Angels Slowed With 8-7 Loss To Athletics
ANAHEIM (AP) — One day after the Angels completed a two-month chase by passing Houston for the second AL wild-card spot, they committed four errors and gave up seven unearned runs in an 8-7 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night that further complicated the AL playoff race.
Mike Trout hit his 41st homer and was on third base when Sean Doolittle retired pinch-hitter Collin Cowgill on a game-ending groundout. That completed a five-out save in a wild regular-season home finale for the Angels(83-75), who dropped back into a tie with the Astros. Houston played a late game at Seattle.
Stephen Vogt hit a tiebreaking, two-run single during Oakland's four-run rally in the seventh inning. Eric Sogard had an early three-run double for the last-place A's, who won for the second times in 11 games.
The Angels hit five homers, including Kole Calhoun's leadoff shot in the ninth. Johnny Giavotella hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning for the Angels, who finish the season with four games at AL West-leading Texas.
Trout went 3 for 3 with a homer. He also drew his second walk in the ninth after Calhoun's 25th homer.
Doolittle then got Albert Pujols on a popup and C.J. Cron on a 350-foot line drive before David Freese singled. Cowgill, getting just his fourth at-bat since Sept. 5, meekly tapped the first pitch he saw to third.
The Angels' short-handed bullpen gave up five runs in two innings after the departure of Garrett Richards, who wasn't sharp despite six innings of two-hit ball. Mike Morin (3-2) combined with Trevor Gott on a disastrous seventh capped by Vogt's big hit.
Freese and Carlos Perez also homered for the Angels.
Ryan Dull (1-1) got five outs for his first major league win.
Barry Zito pitched four innings in perhaps the final start of his major league career, leaving with a lead despite yielding four hits and four walks. The 37-year-old Zito, a 15-year veteran and former Cy Young Award winner, spent most of this season in the minors.
Trout connected against Zito, matching Troy Glaus' 41 homers in 2011 for the second-highest season total inAngels history.
Richards yielded no earned runs, but walked four and gave up Sogard's big two-out hit in the fourth to cap a rally aided by Giavotella's error.
Giavotella drilled a two-out pitch from Edward Mujica into the bullpen for his fourth homer — his first since June 18. Calhoun added an RBI double later in the sixth to put Los Angeles up 5-3, but the A's rallied in the seventh after an error by Giavotella's defensive replacement, Taylor Featherston.
Mark Canha had an RBI single before Josh Reddick drew a bases-loaded walk to tie it, and Vogt delivered a two-out, two-strike single. Oakland added another run in the eighth, which featured C.J. Cron's error and Trout's horrible misplay on a hit to center that was ruled a triple.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: Carson Blair had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The catcher should be ready for spring training.
Angels: Joe Smith pitched for the first time since Sept. 17, returning after spraining his ankle on a hotel staircase.
UP NEXT
Athletics: After a day off, Aaron Brooks (2-4, 7.26 ERA) opens the season-ending series in Seattle.
Angels: Rookie Andrew Heaney (6-3, 3.29 ERA) opens the crucial four-game series at Texas.
(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
