Tag: Oakland A’s

A’s blown out by Mariners 9-2 in series opener

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By: Lewis Rubman

Seattle: 9 | 10 | 1 (8 LOB)
Oakland: 2 | 7 | 1 (9 LOB)

OAKLAND — The A’s came home tonight to the newly rebaptized Ring Central Coliseum 1 1/2 games behind Texas for second place in the AL West and a whopping 11 games behind the blazing Houston Astros for the division lead. They face a daunting task in what what’s left of the season if they intend to make the playoffs, but the 11 days since their last home game has given the team some reason to hope. They played 10 games in the exotic territories of Disneyland, Six Flags Over Texas, and the Dalí Museum, and managed to come out ahead six times. The green and gold even managed to split the four-game, three-day series in the Arlington heat against the Rangers. The back end of the bullpen still looks shaky, but on Tuesday night in Stockton AJ Puk and Jesús Luzardo matched each other’s speed and the Weather Bureau’s temperature readings, all well into the high ’90s at the start of the game. Both lefties, rehabbing for the A’s advanced single-A affiliate, showed a wide range of pitches and impressive command, steadily working the corners of the plate. Admittedly, Puk surrendered a home run to the third batter he faced, the highly regarded Heliot Ramos, playing center field for the Giants’ San José farm team, but both hurlers showed they’re almost ready to join the A’s mound corps. They could take some pressure off the relief staff, by joining either the bullpen or the rotation. In the latter role, they probably could go at least one inning deeper into games than some of the more struggling starters, who frequently leave the game before completing six innings.

Right handed Chris Bassitt (3-2, 3.57 ERA), who throws an above average sinker, opened the contest against the Western Division cellar dwelling Seattle Mariners, who sent 6-6, 4.77 ERA Marcos González, a lefty who, like Bassitt, is partial to sinker balls, to the mound.

The A´s threatened early, loading the bases in the bottom of the first on singles to left by Marcus Semien, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games, and Matt Chapman, followed by a walk to Khris Davis. But Mark Canha had flied to right between the two singles, and Chad Pingrounded into an inning ending in a 6-4-3 double play.

They broke through an inning later on a two out double to left by Jurickson Profar, hitting right handed, his strong side, and a throwing error by M’s second baseman, Dee Gordon, that enabled the hustling Profar to score from second.

Seattle struck back in the top of the third when Dee Gordon lined a double that landed just short of a diving Laureano in left center and advanced to third on a mirror image single that fell in front of the again diving Laureano this time in right center. After Bassitt got Mallex Smith to whiff on a 1-2 curve ball for the first out of the inning, Kyle Seager drove Gordon home with a slicing sacrifice fly to PInder in left. Bassitt escaped further trouble by getting Domingo Santana to end the inning by flying out to the busy Laureano.

Oakland unknoted the tie on a one out triple off the left field wall by Chapman, followed by a strike out of Davis and a walk to Pinder, which brought Matt Olson to the plate with runners on first and third with two outs. He delivered a solid single to right, to plate Chapman with the leading run.

But the M’s soon reversed that. Daniel Vogelbach walked and advanced to second on Omar Narváez’s single to right center. It looked as though Bassitt might wiggle out of the tight spot when Tim Beckham hit a tailor made double play ball to Profar, but the second sacker’s toss to Semien clunked off the shortstop’s glove, Second base umpire Dana DeMuth ruled that Semien had dropped the ball on the transfer, but a video review clearly showed that both he and Semien had erred. With the basess now loaded JP Crawford doubled in Vogelbach and Narvaéz with a liner that Chapman deflected into right field. Gordon’s sac fly to right brought in Beckham with Seattle’s third run of the frame. They now led, 4-2 Melvin finally removed Bassitt with two on and two outs in the top of the sixth. Bomel´s choice to relieve the pitcher was left handed Wei-Chung Wang, who heretofore had yielded three hits and no runs in six appearances. He closed out the inning with a foul popup to Chapman.

Wang’s brief streak of near invincibility ended in the seventh, when Omar Narváez homered into the right field seats wiith Domingo Santana on base to stretch the M’s advantage to 6-2.

