What The Numbers Tell Us About Shakur Stevenson Vs. Artem Harutyunyan
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
Box Metaphor Button 1706040217427 MV5BMzUxYmUzYzctZGE1YS00NDFlLWE4MmUtM2EwMWNjMmI1ZmE4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyOTc3NzE0NjM@. V1 639ccec98defc05fddba68b5 639bc57f2d3d573b9f013543 Screenshot252037 1706532320?v=1Social Media Metaphor Fall 2024 12 07 23 2cf311 Aa6fe506fcf241d28a381fa4bfc8c9bb~mv2 0262 01 Ux Metaphors Reasons Thumbnail Jacqueline Thompson 30 2 Tabasco Ad 725x1024 Lh6sp9v8eyij17vpbxquzbq0x79nFreedom Metaphors 768x578 Metaphor Andrew T Austin Metaphors Training Caption ?w=1200&h=1200&s=1Aaf392ac70560f3ea7f3d4b9d1a96f0d160de0ab MV5BMzYzZGVhNGYtYjk5Zi00Y2E5LThhZmYtYWJiMTZjMjYyYTkwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTE4ODAwMTE@. V1 FMjpg UX1000 Metaphorosis June 2023 MV5BODNhZjYxNzktODBiMy00MDhjLWIwYWUtMWY2OWVhYWE3Y2JkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTUwNDA3NDM0. V1 FMjpg UX1000 25 Metaphors For New 768x768 Metaphors For Easy Metaphorosis November 2023 What Are Metaphors Examples 300x150 Metaphorosis January 2023 Screenshot 2022 03 16 At 5.25.09 PM ?w=805&ssl=1Good Metaphors 2 1 1200x600 Metaphorosis 2020 03 495x350 Maxresdefault GettyImages 631124947 1 ?w=10131*XApMnWJkD3nwvFBWZL75eA Maxresdefault 3761d5e8c2063e96c3027d9bbb5e9d86 Metaphorosis May 2023 5 TT Metaphor P.1 No Bubbles 724x1024