ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Another day, another fine effort by a Los Angeles Angels rookie starting pitcher.

A day after rookie Parker Bridwell shut down the Baltimore Orioles in Tuesday's 3-2 win, Troy Scribner stepped up and led the Angels to a 5-1 win over the Orioles.

In just his fourth major league game and second start, the right-hander allowed just two hits and a run in five-plus innings to give the Angels the series and keep them in the AL wild-card dogpile.

He looked sharp, the only run coming on a Welington Castillo home run, and he easily could have gone longer. But he hit Orioles right fielder Joey Rickard in the helmet with a pitch to start the sixth and manager Mike Scioscia decided to go to a fresh bullpen. Yusmeiro Petit, Keynan Middleton and Blake Parker allowed two hits in the final four innings while striking out five.

"I hope he takes a lot of confidence from this start," Scioscia said. "He had good command and used all of his pitches well and kept them off balance. We went to the bullpen because we were looking at matchups and we had fresh guys."

Scribner (2-0) won in relief in his major league debut, then made one more relief outing before his first start last week against Oakland.

"I had a lot more focus this time," Scribner said. "The first one, I was very aware of the surroundings and the crowd. This one felt different and I was more confident.

"Mike was saying 'Keep it going,' but I kind of knew it was batter to batter because Petit was warming up. It's just great to contribute."

He wasn't the only rookie with a nice day. Outfielder Cesar Puello, 26, was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake and made his major league debut as the starting left fielder, lining a RBI single in the fourth and then stealing second and third.

Puello was released in June by Texas and signed by the Angels. He hit .327 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs and 18 steals in 87 Triple-A games, and the Angels felt he could contribute with Cameron Maybin having just come off the DL.

"You could see the energy he had, which is everything you want to see from someone new," Scioscia said.

"I'm so thankful to be here and have the chance to meet great players like Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons," Puello said. "I got the call this morning. I felt relaxed. I've played a lot of baseball. I just wanted to slow the game down."

The Angels received plenty of contributions. C.J. Cron had three hits, including his seventh home run of the season in the sixth inning that pushed the Angels lead to 4-1. He now has 11 RBIs in his last 10 games. Kole Calhoun also had three hits, his fourth multiple-hit game in his last six, and scored twice.

Simmons had a sacrifice fly and a perfect relay throw home to get Craig Gentry trying to score from first on a single to center in the sixth.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the third. Kaleb Cowart singled, Ben Revere walked and Mike Trout's singled to load the bases. Simmons followed with his sacrifice fly.

Cron doubled in the fourth and scored on Puello's single, and then added his two-run home run in the sixth.

The Orioles pitched well in the series but had little offense. They scored nine runs in the three games, four of them on Manny Machado's grand slam in the series opener.

Kevin Gausman (8-8) went 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits, four runs, while walking two and striking out six. Reliever Zach Britton walked Cowart with the bases loaded for the final Angels run.

"Every team (struggles) when the other pitches well," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I'll tip my hat to them. We had four hits today. They pitched well. They pitched well for the most part for the whole series.

"Kevin was good, real good. He made one mistake (Cron's home run) trying to go up and in off the plate, and threw it down and in and it ended up hitting the bat."

Rickard had a bruise above his left eye after being hit but Showalter said he's basically OK and will be evaluated further on Thursday.

The Angels finished the homestand with a 6-3 record and begin a nine-game road trip to Seattle, Washington and Baltimore. The Orioles continue their West Coast road trip, playing four games at Oakland and three at Seattle.

NOTES: Angels OF Cesar Puello was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake and started in left field, making his major league debut. He went 1-for-3 and stole two bases. The 26-year-old hit .327 with 13 home runs, 61 RBIs and 18 stolen bases in 87 games in Triple-A. ... Angels LHP Jose Alvarez was optioned to Salt Lake. ... DH Albert Pujols, C Martin Maldonado and OF Cameron Maybin got the day off Wednesday for the Angels. Maybin pinch hit in the eighth ... Los Angeles LHP Andrew Heaney (elbow) has thrown five rehab games in the minors and is expected to pitch one more before rejoining the Angels. ... Orioles 1B Mark Trumbo (rib) was activated from the DL and started Wednesday at first base. He's hitting .238 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs. He went 0-for-3 and is now 0-for-22 in his last five games. ... Orioles LHP Donnie Hart was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. ... Orioles RHP Steve Johnson was traded to the Chicago White Sox for cash. ... SS Tim Beckham extended his hitting streak to nine games since joining the Orioles.