Magneuris Sierra swings for an RBI double in the top of the 12th inning at the Oakland Coliseum for the Los Angeles Angels against the Oakland A’s on Wed Aug 10, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s lost their fifth straight game on Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. It took the Los Angeles Angels twelve innings to down the A’s. The Green and Gold fought hard, but they still came up short. The Angels won the game 5-4.

The A’s had a couple of new faces in the lineup. Lefty J.P.Sears, acquired in the trade with the Yankees for Frankie Montas, made his first start as an Athletic. Sears was impressive as he went five and 1/3rd innings and allowed three hits and two runs.

The other new face was rookie Cal Stevenson. Stevenson was in center field, and he made his family and the A’s fans when he collected his first Major League in the sixth inning.

The Angels put three on the board in the top of the sixth. With one out shortstop, Andrew Velasquez reached on an infield single. Second baseman David Fletcher, a longtime A’s irritant, singled to put men on at first and second.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in lefty Sam Moll to face the Angels’ superstar slugger, Shohei Ohtani. Moll struck him out. The next hitter, Luis Rengifo, sent Moll’s pitch over the wall in left field to put the Angels ahead 3-0.

The A’s scored three runs in their half of the seventh. Lefty Aaron Loup was now pitching for LA. A’s catcher Stephen Vogt walked to start the inning. Loup retired Elvis Andrus and Chad Pinder on fly balls to center.

The Angels brought in righty Andrew Wantz to pitch. Wantz walked Nick Allen and Cal Stevenson to load the bases. Tony Kemp doubled to clear the bases. Kemp was out trying to make it to third. The A’s and Angels are tied at three apiece.

There was no scoring by either team in the eighth or ninth innings. Dany Jimenez was on the mound for Oakland in the tenth. Former SF Giant, Steven Duggar, was the ghost runner. Jimenez retired Max Stassi for the first out.

Angels’ centerfielder Magneuris Sierra singled to drive in Duggar to put the Angels ahead 4-3. The A’s tied the game in their half of the inning. Skye Bolt was the ghost runner. Cal Stevenson’s sacrifice bunt sent Bolt to third.

Jaime Barria retired Kemp for the second out. Ramon Laureano singled to drive in Bolt to make it 4-4. Neither team scored in the 11th. 

In the 12th, Duggar was the ghost runner again. Sierra doubled to drive him in with the Angels’ fifth run. Jaime Barria got the last three outs of the game to earn his first career save. The Angels win 5-4.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s are now 41-71. They lost all five games on the homestand. The Angels improved to 49-63.

The A’s used seven pitchers Wednesday afternoon. Austin Pruitt was the losing pitcher. Barria earned a win and a save.

The line score for Oakland was four runs, seven hits, and one error. The Angels’ line was five runs, six hits, and no errors.

The hitting stars for Oakland were Tony Kemp and Ramon Laureano. Kemp had two doubles and three RBIs. Laureano had two singles, a double, and one RBI.

The A’s were four-for 44, with runners in scoring position for the five-game homestand. The A’s set a new record in baseball by going 71 games without a triple.

The A’s are off on Thursday. They are off to Texas for three games with the Houston Astros and four with the Texas Rangers. On Friday the A’s will be starting Adam Oller (1-5, 7.63) the Astros will be starting Luis Garcia (8-8, 3.93) a 5:10 pm PDT first pitch at Minute Maid Field.

The time of the game was 3:45. 8,286 fans were on hand to see the A’s lose their fifth straight game.