For Trivino and A’s, rough finish to day
As well as the A’s are playing in May, they probably can absorb a nasty flashback to last year’s wild-card loss just fine. But there’s little doubt that’s what was in most observers’ minds Wednesday when Liam Hendriks opened the series finale against the Angels and gave up two quick runs.
Unlike last year’s wild-card game, Oakland fought back to tie the game in the late going — twice — and survived another rough outing by closer Blake Treinen, which was also a bit of a 2018 wild-card callback; he’d given up three runs to the Yankees last fall. But the A’s finally lost 12-7 in 11 innings when Lou Trivino, working his second inning, endured his own ugly frame, fueled by a rare error by first baseman Matt Olson.
“It just ended up not being our day,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s not like these guys got pounded.”
Trivino hit César Puello, sent him to second with a wild pitch and walked Brian Goodwin before Luis Rengifo’s sacrifice bunt resulted in Puello scoring as Rengifo was safe on Olson’s poor throw — his first error in 76 games. “I bobbled it twice and almost slipped,” Olson said. “It almost would have be better if the ball had just fell to the ground.”
Things unraveled from there, with an intentional walk preceding a passed ball that scored one run, an unintentional walk, and an RBI single by Tommy La Stella. Jonathan Lucroy’s tworun single off Aaron Brooks completed the scoring.
“I didn’t show up today,” said Trivino, who didn’t allow a run in six of his previous seven games. “This loss is on me . ... Everything was up. Everything was flat. Not a recipe for success.”
For the second day in a row, Olson had tied things with a two-run homer, this time in the eighth, before Treinen’s wobble; Rengifo’s two-out double in the ninth sent in one run and a bloop by Jared Walsh another.
Mark Canha’s solo shot in the ninth cut the difference to one, then Jurickson Profar doubled, Ramón Laureano sent him to third with an infield single and Josh Phegley hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Hendriks also had allowed two runs to open the wild-card game at Yankee Stadium in October, and Wednesday was just the second time since then that the A’s have used an opener. The most unusual part of the decision this time: Hendriks had worked two innings and thrown 33 pitches the night before, and Wednesday was a day game.
“Didn’t work out,” Melvin said. “Looked like his stuff was pretty good, but it wasn’t as good as last night.”
Hendriks’ velocity was down a tick from the previous night, from 98 mph to 96, and after a one-out single by La Stella, he walked two men. Puello drove in two with a two-out hit to right-center, ending Hendriks’ career-best streak of scoreless innings at 142⁄3.
“I felt fine. I just wasn’t finishing pitches well,” Hendriks said. “They laid off some pitches, they hit the pitches I left in the zone. If you give up two hits and two walks, it’s not going to be a good outing.”
Daniel Mengden, as usual the follower behind Hendriks, gave up one run and reliever Yusmeiro Petit allowed a two-run homer by Puello. The Angels were playing without Mike Trout, who fouled a ball off his right foot the previous night, and Albert Pujols also got the day off.
Mengden’s first three starts weren’t entirely pretty — he walked four his first time out, five his last time out, but he entered the day with a 3.31 ERA. He walked three in 41⁄3 innings and allowed four hits and a run. He fared well as the follower in September, with a 2.00 ERA and a .171 opponents average.
Marcus Semien’s homer in the third was the only run the A’s scored in rookie right-hander Griffin Canning’s six innings.
The A’s extended some hot spells Wednesday: Laureano doubled in the fifth to push his career-best hitting streak to 12 games, and Stephen Piscotty doubled in the seventh and has reached base in 24 consecutive games, a career best and the longest active streak in the majors.
Piscotty’s double off Justin Anderson sent Olson to third; Olson scored on a fielder’s choice groundout by Profar, and another groundout by Laureano scored Piscotty. Olson’s homer off Luis Garcia in the eighth was Olson’s seventh in 21 games since coming off the IL. Canha’s homer off Hansel Robles was his seventh in 14 games since coming off the IL.
Oakland, which went undefeated in 11 games before Tuesday, next faces the division-leading Astros, who open a three-game series at the Coliseum on Friday night.
“They’re always a battle,” Melvin said. “We caught them at the beginning of their 10-game streak last time and they were playing really well and they’re actually playing well now, down a few guys. They always present some challenges. The guy they run out on the mound gives them a chance to win every night. You know you’re going to have to score some runs against them, and it’s difficult to do.” Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser