Oakland A’s starter Joey Estes (right) is excited after completing a shutout against the Los Angeles Angels at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jul 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

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Time: 2:14

Attendance:14,837

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Oakland, CA

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The A’s made it two in a row this balmy Wednesday evening on the eve of the fourth of July, with their 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels behind the strong—to say this least—pitching of Joey Estes, who went the route for the first complete game by an Athletics hurler since June 1, 2021.

He was supported by a variegated offense that included two home runs and in which the only member of the lineup who didn’t get at least one hit was JJ Bleday, who was due up after Max Schuemann made the team’s last out.

Estes had come within a questionable ball-strike call and a decent follow up reliever of, at the minimum, a no decision in his most recent previous start last Wednesday at the Big A. He ended up being the losing pitcher in a 5-2 defeat, which brought him to this balmy evening’s midweek, pre holiday contest at 2-3, 5.24. Tonight he turned what might have been into what was the outstanding A’s pitching performance of the year.

The 22 year old righty threw 92 pitches, only 24 of which were balls, to 30 batters and held them to five hits, all of them singles, and a walk while striking out four and inducing three twin killings.

Davis Daniel, who started for the team previously known as the Los Angeles Angels, the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, before coming, weary at heart, back where they started from, once more the Los Angeles Angels was drafted by the Halos in the June 2019 draft but didn’t play that year because he had undergone Tommy John surgery in April.

He missed the next season because the minor leagues didn’t operate in 2020. From 2021 through ’23 he had a minor league record of 11-16, 3.95. He went 1-1, 2.29 for the in three games for the Angels last year and was 1-0, 0.00 for them when he toed the rubber Wednesday night.

The 27 year old righty lasted 5-1/3 innings before yielding to Matt Moore with runners on first and second with two outs and the carpetbagger A’s ahead, 4-0. Daniel was charged with a post humus run for a total of five.

One run was unearned, but Daniel himself committed the second inning error that led to its being scored. Moore allowed Brett Harris the single that drove in the inherited runner but didn’t allow any runs of his own. Carson Fulmer pitched the last two innings for the Anaheim nine, allowing two hits but no walks or runs while striking out three.

Matt Shuemann’s 376 foot round tripper to left put the A’s ahead in the bottom of the second. Brett Rooker’s 389 foot blast, also to right, in the sixth was their other four base hit. The A’s also played small ball. Lawrence Butler singled in the second and went to third on Daniel’s throwing error on a comebacker by Brett Harris. Then, with Schuermann at the plate, Harris was picked off, but Butler scored in the run down for the A’s second tally.

The Athletics’ fielding was sharp, as shown by their trio of double plays. Also noteworthy was Harris’s eye catching grab at third of Luis Rengifo’s scorching line drive in the top of the first.

The A’s will—dare I say this?—go for the sweep in a fourth of July day game Thursday at 1:07pm PT. They’ll sent southpaw JP Sears (4-7, 5.00) against right hander Roansy Contreras (3-0, 3.82).