Murray's Farewell At Wimbledon Starts With Loss
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
43dd2a5123f7cf84899110e31eef9fe2GUEST B116f771 9615 4cd6 9e8d 7250e9d70210Target Dinnerware Sets Lakeside Rustic Dinnerware Set ?fit=728%2C921Dinnerware Target Dinnerware Sets Project 62 16pc ?fit=728%2C5249ebfb3e1b6fe35df4fad0df5abd648b9 Corelle Dishes Simple Sketches C1501e27ca39ad8514d9acb8aef5e4acTarget Dinnerware Sets Pillowfort 3 Piece ?fit=728%2C524Target Dinnerware Set Elama 16 Piece ?fit=728%2C921Target Dinnerware Sets Certified International 5 Piece ?resize=720%2C780Target Dinnerware Sets Project 62 Avesta ?fit=728%2C52462d22caf709b0d90c8effdda38346b97 E972d2835a5a4a9243356dc180df238f GUEST 6f489828 A6db 4807 Bbc6 85c639913cccScreen Shot 2020 05 18 At 11.52.01 Am ?ar=16 9&auto=format&crop=focal&fit=crop&q=80&w=1200&nrs=4018c6bd05e89fcc80e39d0b228b3e4f31 GUEST Be5d1db8 A20e 4039 8a53 92f97582d4ff?wid=488&hei=488&fmt=pjpegJune Wk1 DiningEntertaining Artboard1114126 180104 1515098894378?wid=2400&qlt=60&fmt=pjpegGUEST 3062c149 388b 49bf Baee B5198351412f9cd5c44175aa2c0d01b7a72bd9d335a0 China Dinnerware Dinnerware Sets 91aOPgvL51L. AC SL1500 ?fit=1500%2C1397&ssl=1P0 GUEST E4b95841 B344 4a2f A26a F0a342c9188cTarget Dishware ?w=102487d9f84013e8f3b08c089f8b3abf7752 RR Dinnerware Sets WE3 Threshold Dinnerware Target Room Essentials Dinnerware Set A90ffd34679b5e75826171fb29d3d3b9 56416695 IMG 001 ?impolicy=product PortraitGUEST 8feb7129 9ba6 4ab8 943a 62ee83b5a692GUEST 0c513642 A16f 4f6f 98ab F9bf7efbebc4?wid=488&hei=488&fmt=pjpegF3fd0a548f7fe10e7d53f447c6e5b6f8 GUEST 28b7ac4d 346e 4e71 A069 8c72db654e16?qlt=65&fmt=pjpeg&hei=350&wid=350June Wk1 DiningEntertaining Artboard8114126 180104 1515099104226?wid=656&qlt=60&fmt=pjpeg&qlt=01