Athletics 8, Angels 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Right-hander Sonny Gray allowed five hits while not permitting a walk or an earned run to lead the Oakland Athletics to an 8-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in front of 35,143 at Angel Stadium.
Gray (8-3) began the game by retiring the first nine Angels he faced and ended his day by retiring 11 of the final 14 batters he confronted. In 7 2/3 innings, Gray amassed nine strikeouts.
Designated hitter Ben Zobrist collected three of the Athletics' 12 hits while second baseman Eric Sogard tied a career high with three RBIs, as Oakland broke a two-game losing streak. The Angels made three errors while seeing their three-game winning streak end.
The A's exploited two errors to score an unearned run in the top of the second inning against right-hander Matt Shoemaker. With one out and Zobrist at first base, Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella bobbled a potential double-play ground ball off the bat of third baseman Brett Lawrie. Zobrist moved to second base on the play, took third on a fielder's choice and came home when Los Angeles catcher Chris Iannetta dropped Sogard's squeeze bunt along the third-base line.
Oakland relied on a mental mistake by the Angels to extend its lead to 2-0 in the third. After center fielder Billy Burns singled and stole second base, right fielder Josh Reddick hit a pop fly into short center field. Angels shortstop Erick Aybar tried to make a basket catch with his back to home plate but the ball fell about seven feet to his left, and Burns sped home. Reddick received credit for a single and an RBI.
Gray did not allow a ball hit out of the infield as he induced five groundouts and collected three strikeouts in the first three innings. But Los Angeles took advantage of the Athletics' mistakes to break the shutout in the fourth.
Aybar reached base when shortstop Marcus Semien misplayed his ground ball for an error. Aybar moved to second on a wild pitch, took third on a passed ball and scored on the Angels' first hit, first baseman Albert Pujols' single into right field. Pujols passed Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and moved into 29th place with 1,637 career RBIs.
But the A's expanded their advantage to 5-1 in the sixth by scoring three runs on five hits, including two doubles, with two outs to drive Shoemaker from the game. In the seventh, Sogard's two-run double led a three-run rally that gave Oakland a seven-run lead.
Shoemaker (4-5) issued no walks and amassed five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings but allowed three earned runs and six hits.
NOTES: Oakland has eight players on the disabled list, five of them on the 60-day disabled list. ... Athletics RF Josh Reddick returned to the lineup Sunday. Reddick popped out as a pinch hitter to end Saturday night's game. ... Athletics C Stephen Vogt returned to his usual position for the first time in three games. Vogt played first base the previous two nights and served as the designated hitter on Thursday. ... Los Angeles 3B Kyle Kubitza returned to the starting lineup Sunday, with David Freese moving to DH. Freese started at third base Saturday night for the first time in four games after suffering a tight right hamstring. ... The Angels recalled OF Daniel Robertson from Triple-A Salt Lake and optioned 1B/DH C.J. Cron to the same club for the second time this season. ... Angels RHP Jered Weaver, who will start Monday night, needs four wins to tie Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan for the second-most in team history. Weaver has compiled 135 wins in his career.