Elvis Andrus (17) and Sean Murphy (12) share a forearm bash after Murphy’s two run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning at the Oakland Coliseum as Ramon Luareano (22) looks on against the Los Angeles Angels at the Big A in Anaheim on Wed Aug 3, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s bounced back to beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. The A’s had to face the Angels’ ace, Shohei Ohtani. The young man from Japan entered the game with a record of 9-6 and an ERA of 2.81.

Ohtani was in the Angels’ lineup as the designated hitter. Ohtani is hitting .255 with 22 homers and 62 RBIs. The A’s sent James Kaprielian out to do the pitching for Oakland. Kaprielian got off to a slow start as he had to deal with a shoulder issue early in the season. He was 0-5 entering July. In July, he was 2-0 with an ERA of 1.03.

His record for the season before Wednesday’s game was 2-5 with an ERA of 4.50. The smart money probably would be putting money on Ohtani to win the game.

Kaprielian had other ideas and outpitched Ohtani to win his third game of the year. Kaprielian went five and 1/3rd innings and allowed just one run. Ohtani was the losing pitcher. Ohtani was touched for three runs as he absorbed his seventh loss of the season.

The A’s drew first blood in the top of the fourth. Ramon Laureano reached safely on Angels’ third baseman Luis Rengifo’s throwing error. Laureano went to second on a wild pitcher. A’s catcher Sean Murphy singled to drive in Laureano with the A’s first run.

The Angels tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Their center-fielder, Magneuris Sierra, led off the inning with a single. Kaprielian retired David Fletcher on a ground-out. Sierra advanced to second on the play.

Kaprielian retired Shohei Ohtani on another ground-out. Sierra motored to third on the play. Luis Rengifo atoned for an error in the previous inning by hitting a double to drive in Sierra with the tying run. The score was 1-1 after five complete.

The A’s put two more runs on the board in the top of the sixth. Ramon Laureano led off the sixth with a single. The next hitter, Sean Murphy, blasted his 13th home run over the fence in left field to put the A’s in the lead 3-1. Ohtani retired the next two hitters. He walked Jed Lowrie and gave up a single to Chad Pinder. Angels’ manager Phil Nevin brought Aaron Loup to get the final out of the inning.

Neither team scored after the sixth inning. The A’s used Sam Moll to finish the sixth, A.J.Puk in the seventh, Domingo Acevedo in the eighth, and Zach Jackson earned his third save by setting the Angels down 1-2-3 in the ninth. The A’ win 3-1.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 40-66. The Angels fall to 44-60. 

Kaprielian won his third game of the season. He is now 3-5. His line was five and 1/3rd innings, one run, six hits, and walked one and four strikeouts. Kaprielian threw 83 pitches. Ohtani was the losing pitcher. His record is 9-7. Ohtani has lost his last three starts.

His line was five and 2/3rds innings of work. He allowed seven hits, three runs(two earned), one walk, and seven strikeouts. Ohtani did not stay in the game as the DH even though he was done pitching. 

The hitting star for Oakland was Sean Murphy. Murph had a single and a home run. He drove in all three Oakland runs.

The teams will play the rubber game of the three-game series Thursday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. The game will start at 1:07 pm.

Paul Blackburn (6-6, 4.15) will go for Oakland. Janson Junk (1-0, 0.00) pitches for the Angels.

The time of the game was 3:08. 25,190 fans watched as the A’s beat the Angels 3-1.