By Morris Phillips
OAKLAND–After a rough week, and after a rough, first eight innings on Sunday with just three hits, as well as their continued struggles against suddenly superior AL West competition, the A’s struck back.
And lo and behold, the Angels–beset by injuries and saddled with a shaky bullpen–capitulated.
The A’s came up with a pair of runs in the ninth to tie, and Jonathan Lucroy’s game-winning hit scoring Jed Lowrie in the 11th to beat the Angels, 6-5.
“On the homestand, we had some good teams coming in here. We were trying to make up for that Astros series,” Lucroy said.
The win allowed the A’s to capture the three-game series on the heels of an embarrassing three-game sweep at the hands of the World Series champion Astros. After the twists and turns of the first 72 games of the season, the A’s are 36-36, the 13th time their record has landed at .500. The A’s concluded a 5-5 home stand, and they’re 15-14 over their last 29 games. All the symmetry hasn’t left the A’s in good position within their division. They trail the first-place Astros by a season-high 11 1/2 games after Houston won their 11th in a row, a 7-4 win over the Royals on Sunday.
The win allowed the A’s to disrupt their season-long, late inning pattern of winning when leading, and losing when trailing. Prior to Sunday, the A’s were 0-33 when trailing after eight and 31-0 when leading.
Oakland starter Daniel Mengden pitched more effectively than he did in his previous two starts, battling into the sixth inning where he departed trailing 4-2. Mengden allowed a combined 12 earned runs to the Rangers and Astros in his first two June starts, then gave up solo shots to veterans Chris Young and Albert Pujols on Sunday. But when Mengden could have unraveled, he didn’t. In the sixth, after Pujols’ shot gave the Angels the lead, Mengden uncorked a wild pitch with runners at first and third, allowing Andrelton Simmons to score. But Mengden recovered, striking out Martin Maldonado with a runner in scoring position before he was lifted for reliever Yusmeiro Petit.
“I’m just missing spots,” Mengden explained. “But we know we are in every game. With a few good at-bats, we’re right there.”
Those good at-bats did take place until after Andrew Heaney departed. The Angels’ starter finished eight innings, striking out eight while walking one. At one point, he retired 13 of 14 A’s batters. But things unraveled when he departed.
The Angels used five relievers, and four allowed a base hit, and three issued at least one walk. Blake Parker entered first and allowed a leadoff home run to Marcus Semien that trimmed the Angels’ lead. But Parker couldn’t settle down, walking two of the next three hitters.
“I’ve got to get ahead with better pitches. Go out there and one pitch, one run, I gotta regain my focus. I can’t have a four-pitch walk right after that,” Parker admitted.
Cam Bedrosian came on needing only to record the final out, but he surrendered the game-tying base hit to Mark Canha. Jake Jewell started the 11th, but allowed a leadoff single to Jed Lowrie, then hit Khris Davis on the first pitch with an errant curveball. And Eduardo Paredes failed to throw strikes on five of his first six pitches before Lucroy’s game-winner one-hopped the centerfield wall.
Of the 15 players currently on the disabled list for the Angels, relievers Kenyan Middleton and Blake Wood are lost for the season, and Jim Johnson, who was woefully ineffective as an Athletic in 2014, landed on the list last week with lumbar strain. Top option Justin Anderson couldn’t go on Sunday after throwing 28 pitches Friday night. So when the 11th inning opened, manager Mike Scioscia turned to Jewell in just his second major league appearance, then Paredes, who dragged a 7.15 ERA to the mound.
The A’s concluded a stretch of 20 home games in their last 25 with Sunday’s win. Now they hit the road for 27 of their next 35 games starting Tuesday in San Diego. Paul Blackburn will make that start opposed by the Padres’ Eric Lauer.
