An Oakland A’s fan watches from the Big A in Anaheim stands with a bag over his head during the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Wed Apr 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s gave the ball to rookie Luis Medina Wednesday night to face the Los Angeles Angels. Medina, who can throw the ball 100 mph, started well, setting the Angels down in order in the first inning. Things went south in the second inning. The Angels sent ten men to the plate and scored five times.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay did not want to use his bullpen early in the game. Medina pitched five innings and gave up eight runs and eight hits in his Major League debut. The A’s offense scored three runs off Angels’ starter Patrick Sandoval. Sandoval improved to 2-1 for the year.

Both of his wins have been over the A’s. Sandoval is 4-0 lifetime against Oakland. The Angels rolled to an 11-3 victory over the hapless Oakland A’s.

The A’s manufactured a run in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Esteury Ruiz reached on an infield single. Angels’ starter Patrick Sandoval retired Jordan Diaz for the first out. With Brent Rooker at the plate, Ruiz stole second and went to third on catcher Matt Thaiss’ throwing error. Rooker grounded, and Ruiz scored.

The A’s led 1-0 In the bottom of the second, the Angels sent ten men to the plate and put five runs on the board. Medina gave up five hits, three of which were doubles and a walk. Brandon Drury, Matt Thaiss, and Zach Neto had the doub

The A’s made it a 5-2 game in the third. A’s shortstop Kevin Smith blasted his second homer of the season over the center field wall. Sandoval hit Esteury Ruiz with a pitch with one. Ruiz stole second and third, but the A’s could not get him home. Ruiz has three steals in three innings.

The Angels increased the lead to 6-2 in their half of the third. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe blasted his seventh dinger of the year to give the Halos a four-run advantage after three innings of play.

The A’s continued to chip away at the Angels’ lead. With one out, Kevin Smith singled. Conner Capel singled, sending Smith to third. Esteury Ruiz singled to drive in Smith with the A’s third run. Ruiz stole second. It was his fourth steal of the game.

Sandoval retired the next two hitters to end the rally. The Angels lead 6-3 midway through the fifth. The Angels answered by plating two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Luis Medina, starting his fifth inning of work, walked Hunter Renfroe. Brandon Drury, who has hammered A’s pitching in the series, homered to give the Angels an 8-3 lead.

The Angels added an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth. Shintaro Fujinami was now pitching for the A’s. Fujinami retired Taylor Ward for the first out. Mike Trout worked Fujinami for a walk. The next hitter, Fujinami’s countryman Shohei Ohtani, lined a single to left. A’s left fielder Brent Rooker had the ball hit his glove and got by him for an error. Trout scored. The Angels have a commanding 9-3 lead at the end of six complete.

The Angels’ offense continued to pound the A’s pitching. In the bottom of the eighth, A’s reliever walked the first hitter, Taylor Ward. Smith retired Mike Trout for the first out. Smith now had to face Shohei Ohtani. The A’s pitchers had controlled Ohtani so far in the series. Not this time, as Ohtani blasted his sixth tater of the season to put the Angels ahead 11-3.

The A’s went down 1-2-3 in the ninth. The Angels win 11-3.

Game Notes- With the loss, Oakland is 5-20. It is the worst record in baseball. The Angels improved to 13-12.

The line score for Oakland was three runs, six hits, and three errors. The Angels’ line score was 11 runs, 12 hits, and one error.

The A’s Esteury Ruiz had four stolen bases. Ruiz is the first player under 24 years old to have four stolen bases in a game since Rickey Henderson did it in 1983.

Brandon Drury was the hitting star for the Angels. Drury doubled and homered and had three RBIs. In the first three games of the series, Drury has hit three home runs and knocked in nine.

The A’s will send J P Sears (0-1 ERA 4.98) to the hill to face Shohei Ohtani (3-0 ERA 0.64) on Thursday.

The time of the game was two hours and 30 minutes. 24, 924 fans watched the Angels rout the A’s 11-3.