Espinosa makes first Halos hit count vs. A's
OAKLAND -- Danny Espinosa's three-run homer in the ninth inning off A's right-hander Ryan Dull lifted the Angels to a 7-6 victory at the Coliseum on Tuesday night, evening this series at one win apiece.
The blast to right-center field belittled the A's own come-from-behind efforts in a four-run seventh, when Rajai Davis lined a go-ahead, two-run triple off the glove of Angels first baseman Jefry Marte, racing home on an errant throw from Espinosa to wrap a wild play with two outs.
The Angels went scoreless in the eighth but got an infield single off the bat of Marte to jump-start things in the ninth. Cameron Maybin followed suit with a base hit, and Andrelton Simmons' ensuing forceout put runners at the corners for Espinosa, who made good on an 0-2 slider from Dull for his first hit as an Angel. More >>
"One bad pitch," Dull said. "It was down, but I gotta get it a little bit lower. He hit 24 home runs [last year] for a reason. He's got power. You gotta execute a little better." More >>
Angels starter Matthew Shoemaker settled on a no-decision in his return to the mound .The right-hander, making his first start since taking a liner to his head on Sept. 4, held the A's to two runs in five innings -- both coming on home runs, one each to Jed Lowrie and Ryon Healy. Lowrie finished with three hits.
Shoemaker, who has decided to wear protective headgear this season, had a bit of a scare in the fourth when Stephen Vogt lined a comebacker to the mound, causing Shoemaker to instinctively spin away from the ball.
"It just threw me off a little bit," Shoemaker said. "I thought it was coming a little bit quicker. It was a broken bat, so it was a little slower than I thought. But yeah, you react to it with a little jump, but that's normal. You get a ball hit back at you, you're going to react to it."
A's lefty Sean Manaea, meanwhile, went six innings, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Angels catcher Martin Maldonado's two-run single highlighted a three-run second inning against the southpaw, and Michael Trout added an RBI triple in the fifth.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Maldonado shows off cannon: Maldonado, the Angels' new strong-armed catcher, made a pair of outstanding throws to shut down the A's running game Tuesday. In the third, the fleet-footed Davis hit a leadoff single and then tried to steal second, but he was thrown out after Maldonado fired a perfect 87.2 mph throw to Simmons. Maldonado had a 1.88-second pop time on the play, according to Statcast™. The 30-year-old backstop also picked off Marcus Semien from first to end the second inning. More >>
No cycle for you: Lowrie, who fell a triple short of the cycle, is 5-for-8 in this series. He nearly got his fourth hit -- perhaps a triple -- in the eighth inning, but right fielder Kole Calhoun played robber with an outstanding diving catch. Per Statcast™, Calhoun had to cover 57 feet and had 3.9 seconds to do so. The play had a 65 percent hit probability.
"He had a great night," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Lowrie. "That last one, if it gets by him, he's probably got himself a cycle. Calhoun made a great play, and those are the type of plays that show up in a game like that when it ends up being a one-run game."
QUOTABLE
"It was unbelievable. When he threw out Davis, I just crouched down and heard 'Whoosh!' That's nice to have." --Shoemaker on Maldonado's laser throw
WHAT'S NEXT
Angels: Right-hander Garrett Richards starts the third game of the four-game series between the Angels and the A's Wednesday night at the Coliseum. Richards missed most of 2016 after being diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, but he avoided Tommy John surgery by receiving an injection of his stem cells in his damaged elbow.
A's: The A's will have right-hander Jharel Cotton on the mound for the third of this four-game series, with first pitch at the Coliseum scheduled for 7:05 p.m. PT. Cotton will be making just the sixth start of his career, after going 2-0 with a 2.15 ERA and .185 opponents average in five September starts with the A's last September.
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