The M’s rubbed salt in the A’s multiple wounds in the top of the eighth when Aaron Brooks, charged with mopping up what was left of the game, gave up a single to ex-Giant Mac Williamson and a homer to right center off the bat of Mallex Smith.That made it 8-2. Brooks hit two and extended the Seattle centerfielder’s hitting streak to thirteen games. In the ninth, Brooks hit two batters, one of whom, Narváez, scored on JP Crawford’s double to center.

That’s all she wrote.

Seattle used three pitchers. The winner was González, who, in seven innings, brought his ERA down to 4.50, while notching his seventh victory over six defeats. Adams pitched a pretty clean eight inning, allowing one walk and achieiving one strike out. Matt Festa closed the A’s down with similar numbers.

Oakland also used three pitchers. Bassitt surrrended four runs (three earned) on five hits, walking and striking out four in five and 2/3 innings. His loss brought him to 3-3, 3.57 ERA. Wang gave up two earned runs in one and a third inning,and Brooks three in two frames.

Saturday’s 6:07 PM game will feature Frankie Montás (8-2, 2.84 ERA) for Oakland. Wade LeBlanc (3-2, 5.31 ERA) will toe the rubber for Seattle.

We eagerly await the arrival of Puk and Luzardo.

A’s start a 10-game homestand against the Mariners on Friday night

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Oakland A’s finished a three-city, 10-game road trip on Wednesday in Tampa Bay. The A’s had a successful trip as they went 6-4 on the trip. They are off today, and resume play Friday night against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are in last place in the AL West. They got off to a good start, but things have gone south for them since mid-April. Scott Servais manages the M’s, and people in the Pacific Northwest are sensing that Servais may not be leading the club shortly. There are rumors that he will be replaced, but these are just rumors.

The M’s won the first four games between the two teams. The A’s swept the three-game series when the M’s were in Oakland in late May. The M’s will have lefty Marco Gonzales pitch Friday night. Gonzales beat the A’s on March 20th in Oakland. He is 6-6 and has a 4.75 ERA. Chris Bassitt will pitch for Oakland. Bassitt is 3-2 and has a 3.57 ERA. Friday night’s game will start at 6:37 pm and the A’s will have the first fireworks show of the season after the game.

The A’s will send their ace, Frankie Montas, to the mound on Saturday. Montas (8-2, 2.84 ERA) hasn’t lost a decision since April 29th vs. the Red Sox. Since then, he is 4-0 with a 2.74 ERA. The M’s plan to use an opener to pitch the first inning. They will bring in Wade LeBlanc from the bullpen to pitch in the second. LeBlanc has gone 14 innings and is 1-0 and has a 1.93 ERA in the last two outings coming out of the pen. Sunday’s game will feature the M’s Mike Leake going against Mike Fiers. Leake is 5-6 and has a 4.26 ERA. Leake is 1-2 in seven starts against the A’s the past two seasons. Fiers is 6-3, and he won his last start 4-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday.

The M’s lineup will not be the same the last time they were in Oakland. They have several key players on the Injured List. Shortstop J.P.Crawford is out with an arm injury. Outfielder Mitch Haniger, who absolutely loves to kill the A’s, suffered a ruptured testicle injury and will not be available. Third baseman Ryon Healy, the former Athletic, may be available. Finally, the king Felix Hernandez, who made his living beating the A’s, will also not be available.

The M’s still have players that can do damage. The A’s pitchers will have to find ways to slow down hitters such as Edwin Encarnacion, Dee Gordon, Tim Beckham, Kyle Seager, Daniel Vogelbach, Domingo Santana, Mallex Smith, and Mac Williamson.

The A’s lineup is potent. They have players up and down the lineup that can hit the ball out of the park. Their defense is solid. Third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Matt Olson are Gold Glove candidates. Both players can hit the ball out of the park, too. Marcus Semien has been solid all year. Semien, who had trouble fielding his first two seasons with the A’s, worked hard to improve, and the results are showing. Jurickson Profar is playing better. His fielding has improved, and his batting average is on the rise. Both Semien and Profar have some pop in their bats. Catcher Josh Phegley, playing every day for the first time in his career, has given the A’s some offense from the catcher’s spot in the lineup. Outfielders Ramon Laureano, Stephen Piscotty, and Robbie Grossman are not easy outs. DH Khris Davis is one of the most feared sluggers in baseball.

