Espinosa makes first Halos hit count vs. A's

Espinosa makes first Halos hit count vs. A's

April 5th, 2017

OAKLAND -- Danny Espinosa's three-run homer in the ninth inning off A's right-hander 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 lined a go-ahead, two-run triple off the glove of Angels first baseman , 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. followed suit with a base hit, and ' 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 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 and . 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 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 , meanwhile, went six innings, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Angels catcher 's two-run single highlighted a three-run second inning against the southpaw, and 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 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 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 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 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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