Lawrence Butler on Wednesday afternoon in the Angels vs A’s game at Sutter Health Park (Photo: Athletics on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

WEST SACRAMENTO — The A’s continued to reel on Wednesday night at Sutter Health Park, falling to the Los Angeles Angels 10-5.

There were bright spots for the A’s, including two towering home runs from Nick Kurtz, who appears to be breaking out of his slump. But once again, the pitching couldn’t support the offense, and the A’s fell behind late.

Manager Mark Kotsay addressed the growing frustration during the A’s current eight-game losing streak and noted the bullpen’s recent struggles.

“I think each of our leverage guys, if you look back over the last two weeks, has had a rough one,” Kotsay said. “These are stretches you go through as a club. You don’t want it to continue, obviously. We had a couple games where we pitched well and didn’t hit. The last couple nights we’ve had 10–12 hits and scored runs, but we haven’t thrown the ball well. So it’s kind of a perfect storm in this eight-game stretch.”

The bullpen combined for four innings of six-hit, four-run baseball—unable to keep the game close. Tyler Ferguson relieved JP Sears in the sixth and tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one. But things unraveled when Michel Otanez came in. After two solid innings earlier in the series, Otanez couldn’t record an out on Wednesday, giving up two runs on two hits and walking two.

Matt Krook followed and had mixed results, surrendering two runs on three hits over an inning and a third. Anthony Maldonado wrapped things up by striking out both batters he faced.

As for Sears, Kotsay credited the Angels with a solid approach.

“I think the Angels had a great game plan,” Kotsay said. “They waited him out and got the sweeper up in the zone. He lacked a bit of fastball command, and they took advantage of sitting soft and jumping on pitches close to or in the zone. The result was a few home runs.”

Sears gave up four homers over five innings, allowing eight hits and six runs in total. It felt as if it was feast or famine for the Angels, as nearly every swing against Sears seemed to either result in a home run or an out.

Offensively, there were encouraging signs for the A’s—though the team stranded 13 runners, a number that needs to improve.

Lawrence Butler launched a three-run homer in the second inning to give the A’s an early 3-2 lead. But they quickly surrendered the lead and never got it back. Nick Kurtz provided the rest of the offense with solo home runs in the fifth and seventh innings, both pulled to right-center and combining for 866 feet per Statcast.

With the loss, the A’s have dropped eight straight and now sit at 22-28. JP Sears (4-4, 4.00 ERA) took the loss, while Hector Neris (2-1, 12.71 ERA) earned the win.

The A’s will turn to Luis Severino (1-4, 4.22 ERA) on Thursday as they look to halt the skid. Severino will need to overcome his own struggles at home. The Angels will counter with Ty Anderson (2-1, 3.04 ERA). First pitch is set for 12:35 PM PST.