The A’s enter the game with a record of 35-34. Seattle is 29-42. The M’s are playing the Twins in Minnesota on Thursday. The Twins are leading 10-1 late in the game. It appears the Mariners will drop to 29-43 and will be 7 1/2 games behind the A’s.

The A’s would like to add to the M’s woes this weekend. The weather has cooled down a bit and, hopefully, the fans will come out to see the A’s play. Fireworks on Friday night, and on Sunday, the A’s will be giving away a Khris Davis bat courtesy of Ashy Lumber. It will also be Youth Baseball and Softball day and Prostate Cancer Awareness Day. Sunday is Father’s Day, and taking a baseball day with the family is a great way to celebrate.

Ramon Laureano’s grand slam propels the A’s to a 6-2 win over the Rays

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Photo credit: nbcbayarea.com

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s ended the 10-game road trip with a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday afternoon. The A’s finished the road trip with a 6-4 record and return home to face the Seattle Mariners Friday night.

The A’s veteran lefty Brett Anderson pitched well again on Wednesday. Anderson gave the A’s 6 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits and two runs. The Rays’ Yonny Chirinos also pitched well. The young man from Venezuela gave the Rays six innings of work. He allowed two runs and seven hits.

The A’s put one on the board in the top of the fourth. A’s DH Khris Davis led off the inning with a double. He tagged and went to third on Stephen Piscotty’s fly ball to centerfield. Ramon Laureano drove in Davis on an infield single. The A’s added a run in the sixth when Matt Olson took Chirinos deep with his eleventh big fly of the season. The A’s led 2-0 after six.

Anderson started the seventh inning. He was effective all game long as he mixed his pitches well and kept the hitters off balance with fastballs, sliders, and changeups.

With one out, Rays’ centerfielder Guillermo Heredia singled. Former San Francisco Giant Christian Arroyo walked. Ryan Christensen, who was managing, the club as manager Bob Melvin was tossed for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire, brought in Liam Hendriks to pitch. Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz double to drive in Heredia with the Rays’ first run. Arroyo stopped at third. The A’s walked Austin Meadows, who is leading the AL in hitting, to load the bases. Rays’ right fielder Avaisal Garcia reached on a fielder’s choice. Marcus Semien fielded the ball, and since there was a force play at any base, he looked to get the out at third. Chapman wasn’t covering the base, and that forced Semien to try to get the out at second. The throw was just a hair late. Arroyo scored to tie the game.

The A’s regained the lead in the top of the eighth. Matt Olson led off with a single. Davis struck out. Piscotty walked. Rays’ reliever uncorked a wild pitch to advance Olson and Piscotty. The Rays walked Robbie Grossman to set up an inning-ending double play. The Rays brought in lefty Colin Poche to pitch to Ramon Laureano. The strategy failed as Laureano hit his ninth home run of the year to put four on the board.

The A’s called on Lou Trivino to pitch the eighth. Trivino gave up three hits, but the Rays failed to score. Blake Treinen retired the Rays to preserve the win for the A’s.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 35-34. The Rays are now 41-26 and fall 1/2 game behind the New York Yankees in the race for first place in the AL East.

Liam Hendriks was credited with the win, and his record is now 3-0. He also received credit for his first blown save. Adam Kolarek was the losing pitcher for Tampa Bay.

Up Next: The A’s are off on Thursday. They resume play Friday night when they meet the Seattle Mariners for a three-game set at the Oakland Coliseum.

A’s edge the Rays 4-3 to even the series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

A’s pitcher Mike Fiers gave the A’s six strong innings of work Tuesday night to help the Green and Gold beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 at Tropicana Field. The Rays used an “opener” Ryne Stanek to pitch the first inning. It was the 19th time Stanek had started a game. The Rays brought in lefty Jalen Beeks to pitch in the second.

Fiers got off to a rocky start as the second hitter in the Rays’ lineup, Tommy Pham, blasted his ninth of the year to give the Rays an early 1-0 lead. Fiers settled down and kept the Rays off the board until the fourth inning. With two out, Fiers walked Rays’ shortstop Willy Adames. Centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier singled to send Adames to third. Adames scored when Tampa pulled off a successful double steal. A’s catcher Josh Phegley tried to throw out Kiermaier stealing at second. His throw was a bit high. A’s second baseman Jurickson Profar had to go up and get the throw to prevent it from going into centerfield. Adames was able to score on the play. The Rays lead 2-0.

