After T20 World Cup Euphoria, India Begin Quest For A New Generation Of Champions
OAKLAND, Calif. -- — Lawrence Butler homered, JP Sears won for the first time in more than a month, and the Oakland Athletics blanked the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday for a second straight game by the same 5-0 score to complete a three-game series sweep.
Miguel Andujar and Brent Rooker hit back-to-back RBI singles in the third and Tyler Soderstrom added a sacrifice fly in the decisive inning on a hot Independence Day in the Bay Area, with an announced holiday crowd of 11,956.
Oakland's pitching shut down an Angels lineup that had been on quite an offensive run.
“This offense that we faced had scored five or more runs in (seven) consecutive games, they had won six of their last seven, they swept us in Anaheim, beat a Detroit team at home, came here really confident and really swinging the bats well," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “So our pitching staff really did a great job this series of controlling their offense, keeping the guys that had really been providing the offense at check and not giving away free bases.”
Sears (5-7) struck out six and walked one, allowing two hits over five innings to snap a six-start winless stretch since beating Houston on May 25. The left-hander had dropped his previous four decisions.
“It's contagious, you just want to do what the guy did before you,” Sears said.
The Angels lost a fourth straight game coming off a 5-0 shutout Wednesday. They were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since June 20-21, 2023 at home against the Dodgers.
The club now has a six-game losing streak at the Coliseum.
"It was just a tough overall series," said center fielder Kevin Pillar, who made several sparkling catches and said he was close to snagging Butler's eighth inning drive. “We were playing really good baseball at home, you got that off day, you come here, just playing these guys not a lot of secrets.”
Right-hander Roansy Contreras (1-1) walked two of the first three batters in the third to get in trouble, then gave up the run-scoring singles and a sacrifice fly before another walk — and that was it in his second start for the Angels. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings.
The Angels played the first of four straight day games as they head to Chicago to face the Cubs — their first visit to Wrigley Field since 2019.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: OF Mike Trout hit on the field off a tee during Monday's off day and is running on a treadmill as he recovers from a torn meniscus in his left knee. Manager Ron Washington saw the video and said “he looked natural.” ... 3B Luis Rengifo was feeling better after exiting a night earlier with an injury on his lower right arm near the wrist after fouling a ball off it in the ninth inning. ... 3B Anthony Rendon (left hamstring strain) will return to regular third base duties when healthy, with some games at designated hitter as needed, Washington said.
Athletics: LHP Kyle Muller has rejoined the team from his rehab assignment and is expected to be activated from the injured list this weekend after dealing with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder.
UP NEXT
RHP Griffin Canning (3-8, 4.71 ERA) takes the mound for the Angels in the series opener with the Cubs. LHP Hogan Harris (1-2, 3.18) pitches for the A's in Friday’s series opener against Baltimore, which counters with RHP Albert Suárez (4-2, 2.43).
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Maxresdefault Collage Maker 30 Aug 2022 1138 PM 102190 1627058755 011aeef34e311d98c2b41420112a16dd.webpD99f0999b4f187fb62f39651530d8165 Latest?cb=20210718053037Ghost Of Tsushima All Unlockable Armor Sets Mask .f289861cd9bad9abe39dd17a1de972ed 1049 1658617129 268365702 MSYJJXQXKBDXNF2OD4ROK3EEUA &w=1200Game Page Featured Ghost Of Tsushima Scaled NGSSINFRESSARUBUILD2.07 41175005 1597948746 44a51a9d352b5a95a8086c5d59fcd853 Ghost Of Tsushima Legends ?w=800A9ec1de2b3f39e11f390a10ceaafa62f Maxresdefault Ghost Of Tsushima DLC Ghost Of Tsushima 20200713180053.original Ghost Of Tsushima Coming To Xbox One Pc Feature Maxresdefault Ghost Of Tsushima Directors Cut Image 1 Where To Find Your DLC Items In Ghost Of Tsushima Jin Sakai 4k Ghost Of Tsushima 72878 1680x1050 Maxresdefault Ghost Of Tsushima Legends Co Op Multiplayer Characters Maxresdefault Hqdefault 5bc326e8a8b0b53b8fba8455014950d688b224aa Ghost Of Tsushima Ps4 Playstation 4 1.original Result Maxresdefault Ghost Of Tsushima 1 Scaled Ghost Of Tsushima Legends BGdraGmUmZqaraWkpJRmbmdlrWZlbWU 3154263 Ghost Of Tsushima V1 761959e0 E0a5 11ea 9dde Cac4ce83bfd9.cf Ghost Of Tsushima Photo Mode Screenshots 4