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ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The guy who sets off fireworks from Angel Stadium's fake rock pile after homers had a pretty boring job this season until Torii Hunter and Alberto Callaspo finally put him to work.

Hunter and Callaspo hit back-to-back homers, Ervin Santana allowed one run in six solid innings, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics 4-1 on Wednesday night for their fourth win in six games.

The Angels beat Oakland ace Trevor Cahill with an unlikely power burst in the fifth inning for a team with just seven homers in its previous 16 games.

"Cahill is one of the best pitchers in the American League right now, and for us to come in and drive the ball and hit holes is good," Hunter said. "He made some mistakes, and he doesn't make many. You have to show some power, because some pitchers can get comfortable if it always takes three or four hits to get a run."

Hunter might be regaining his power stroke after a weak start to the season in the cleanup spot vacated by injured Cuban slugger Kendrys Morales, who's out for the season with a broken left ankle from early 2010. Hunter has two homers in his past four games after hitting just four in his first 47 outings, and he has eight RBIs -- including three game-winners -- in his past six games.

"I'm just trying to settle in and stay focused," Hunter said. "Just stay short, sweet, and try to hit the ball hard somewhere."

Reggie Willits' first hit of the season was a run-scoring double for the Angels, and Peter Bourjos added an RBI single. Los Angeles has won two of three in the four-game series with its upstate AL West rivals.

Santana (3-4) yielded six hits and two walks, outpitching Cahill in his second straight victory after winning just once in his first nine starts. Santana also improved to 13-3 with a 1.97 ERA in his career against Oakland, even if he needed 117 pitches to do it.

"I was usually behind in the count, and I worked real hard to get the win," Santana said. "It was a little difficult because I got in a lot of 3-2 counts -- too many foul ball, foul ball, foul ball. ... You're talking about one of the best sinkerballers in the game (in Cahill). He didn't have his A-game, but it's very exciting to beat him in a game like tonight."

Jordan Walden pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 13 chances.

Coco Crisp had an RBI double in the fifth for the A's, who have lost seven of eight amid scattered locker-room dissatisfaction with manager Bob Geren.

Cahill (6-2) couldn't join Boston's Jon Lester as the AL's only seven-game winners. He had won his past three starts against the Angels, but he's stumbling for the first time in an otherwise stellar season.

"I kind of felt out of whack the whole game," Cahill said. "I knew I was a little off, so I just went out there and kept throwing. I didn't throw my changeup as much because I didn't have a good one coming in."

Cahill had given up just four homers all season before Hunter and Callaspo connected. Willits was 0-for-13 to start the season before his double later in the fifth scored Mark Trumbo.

After five consecutive victories, the right-hander yielded 10 hits for the second time in three straight winless starts. Cahill walked five while struggling through six innings.

Santana mostly avoided trouble, but got help from his defense at a key point.

Crisp's double in the fifth inning drove home Andy LaRoche, but Alexi Amarista's relay throw allowed catcher Hank Conger to tag out Cliff Pennington at the plate, keeping the game tied at 1 before the Angels' three-run rally in the bottom half of the inning.

"I don't know if it's so much that we're pressing, because we haven't really hit the ball that great all year," Oakland's Ryan Sweeney said. "I think once everyone starts hitting, then we'll be able to take it to that next level. ... I don't know if it's frustrating, because it's not like it just started happening."

In the eighth, Amarista made a nifty diving stop at second base of Sweeney's grounder, with his throw barely beating Sweeney to end the inning. Amarista had two hits, snapping an 0-for-17 skid.

Geren called a 15-minute team meeting before the game, possibly to discuss communication issues in the wake of reliever Brian Fuentes' critical comments about Geren earlier in the series.

Former Oakland closer Huston Street, now with Colorado, added to the drama by telling the San Francisco Chronicle that Geren was a poor communicator and his "least favorite person I have ever encountered in sports."

"I don't think it's my place to comment on somebody on another team," Geren said of Street.

Game notes

Los Angeles has beaten Oakland in 10 of their past 12 meetings at Angel Stadium. ... Angels C Hank Conger snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a second-inning single. ... Cahill allowed back-to-back homers for just the second time in his career.