A’s fall in 10 innings, losing streak hits season-high eight
Another see-saw affair at the Oakland Coliseum ended in defeat for the A’s, who extended their season-high losing streak to eight games Tuesday night.
A day after the A’s spoiled a two-out game-tying home run from Matt Olson in the ninth, the team lost an 8-7, 10-inning heartbreaker to the Los Angeles Angels, cementing their longest losing streak since the spring of 2012.
Ben Revere delivered the gamewinning hit, pinch hitting with two outs in the ninth. Matt Joyce nearly caught Revere’s line drive to left that scored Kaleb Cowart from second, diving belly first onto the grass, but Joyce couldn’t keep the ball in the webbing of his glove.
The Angels’ 10th-inning rally started somewhat harmlessly with two outs when reliever Blake Treinen (1-4) hit Cowart with a pitch. The next batter, C.J Cron, singled to right, setting the stage for Revere’s game-clinching hit.
The A’s loaded the bases with two outs in the 10th, but Jed Lowrie ended the game with a fly ball to center.
After the Angels jumped ahead 4-1, the A’s took a 5-4 lead with a two-out home run parade in the fifth.
Joyce started the fun by blasting a towering shot down the right field line, his 22nd of the year. After Lowrie singled, Khris Davis smashed his 38th homer of the season to center. Matt Olson capped off the rally with his 15th of the year and his 11th since Aug. 11.
All four of the A’s runs were charged to Angels reliever Blake Wood.
The Angels regained the lead in the sixth on a Cron home run
off reliever Liam Hendriks with Luis Valbuena aboard. The A’s tied it up again in the bottom of the inning, scoring their sixth run when Marcus Semien brought in Matt Chapman from second.
The teams traded runs again in the eighth, tying the game at 7-7.
Kendall Graveman’s struggles since his return from a right shoulder injury on Aug. 3 continued.
The A’s opening day starter ran into trouble in the third, surrendering three runs on three walks and two singles. The Angels tagged Graveman for another run in the fifth when Albert Pujols drove in Justin Upton from second with a two-out single up the middle.
Graveman’s four earned runs in five innings raised his ERA to 5.79 in seven starts since he rejoined the rotation in early August.
As Graveman struggled, Angels starter Garrett Richards held his own in his first start since suffering a right biceps injury at the Coliseum on April 5.
Richards, who was pitching in just his third game since the start of the 2016 season, allowed only two runners to reach base in his first three innings. As he approached his 50-pitch limit set by manager Mike Scioscia, he allowed the A’s to get on the board in the fourth after Lowrie smacked his 42nd double of the year and scored on another double from Pinder.
• A day after the A’s and Angels combined to use 20 pitchers, they sent another 15 hurlers to the mound Tuesday.
• Mike Trout got thrown out at the plate twice in the game, once in the third on a ground ball to first, and again in fifth on a throw to the plate by Joyce.
• The A’s recalled slugger Renato Nunez, starting pitcher Daniel Mengden, infielder Joey Wendle and reliever Raul Alcantara from Triple-A Nashville.
Nunez is the most noteworthy recall in the group as he finished his season with the Sounds tied for second in the Pacific Coast League and minor league baseball in home runs with 32 round trippers.
• Chris Smith’s quest for his first major league win as a starter is over, at least for the 2017 season, barring an unforeseen injury in the A’s rotation.
Mengden, who went 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA in a pair of starts earlier this season, will take Smith’s spot in the A’s rotation, tossing the second game of the team’s doubleheader with the Houston Astros at the Coliseum on Saturday.
• The A’s transferred right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn to the 60-day disabled list to make room for their recalls to the 40man roster.
Blackburn suffered a deep-bone bruise on his throwing hand after being struck by a comebacker on Aug. 22.
• Hendriks received the A’s nomination for the Roberto Clemente award Tuesday, an honor given to the player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.