Former Viking to return to O.C. facing Angels

Marina High graduate Daric Barton is scheduled to be in town next week when the Oakland A’s open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Angel Stadium. The series opener is set for 7:05 p.m. Monday.

Barton, a 2003 graduate of Marina, plays first base for Oakland. He’s hitting .209 this season with five home runs and 32 runs batted in going into Wednesday’s game against Minnesota.

The A’s activated Barton on Aug. 1 from the 15-day disabled list. He had been placed there on July 19 after suffering a neck strain and cut to the top of his head that required six staples as a result of a dive into a shallow pool in Huntington Beach during the All-Star break.

During the 2007 season, Barton played the entire regular season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats and was with the team in the first round of the Pacific Coast League playoffs before he was promoted Sept. 10. He went on to start the remainder of the A’s games and batted .347 in his Major League debut.

During his senior year at Marina, Barton belted 10 home runs and hit .372.

— Mike Sciacca