Dubón Has Tiebreaking Hit, Peña Homers As Astros Beat Blue Jays 5-3 For 12th Win In 14 Games
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
Whats New Autodesk 3ds Max Badge 2048 1024x1024 048d4e8d 59da 4fcf 80fe 7ec91adb1d93 ?auto=format&q=50GUID 6C09F135 CAF9 4556 A917 F5CC719F898C Screenshot 0 3ds Max Scr2 V Ray For 3DS Max Free Download 95a88d83d614a098ed5e9a61fec5858a 3dsMax 2022 1024x576 9781630574246 Bat4ey7ku9 Activate 3 3ds Max Logo Maxresdefault Maxresdefault 0e7d23f8607742f8b55a0ec00e28fb5e Maxresdefault Contain 1200x630 Autodesk 3ds Max Maxresdefault 51001751705 4819d31ebc O Maxresdefault GUID 0F24CDC0 262F 4299 BE00 53EFE8B0B02E 5429176 F5b5 2 Autodesk 3ds Max Logo Usd For 3ds Max 3ds Max 2022 Review 2.lmx0a9.image.i20 Aktualizacja 3ds Max Id 11134207 7r98q Lmpjzgt1z72m00Maxresdefault%2B%25281%2529 64246dad7dc70 Autodesk 3ds Max 0001 Screenshot1 6a00d8341bfd0c53ef0263e9990257200b Pi25 8 8c2a42f2515aac2fb2fce62034aefe60 Maxresdefault 1 3 Maxresdefault