aru and Rafal Majka. "Today was a calm climb, but there were several attacks, I managed to control all of them which concerned my position," Quintana said. "Each cyclist should worry about their own race. The team worked very well. "I am very happy with how things are going, there is a good atmosphere, there is joy in the team. Also the Italians are cheering me on, they are supporting me during the race, I am very happy with the warmth that we are feeling on the Giro route.dddddddddddd" Victorias Ryder Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro champion, moved up two spots to seventh overall after finishing 16th in Thursdays stage. He is 4:32 behind Quintana. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is in 155th spot after finishing 142nd in Thursdays stage. A group of 11 cyclists escaped on the first categorized climb of the day, up San Pellegrino, and they managed to open up an advantage of 1:50 on the approach to the steepest part of the climb, which had gradients of 15 per cent. Arredondo, who currently leads the King of the Mountains standings, attacked three kilometres (two miles) from the summit to pick up maximum points. Deignan was just behind Arredondo, with Cataldo 40 seconds slower, but the breakaway was back together on the descent and three more riders joined it from the peloton. The peloton hit the top of San Pellegrino four minutes behind Arredondo and the gap grew to twice that, with the favourites opting to conserve their energy. The leaders maintained a significant advantage on the second climb -- the Passo del Redebus -- and had a 7:27 gap on the final climb of the day. Thomas De Gendt attacked at the foot of the ascent, with 16 kilometres (10 miles) remaining, but the Belgian was caught and passed by Arredondo, Duarte and Deignan with six kilometres (3.7 miles) to go. Back in the overall contenders group, Rolland made his move with just over two kilometres (1.24 mile) remaining to move into a podium position, while Aru also gained time on Quintana with a final surge to the line. Fridays 19th stage is an individual mountain time trial, which could prove crucial ahead of the Giros final weekend. ' ' '