Melvin loses replay challenge on hit by pitch

ANAHEIM -- A's manager Bob Melvin challenged plate umpire Tim Timmons' ruling that the Angels' Chris Iannetta was hit in the toe by a Tommy Milone pitch leading off the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday night.

After a replay review, the umpires ruled that the play stands, because the video was inconclusive.

"It did [hit the foot]," Iannetta said. "It grazed me. I'm not one of those guys to try and take advantage of a situation. It hit off the top of my foot."

After Collin Cowgill singled, Dan Otero replaced Milone with the A's ahead, 4-1.

Milone said his intial reaction was that the curveball he spiked hit short of Iannetta's foot, based on the way the ball reacted. But when he saw it on replay later, he wasn't as sure.

"I felt like before they replayed that play, I knew it didn't hit him," the left-hander said, "just the way it bounced the way it did off the ground, and [catcher Derek] Norris was able to block it. He kept it in front. If it hits him, it's not going to go straight back like that.

"I looked at it when I came in [the clubhouse], and it wasn't as clear as you might think. You can tell it's not conclusive."

The A's then got just one out on a potential double-play ball, followed by another grounder that got no outs because of first baseman Alberto Callaspo's throwing error, with Iannetta scoring. Otero then struck out Mike Trout, but Albert Pujols' RBI single drove in the second run of the inning.

Brandon Moss ran down Howie Kendrick's drive to right to end the inning, but the Angels tied it in the ninth before winning on a walk-off homer by Iannetta in the 12th.

Melvin did not make a big deal of the call being up held, only to confirm he was surprised it was.

"I don't know what the reasoning was," he said. "I was told it was upheld. [The umpires in the ballpark] aren't told why, either."