The A’s put a run on the board in the top of the fifth. Profar singled to get the rally going. Profar went to second on a passed ball and scores on Chad Pinder’s single.

In the sixth, the A’s scored three times to take the lead 4-2. With one out, Matt Chapman reached on an error. Matt Olson followed with his 10th home of the year. The next hitter, Khris Davis blasted his 14th.

The A’s used Liam Hendriks in the seventh and Lou Trivino in the eighth. Neither pitcher allowed the Rays a hit.

Blake Treinen was called in to pitch the ninth. Treinen committed a cardinal sin as he walked the leadoff hitter, Brandon Lowe. Treinen struck out Yandy Diaz for the first out. Ji-Man Choi hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out. Lowe was safe at second. Willy Adames singled to drive in Lowe. Treinin then retired Kiermaier on a ground ball to Matt Olson for the final out. The A’s won 4-3.

Game Notes: The A’s evened their record at 34-34. The Rays fell to 41-25.

Fiers improved to 6-3 for the year. Treinen earned the save.  Fiers’ line was 6 innings, 3 hits, and 2 runs. The losing pitcher for Tampa Bay was Emilio Pagan. Pagan entered the game in the sixth inning

The A’s line was four runs, seven hits, and no errors. The Rays’ line was three runs, four hits, and one error.

Up Next: The A’s meet the Rays Wednesday morning at 9:10 am. Lefty Brett Anderson (6-4, 3.98 ERA) will pitch for Oakland. Tampa has not announced its starter.

Time of game was two hours and 47 minutes. 11,132 people watched the A’s win.

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Pitching of Rays’ Morton was worth his salt; A’s get clobbered 6-2

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Photo credit: @Rays

On the A’s podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Charlie Morton stayed undefeated with a 6-2 win over the visiting Oakland A’s at Tropicana Field. Morton improved his record to a perfect 8-0, 2.10 ERA.

#2 The Rays improved their overall record in first place in the AL East, a half game up on the New York Yankees.

#3 The Rays also have won six of their last seven games and are the hottest team in baseball 41-24.

#4  The exhausted A’s didn’t get into Florida until 3 AM for the 7 PM game. The A’s, who played in Texas on Sunday, had their flight delayed and got out very late for the Tampa Bay touchdown. The team’s plane got damaged, which caused their flight even further. They played a doubleheader on Saturday before leaving Texas on Sunday and manager Bob Melvin said the team had five straight power naps.

#5 A’s starter Mike Fiers (5-3, 4.76 ERA) and the Rays will start Ryne Staneck (0-1 ERA 2.78) , the Rays are getting the best consistent pitching in baseball right now.

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s lose opener to Rays 6-2

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Photo credit: @statesfly

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s started a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field Monday night. The A’s had a little trouble getting out of Arlington, Texas on Sunday night and the team arrived late in Florida with a game they still had to play. The A’s started rookie Tanner Anderson. Anderson played college ball at Harvard and made his first Major League start. Also, Anderson is from the Tampa area, and had many family members in attendance.

The young man did not disappoint his family or his team. Anderson went 5 2/3 innings and allowed three hits and two runs. His team did not provide any run support until late in the game.

Meanwhile, Rays starter, Charlie Morton, shut down the A’s offense for seven innings. Morton, who signed with the Rays as a free agent, pitched exceptionally well. He had his cutter and slider working. He baffled the A’s right-hand hitters with an array of pitches that swept across the plate. In his seven innings of work, he gave up two hits and no runs. He won his eighth game of the year.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out and one man on, Rays rookie second baseman, Brandon Lowe (pronounced Lau) slammed his 14th home run of the year into the left-field seats. Lowe, without doubt, will be a candidate for Rookie of the Year.

The Rays added two in the seventh and two in the eighth. Kevin Kiermaier hits his eighth of the year to make it 4-0, and Ji-Man Choi hit his seventh with a man on to make it 6-0.

The A’s avoided the shutout when they scored two in the ninth. Mark Canha walked to get the rally going. Canha scored on Stephen Piscotty’s double and Piscotty scored on Robbie Grossman’s single. The A’s could do no more, and they fell to the Rays 6-2.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s record dropped to 33-34. Anderson took the loss, and he is 0-1. The Rays’ Charlie Morton improved to 8-0, and his ERA dropped to 2.10.

