LDN - Sports

Angels ride eight-run inning to win over A's

[September 29, 2016] ANAHEIM, Calif. -- You know it's been a rough season for the Oakland Athletics when the team website's lead story is the announcement of the 2017 season schedule.

With their 8-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday night at Angel Stadium, the A's clinched last place in the American League West for the second straight season.

It's only the second time in Oakland history the A's have finished in last two years in a row, the previous time coming in 1997-98. Wednesday was one of those oh-so-typical games when just enough went wrong for A's manager Bob Melvin's club.

The Angels were shut out for eight of the nine innings. But they put up eight runs on eight hits in the fourth inning, enough to hold off a late rally by the A's and complete a three-game sweep.

All but one batter in the Angels' starting lineup had at least one hit, including two hits apiece from Kole Calhoun (single, homer) and Jefry Marte (two doubles). Of the Angels' 10 hits, only two came outside of their eight-run fourth inning.

Oakland made things somewhat interesting after falling behind 8-2 in the fourth. Khris Davis hit his team-leading 41st homer of the year in the sixth, and Marcus Semien's three-run homer (No. 27) in the eighth made 8-6.

However, the Angels' bullpen -- Los Angeles used six pitchers in relief of starter Alex Meyer -- was able to close it out, ending with JC Ramirez's first save with the club. A.J. Achter (1-0) got the win for Los Angeles, which won for the seventh time in eight games.

The Angels got a scare in the eighth inning when Mike Trout was hit on the back of the left shoulder blade by a 96 mph fastball thrown by Oakland reliever John Axford. Trout left the game for evaluation but said he was fine afterwards.

"It got me right on the bone," said Trout, who will get precautionary X-rays on Thursday. "We've got three games left, so I'm going to try to grind it out."

The A's got to Meyer for two runs in the first inning, the rally starting on Stephen Vogt's one-out double. Ryon Healy followed with an RBI double, and one out later, Healy scored on a single by Yonder Alonso.

Meyer, whom the Angels acquired in the deadline deal that sent Hector Santiago to the Twins, lasted four innings. He held the A's scoreless after the first, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk overall. He struck out five.

It likely was Meyer's last appearance of the season, but said he believes his month-long stint with the club will be beneficial.

"I'm definitely happy," Meyer said. "I've got six starts now in the big leagues, five of them here. It's awesome I got the opportunity. They very easily could have told me, get your shoulder right, come back ready in the spring, but they allowed me to come up here and pitch. It's a huge thing for my confidence going into next year."

A's right-hander Sonny Gray made his first start after missing seven weeks with a strained right forearm, and he was scheduled to pitch just one inning. He was effective in that inning, giving up a leadoff single to Calhoun but retiring the next three hitters and completing the frame in 18 pitches.

[to top of second column]

Angels left fielder Shane Robinson (17) reaches for a triple by Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell (63) in the second inning of the game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

"When you're off that long, you can be a little jumpy when you get out there, but he wasn't," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Gray. "He threw the ball where he wanted to, had a good breaking ball, (his fastball was) 93, maybe 94 one time. Very composed for an excitable guy that hasn't been out there for a while."

Left-hander Ross Detwiler replaced Gray to start the second and held the Angels scoreless until the fourth inning, when they erupted for eight runs on eight hits.

Most of the damage came after two were out, when the Angels scored six of their eight runs. Shane Robinson hit a two-run double, and Calhoun hit a two-run homer. Andrelton Simmons, who drove in the first run of the inning with a single, also had an RBI with a bases-loaded walk later in the inning, during which the Angels sent 14 batters to the plate.

Detwiler didn't make it out of the inning, and he was charged with all eight runs.

"Early on it looked like he had good stuff," Melvin said of Detwiler. "You can tell when he's on; the ball was down, the ball was moving, it looked like he had a good mix right away. But then he got some balls up, got in some funky counts and the Calhoun (homer) was the one that really hurt."

NOTES: Angels RHP Garrett Richards took another step toward pitching in 2017 and avoiding Tommy John surgery when he faced live hitters for the first time since the injury, throwing 20 pitches in one simulated inning. Richards threw fastballs, curveballs and sliders. ... A's RHP Sonny Gray, out since Aug. 7 with a strained right forearm, was activated and started the game. ... Angels DH/1B Albert Pujols was not in the starting lineup for the second game in a row because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. It is possible that Pujols could be done for the season. ... A's OF Khris Davis became the fifth player in Oakland history to hit 40-plus home runs in a season, joining Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi, Reggie Jackson and Mark McGwire.

Back to top