LDN - Sports

Angels pick on wild A's starter, roll to win

[September 06, 2016] OAKLAND, Calif. -- One day after seeing his friend get hit in the head with a line drive, Mike Trout took one in the elbow in his first at-bat Monday.

Only then did he realize how lucky he was.

Trout brushed off the beaning with hits in his next three trips to the plate, the sixth three-hit outing in his last 11 games, and the Los Angeles Angels took advantage of rookie Raul Alcantara's wildness to record a 10-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a three-game series Monday afternoon.

The win came one day after Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker had to undergo skull surgery after being struck with a shot off the bat of Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager.

Trout said he texted Shoemaker after the surgery, which was required to stop the bleeding inside his head, and was thrilled to get a response.

"That's scary," Trout admitted. "Obviously, that's bigger than the game of baseball."

Trout saw three of his teammates get hit by the ball Monday, two (other than himself) in Alcantara's out-of-control first inning. An Angels starter was clipped for the second day in a row when Jered Weaver took a one-hopper off his right hip.

"I'm fine," Weaver assured afterward, quickly turning his attention to Shoemaker, who stayed behind in Seattle. "That was weird (Sunday). You don't know if you want to keep playing or what."

Kole Calhoun smacked his 16th home run and Albert Pujols had a two-run double, helping the Angels win for the eighth time in nine games overall and seventh time in their past nine road outings.

The Angels are 6-1 at Oakland this season.

Trout, Calhoun and Pujols all scored twice for Los Angeles, as did Andrelton Simmons, helping the Angels improve to 3-1 on their six-game trip.

Calhoun's homer gave the Angels at least one long ball in each of the last 11 games.

The Angels took advantage of three hit batsmen and a walk to score three runs in the first inning and never trailed. Alcantara, who was called up from the minors earlier Monday, struggled in his major league debut, allowing five runs on five hits in three innings.

"It's his first big-league start," Athletics manager Bob Melvin explained. "You hit a guy and you hit another guy, you get spooked. Sometimes nerves hit you in your first outing, especially when a couple of things like that transpire."

The A's twice rallied within a run, including in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run by Danny Valencia, his 14th.

However, the Angels put the game away in the ninth, extending an 8-7 advantage to a three-run lead with the help of two Oakland errors and an RBI single by Jett Bandy.

"To get down and come back in the fashion that we did and keep fight back," Melvin noted, "we had a chance to win the game. We just gave up a couple of runs again (in the ninth)."

Staked to an 8-2 lead, Weaver couldn't stick around the minimum five innings required for a possible win. He blamed the shot he took to the hip, which he said affected his ability to drive off his back leg during pitches.

"It kinda went dead there in the last inning," he noted.

Oakland got back into the game with a three-run fourth, with Bruce Maxwell's two-out, two-run double doing the most damage.

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Weaver was pulled at inning's end, having allowed five runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out four.

Weaver entered the game with a 2.77 ERA in 36 career starts against the A's, his lowest mark among clubs he has faced at least 15 times.

Oakland clawed within 8-6 on an RBI double by Ryon Healy in the fifth, and made it a one-run game on a solo home run by Khris Davis, his 35th, leading off the seventh.

Angels reliever Jose Valdez stranded the potential tying run in scoring position in both the seventh and eighth innings, setting the stage for Andrew Bailey, who recorded his second save in three appearances for the Angels with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Valdez (1-1) was credited with the win, the first of his major league career.

Valencia had a double and a single to go with his homer for the A's, who snapped a five-game losing streak Sunday in a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Oakland's Marcus Semien had a pair of doubles, and Healy had two hits, including a double.

Alcantara's first big-league inning was an adventurous one. Promoted from Triple-A Nashville earlier in the day, he hit the second, fifth and eighth batters he faced, becoming the first A's pitcher to plunk three guys in a debut since Bill Knowlton in 1920.

The second hit batsman, Jefry Marte, forced in a run, as did a walk to the next batter Alcantara faced, Simmons. Nick Buss made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly.

"It wasn't me," the 23-year-old Alcantara insisted. "I'm not used to pitching that way."

Alcantara (0-1) gave up a homer to Calhoun leading off the second before settling down a bit. He allowed just one more run, on a second Buss sacrifice fly, before exiting after the third inning.

He walked one, hit three and balked once, the first A's pitcher to have three hit batsmen and a balk in the same game since Howard Ehmke in 1930.

NOTES: The Angels announced before the game that RHP Matt Shoemaker is "resting comfortably" in a Seattle hospital after undergoing skull surgery Sunday night to stop bleeding that resulted from being hit in the head by a line drive in a game against the Mariners earlier in the day. Shoemaker is expected to make a full recovery and be cleared in time to rejoin the Angels next season. ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia noted that RHP Tim Lincecum is a candidate to take Shoemaker's place in the rotation. ... The Angels added RHP Daniel Wright, acquired off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, to their active roster. ... Athletics RHP Sonny Gray (strained right forearm) threw from 120 feet before the game. He remains unlikely to pitch again for the A's this season. ... The A's claimed RHP Donn Roach from the Detroit Tigers and sent him to Triple-A Nashville.

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