The Rays’ line was six runs, eight hits, and no errors. The A’s line was two runs, four hits, and no errors.

The A’s announced their shortstop Marcus Semien was named AL Player of the Week.

Up Next: Game two of the series will be played Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Game time will be at 4:10 pm.

Ranger Danger: A’s get all they can handle from Texas in 9-8 win

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By Morris Phillips

What did it take for the A’s to squeeze past host Texas on Sunday and salvage a split of the two teams’ rapid fire, four-game series?

Everything they had.

The A’s saw their 8-0, fourth inning lead evaporate over the final innings, so much so they needed an afterthought, RBI single from Khris Davis in the top of the ninth inning to provide the margin of victory in a 9-8 nail biter.

“After losing the doubleheader, we were going to take a win any way we can get it,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We gave some runs back, but thank goodness we got that last out.”

Davis’ two-run homer off Rangers’ starter Drew Smyly in the third inning seemed to accomplish the intended dismissal of the Rangers, putting the A’s up 5-0 at that point. If not, the A’s three-run fourth–highlighted by Marcus Semien’s two-run double–surely did the trick, putting the A’s up 8-0.

But it didn’t. The red hot Rangers–winners of 17 of 24 coming in–wouldn’t go away.

The Rangers took advantage of the best pitching the A’s had to offer, first with a pair of runs off staff ace Frankie Montas in the fourth. Then the Rangers burned set up man Lou Trivino for three runs in the eighth, and one more off Blake Treinen in the ninth. The A’s defense didn’t help matters with a pair of errors accounting for unearned runs in the sixth and the ninth to make things dicey.

With Treinen on to nail down the last three outs, the Rangers came up with three base hits to narrow the lead to 9-7, then 9-8 when Josh Phlegley was  charged with a passed ball, allowing Nomar Mazara to race home from third. But with two on and two out, Treinen induced a fly ball out off the bat of Ronald Guzman to end in it.

“I’m glad we pulled this one out. We needed this win,” said Davis, who homered for the first time since May 13.

The four-game set took less than 48 hours to complete, and forced the teams to endure consecutive days in the grueling, North Texas sun. The Rangers pitching staff fared better than the A’s, as they got a lengthy start from Adrian Sampson on Saturday night. The A’s had to lean on all of its significant bullpen arms at least twice, which will impact their next series at the East-leading Tampa Bay Rays starting Monday.

Oakland A’s podcast with Joey Friedman: A’s get swept up in a double dip by nemesis Texas

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photo from sfgate.com: Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson reaches up but is unable to catch the throw to the bag as Texas Rangers’ Delino DeShields (3) sprints to first in the fourth inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, June 8, 2019. DeShields reached on the throwing error by Athletics third baseman Chad Pinder. …

On the A’s podcast with Joey:

#1 The Oakland A’s got swept in a doubleheader on Saturday by the Texas Rangers after the A’s had won three of their last four games. A’s dropped the first game at the Ball Park in Arlington 10-5 the A’s starter Paul Blackburn struggled to get hitters out.

#2 The Rangers wasted no time scoring three runs in the first and two runs in the third inning to start a 5-0 lead.

#3 The A’s a team never to give in scored four runs in the top of the fourth but their pitching collapsed in the bottom of the fifth surrendering four runs and the Rangers with the eventual win in the front game.

#4 In the night cap the A’s got some good pitching out of starter Chris Bassitt who went 5.2 innings, five hits, three earned runs and five strike outs but it wasn’t enough as the A’s offense couldn’t get Bassitt any runs in the 3-1 loss.

#5 A’s and Rangers mix it up again Sunday in the conclusion of the four game series the A’s will be starting Frankie Montas (7-2 ERA 2.83) and for the Texas Rangers Drew Smyly (1-4 ERA 7.93)

Joey Friedman does the A’s podcasts each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Semien Spectacular, A’s Edge Rangers 5-3

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Photo credit: sfchronicle.com

By Matthew Harrington

The Oakland A’s found themselves a game over .500 once again after beating the Texas Rangers 5-3 in Arlington Friday night. Marcus Semien went 4 for 5 with two homeruns, including the game-winning two-run shot in the ninth and Blake Treinen wriggled out of a bases loaded one-out rally in the ninth to preserve the win for Yusmeiro Petit. Petit (1-1) also escaped a bases loaded jam in the seventh.

