by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s were shut out for the first time this year as they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Los Angeles Angels 2-0 Thursday afternoon in Anaheim. The A’s continue to have a game when everyone is hitting and they score lots of runs and the next game when hits are hard to come by and they can barely put any runs on the board. This was one of the games when they couldn’t get the hits and they couldn’t score.The A’s did have a couple of chances in the seventh and eighth innings,  but they could not get the clutch hit that would have put some runs on the board.

The game featured two pitchers being used as spot starters by their managers. Jesse Chavez made his first start of the year filling in for Jesse Hahn. Chavez pitched well enough to win as he went six innings allowing just one hit. That hit, however, was a home run by Kole Calhoun with a man aboard that gave the Angels the win. The Angels’Nick Tropeano also made his first start of the year. Tropeano went six innings allowing no runs and just five hits to earn his first win of the year.

The Angels scored two runs in the bottom of the third. Angel catcher Drew Butera reached on a throwing error by Brett Lawrie.Chavez, pitching out of the stretch, threw one right down the middle of the plate and Kole Calhoun made him pay as the ball went flying out of the park into the right field seats. That was all the scoring in the game. Angels win 2-0.

Game notes- the A’s used three pitchers, Chavez for six, Dan Otero in the 7th and Tyler Clippard in the 8th and all the Angels could muster was one hit but that hit was the difference in the game. The Angels used four pitchers, Tropeano, Fernando Salas, Joe Smith and Huston Street.

The A’s split the four game series with the Angels and were 5-5 on the ten game road trip. The A’s return home Friday night to face the Houston Astros for three games. The Friday night game will feature Scott Kazmir(2-0,1.33 ERA) going for Oakland and he will be opposed by the Astros’ ace, Dallas Keuchel (2-0, 0.90 ERA)

Game time will be Friday night at 7:05 at the O.Co Coliseum.