Oakland Athletics vs Los Angeles Angels Match Player Stats On Aug 04, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Aug 5, 2017

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Cliff Pennington and Luis Valbuena had clutch two-run singles and the Los Angeles Angels rallied from a 6-2 deficit to beat the Oakland A's 8-6 on Friday night and move within two games of the second wild card in the American League.

Pennington drove in two runs in the sixth inning to cut the margin to 6-4 and Valbuena's two-run single tied the score in the seventh. Yunel Escobar and Mike Trout followed Valbuena's hit with run-scoring singles to make it 8-6.

The A's bullpen collapsed in the late innings. Reliever Liam Hendriks allowed two inherited runners to score in the sixth, Daniel Coulombe walked three straight hitters to start the seventh, and Blake Treinen allowed all three Angels hits in the seventh.

Trout had three hits for the Angels and Escobar two. Jesse Chavez (6-10) got the win in a relief, with Blake Parker working a scoreless eighth and Bud Norris getting his 18th save in the ninth.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Angels and the sixth in their last seven games. That moved them back to .500 for the first time since July 2. It was also the ninth time in the last 14 games that they have scored six runs or more.

A walk, a single by Ben Revere, a stolen base and Pennington's single moved the Angels within two in the sixth.

Coulombe (2-2) threw nine straight balls in the course of walking Kole Calhoun, Andrelton Simmons and Revere in the seventh. Treinen relieved and struck out C.J. Cron but then gave up Valbuena's tying single.

Escobar followed with an infield single that third baseman Matt Chapman couldn't handle to take the lead, and Trout singled to right to make it 8-6.

A's starter Jharel Cotton went five-plus innings and allowed four runs, seven hits, a walk and a hit batter.

Aided by an error, the A's grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Escobar threw a grounder from Ryan Healy into right field on a routine play that likely should have produced an inning-ending double play.

Troy Scribner, making his first major league start, struck out Bruce Maxwell for the second out, but Chapman golfed a low-and-inside pitch into the left field stands for a three-run homer. It was his seventh homer of the season.

The Angels got two runs back in the bottom of the second thanks to two Oakland errors.

Calhoun singled and went to third when Simmons' single to center slipped under the glove of Jaycob Brugman. Revere hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Calhoun.

The Angels loaded the bases with one out but only got one more run on a fielding error by Chapman. Trout flied out with the sacks loaded to end the inning.

The A's chased Scribner in the fifth after he walked the first two hitters. Both runners score. Khris Davis drilled a two-run double off the right field wall against reliever Keynan Middleton to push the A's lead to 5-2.

Trout doubled with one out in the bottom of the fifth but was stranded.

NOTES: Angels RHP Matt Shoemaker continues to have issues with a radial nerve compression condition in his right forearm and may be out for the season. He has worked on strength in his forearm and had long toss sessions, but the situation has reached a point where surgery is being considered. ... LF Cameron Maybin went 2-for-4 with a double and stolen base in a rehab assignment for Triple-A Salt Lake. He will make one more rehab start and will be activated Sunday or Monday. ... Angels RHP Daniel Wright was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. OF Ramon Flores was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. He was recalled while Kole Calhoun was unavailable after a minor hamstring strain. He was 1-for-8 with a RBI in three games. ... SS Andrelton Simmons extended his hitting streak to 13 games, tying his career high. ... A's RHP Daniel Gossett (3-6, 5.17 ERA) was optioned to Nashville. ... The A's picked up C Dustin Garneau off waivers from the Colorado Rockies. He hit .206 with one home run and six RBIs in 68 at-bats with the Rockies.