The A’s were trailing 3-2 entering the seventh inning, but Semien stepped up with one out and runners on first and third, singling home Mark Canha off Shelby Miller to tie the game. He knocked in his third and fourth runs of the game, launching a Jose Leclerc (1-2) offering over the wall in right for a two-run blast in the top of the 9th and a 5-3 A’s lead.

Treinen entered the bottom of the inning looking to nail down the game. He got a fly out of Rougned Odor but pinch-hitter Ronald Guzman singled and Delino DeShields and Logan Forsythe walked to load the bases. Treinen coaxed a 5-4-3 double play out of Elvis Andrus to end the game and notch his 13th save.

Oakland led 2-0 by the fifth inning after a Matt Olson RBI single and Marcus Semien’s first homer of the game, his eighth of the season, both of Texas starter Lance Lynn. A’s starter Brett Anderson was cruising through five, giving up no runs, but the 6th inning proved his downfall. Elvis Andrus hit an RBI triple, Nomar Mazara grounded out but plated a run and Hunter Pence blasted his 13th longball of the season to give the Rangers a 3-2 edge late in the game, a lead Semien would single-handedly erase.

The A’s and Rangers, separated by one game in the standings, will play two Saturday. Paul Blackburn draws the game one assignment for the Green and Gold, while Chris Bassitt gets game two. Joe Palumbo and Adrian Sampson get the ball for Texas.

A’s outlast Angels 7-4, win series

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s downed the LA Angels Thursday night to bounce back from a very tough loss on Wednesday. The A’s got off to another good start. The A’s led 6-1 midway through the fifth inning. The Angels made it 6-3 in their half of the fifth when Mike Trout homered with a man aboard. A’s manager Bob Melvin must have thought it was deja vu all over again. The Angels rallied from a 7-1 deficit on Wednesday to beat the A’s. The Green and Gold did not want to suffer another defeat like that on Thursday.

The A’s put three on the board in the top of the fourth. Stephen Piscotty started the rally with a single. He went to second when the Angels’ catcher Dustin Garneau committed an error by mishandling a pitch from Tyler Skaggs.  Three more singles and two sacrifice fly balls put the runs on the board. The Angels got one back in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Shohei Ohtani, Kole Calhoun, and David Fletcher loaded the bases for the Angels. Brian Goodwin drove in Ohtani with a sac fly to Ramon Laureano in center field. The A’s led 3-1.

The A’s plated three more in the fifth. Chad Pinder and Matt Chapman walked to get things going for Oakland. Khris Davis singled to drive in Pinder. Chapman and Davis advanced to second and third on Calhoun’s throwing error to the plate. Angels’ manager Brad Ausmus removed Skaggs from the game and brought in Jaime Barria to pitch. Piscotty’s fly ball to shallow left field was caught by Brian Goodwin. Goodwin’s throw slipped off his hand and Chapman scored. Davis went to third on the error. Laureano drove in Davis with a sac fly to left field. The Angels responded with two in their half of the fifth. Mike Trout hit his 16th bomb of the season with a man aboard to make it 6-3.

Piscotty hit a solo homer in the seventh, and the Angels scored one in the bottom of the ninth. The A’s won 7-4.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s are now 31-31 for the year. The Angels drop to 30-33. Mike Fiers went six innings and allowed seven hits and three runs. He is now 5-3. Tyler Skaggs absorbed the loss and is now 4-6.

The A’s bullpen did their job Thursday night. Melvin used Ryan Buchter, Liam Hendriks, Lou Trivino, and Joakim Soria. Soria was nicked for a run in the ninth.

The A’s line score was seven runs, nine hits, and no errors. The Angels’ line was four runs, nine hits, and three costly errors.

Up Next: The A’s are on their way to Texas to play three with the Rangers starting Friday night. Lefty Brett Anderson (6-4, 3.95 ERA) goes for Oakland and Texas will send righty Lance Lynn (7-4, 4.50 ERA) to the hill.

Game time will be at 5:07 pm.