Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker hits a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the fourth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Sep 2, 2023 (AP News photo)
Los Angeles (64-72). 100 000 000 – 1. 6. 0
Oakland (41-95). 000 200 00x – 2 1. 0
Time: 2:31
Attendance: 13,709
By Lewis Rubman
OAKLAND–The press box was jammed, though not jam packed, Saturday afternoon with members of the Japanese media, who had come to see Shohei Ohtani, who still is a draw, even when he’s confined to the role of designated hitter.
This was in contrast to the 12,709 paying customers sprinkled around the stands on a warm but overcast afternoon in the once magnificent Oakland Coliseum. The game was a beauty, a hard fought 2-1 Oakland victory over the visitors from Anaheim.
Paul Blackburn, Oakland’s starter, was 3-4, 3.93 when he came to work but had more encouraging numbers for his last seven starts, 2-2, 2.36. When Kirby Snead relieved him to start the sixth, Blackburn had thrown 86 pitched, 51 of which counted as strikes.
Blackburn allowed one run, which was earned, on four hits and three walks, one of them intentional, while striking out four. Blackburn earned his fourth win against as many defeats and lowered his earned run average to. 4-4, 3.81. Trevor May handled the Halos in the ninth.
Spencer Patton replaced Snead after the lefty hurled a scoreless sixth, followed by Dany Jiménez, who got through the eighth without yielding anything more dangerous than a walk to Randall Griechuk, whom the Angels had put on the waiver wire but took back when no one claimed him.
Angels manager, Berkeley alum Phil Nevin also chose a right hander to start for his team, Griffin Channing, a veteran of four big league seasons. This was his 18th start of the season, and he brought a 7-4, 4.38 record to it, 4-2, 3.32 over his 10 previous starts.
He features a four seamer, which he uses 35% of the time, slider (32.4%), change of pace (19.9%), curve (12.1%), and a very occasional (0.6%) sinker. He lasted six innings, yielding to Aaron Loup, who pitched a perfect seventh, and Andrew Wantz, who shut the A’s out in the eighth, allowing only a single to right.
Canning faced 22 Athletics batters and threw 89 pitches, 61 going as strikes. He allowed a pair of runs, both earned, on four hits, including a costly two run homer. He didn’t allow a single walk and struck out eight. He was charged with a tough loss, and his record now stands at 7-5 4.30.
The Angels took an early lead, loading the bases with one out in the top of the first. on walks to the first two batters Blackburn faced, rookie Nolan Schanuel, who now has reached base safely in all of his first 12 major league games, and Ohtani.
After Brandon Drury went down swinging, a single to center by Mike Moustakas loaded the bases. Luis Rengifo lofted a fly to shallow right; Nick Allen made a nice, tumbling catch of it, and the sacrifice fly brought in Schanuel with the game’s first run.
Oakland threatened in the bottom of the second after Seth Brown’s one out double to right, but Jordan Diaz fanned, and Mickey Moniak corralled Díaz’s towering fly to the center field wall
They broke through in the fourth. Ryan Noda lined a one out opposite field single down the left field line. Then Brent Rooker sent a 436 foot shot over the left center field wall for his 23rd round tripper of the year. The one and two change up came in at 89.7mph and left at 106mph. I guess that’s why Canning throws that pitch only 0.6% of the time.
The move to replace Snead with Patton in the seventh was not a successful one. Eduardo Escobar hit a leadoff single to right and stole second. Patton issued back to back walks to Kyren Paris and Schanuel. Meanwhile, Andrew Velázquez, running for Escobar, stole second and was thrown out trying to steal third. This brought up Ohtani with runners on first and second and one out.
It also brought Sam Long, a lefty, out of the bullpen to face the Halos’ left handed DH, who popped an infield fly to short. Then Brandon Drury flew out to Lawrence Butler in left center. The A’s had dodged the Angels’ bullets.
Trevor May went to the mound in the visitors’ ninth trying to protect a 2-1 lead and earn his 16th save in 19 attempts. He issued a lead off walk to Velázquez, who went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Paris, who went to third on Schanuel’s ground out to first.
Once more Ohtani came up with a chance to undo the A’s advantage. Once more Ohtani received an intentional walk. May then came through by getting Drury one more to fly out to center.
Saturday afternoon’s win leaves Oakland 41-95, 3.01, which looks good when compared with the record of the ill-fated Cleveland Spiders on this day in 1899, 19-102, 1.57. They were idle that day but still had 33 games left in the season, which they finished at 20-134, .130. That’s one record for futility that the A’s won’t match this year.
They are, however, still in the running against the 1962 New York Mets, the gold standard for ineffectiveness in the modern era. The not yet Amazin’s squeaked by Bobby Shantz and the Cardinals in Sportsman’s Park, 4-1, to raise their record to 35-103, .254, just a tad better than the 40-120, .250 at which they finished their season in hell.
Sunday, the Angels, who, by the way, are trying to get a new stadium, will send left hander Tyler Anderson (5-6,5.58) against an as yet unnamed Oakland pitcher.
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