by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Los Angeles Angels and Oakland A’s continued to battle tooth and nail. The game was a thriller as both teams refused to quit as each team rallied to take the lead. The contest was very similar to the Monday marathon which the Angels won. The Angels won again on Tuesday night by a score of 8-7. The Angels used eight pitchers, and Oakland sent seven to the hill. The A’s lost their eighth straight game. With the win, the Angels took over the second spot in the Wild Card Race and now lead the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles by just 1/2 game.

The A’s starter Kendall Graveman lasted just five innings. Graveman gave up five runs and threw over 100 pitches and did not get a decision. The Angels’ Garrett Richards, making his first start since April 5th, threw just 53 pitches before leaving in the fourth. Richards missed most of the 2016 season with an arm injury and he was on the DL for most of the 2017 season.

The Angels put a crooked number on the board in the top of the third. The Angels scored three runs on just two hits. A’s starter Kendall Graveman could not find the strike zone as he issued three walks and uncorked a wild pitch. He walked C.j.Cron to start the inning. Martin Maldonado singled to put men on at first and third with no out. Brandon Phillips singled to drive in Cron with the Angels’ first run. Maldonado went to third on the play and Phillips went to second on the throw.  Mike Trout walked to load the bases. Graveman issued a walk to Justin Upton to force in a run. Albert Pujols hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in the Angels third run. Right fielder Kole Calhoun hit a scorcher that A’s first baseman Matt Olson fielded cleanly and Olson’s throw home nailed Mike Trout who was running on contact. The Angels lead 3-0 in the middle of the third.

In the bottom of the fourth, Oakland put a run on the board. The human doubles machine, Jed Lowrie, led off the inning with his 42nd double of the season. He went to third on a Khris Davis single and scored when Chad Pinder doubled. Davis stopped at third. Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia did not hesitate and removed his starter. He brought in Blake Wood to pitch and Wood struck out Bruce Maxwell and Matt Chapman to end the threat.

The Angels tacked on another run in the top of the fifth. Brandon Phillips led off with a single. Phillips was out at second when Mike Trout hit into a fielder’s choice. Trout promptly stole second. Justin Upton followed with a single. Trout, attempting to score from second, was thrown out at home on a very close play. Upton went to second on the throw home. Graveman had two strikes on Pujols but could not retire him. With the count 3-2, Pujols singled o drive in Upton. The A’s, with two out in the bottom of the fifth, exploded for four runs to take the lead 5-4. Matt Joyce started the fireworks with a solo homer. Jed Lowrie singled, and he scored when Khris Davis hit his 38th of the year. The crowd was still cheering when Matt Olson followed with his 15th long ball. Olson now has fifteen in his first 53 games. Only Mark McGwire had 18 in his first 53 games as an Athletic.

The Angels regained the lead in the sixth. A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in lefty Sam Moll to pitch. Moll struck out Andrelton Simmons for the first out. The next batter, Luis Valbuena, walked. That was it for Moll. Melvin brought in righty Liam Hendriks to pitch to C.J.Cron. The strategy did not work as Cron went yard and put the Angels ahead 6-5. The A’s came right back and tied the game. Angels’ reliever, Troy Scribner, walked Matt Chapman and Boog Powell to put men on at first and second with no out. Marcus Semien doubled to drive in Chapman. Powell was held up at third by Steve Scarsone. Matt Joyce struck out. Jed Lowrie walked to load the bases. Davis struck out, and Matt Olson ground out to end the inning.

With two out in the eighth, the Angels scored the go-ahead run. Luis Valbuena started the rally with a walk. A’s pitcher could not get past C.J.Cron. Cron, who homered his last at-bat, struck again as he tripled down the right field line to drive in Kaleb Cowart who was running for Valbuena. The Angels now lead 7-6 with the A’s coming to bat. The A’s wasted no time as they scored a run to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Boog Powell led off with a double. Marcus Semien laid down a perfect bunt to send Powell to third. Matt Joyce, a former Angel, drove in Powell with a sac fly to left.  The game is tied at seven after eight.

Santiago Casilla is now pitching for Oakland in the ninth. Casilla retired the first two batters. He walked Justin Upton and had to now face Albert Pujols. Casilla won the battle but it wasn’t easy as Pujols hit a long fly to right field that was caught for the third out and the fans let out a collective sigh. The A’s fail to score in the bottom of the ninth and the game is now in overtime.

In the tenth, with two outs, Blake Treinen hit Kaleb Cowart with a pitch. C.J.Cron had his third hit of the night when he singled. Ben Revere, pinch-hitting for Martin Maldonado, singled to left. Matt Joyce made a valiant effort to catch the ball but the ball was just a smidge out of his reach and Cowart scored the Angels’ eighth run. Eduardo Paredes is in to pitch for LA.  The A’s rally fizzled in the bottom of the tenth. The A’s loaded the bases with two out, but Jed Lowrie hit a fly ball to center to end the game. The Angels win 8-7.

Game Notes- The A’s and Angels conclude the three-game series Wednesday afternoon at 12:35 pm. Lefty Sean Manaea with a record of 9-9 will pitch for Oakland, and the Angels will counter with lefty Tyler Scaggs. Scaggs is 1-4 for the season, but one can be sure he will be out of the game as soon as he runs into a bit of trouble. Mike Scioscia has used twenty pitchers in the last two games, and Tuesday’s game was the fourth game in a row that the Angels have played that went past the four-hour mark.

The last time the A’s lost eight in a row was from May 22nd to June 1st, 2112.

Time of game was four hours and twelve minutes and 11,110 people were on hand to see the A’s lose again.