Angels ride eight-run inning to win over A's
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels erupted for eight runs in the fourth inning and held on for an 8-6 win over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.
The win completed a three-game sweep for the Angels, and also guaranteed that Oakland will finish the season in last place in the American League West for the second consecutive season. It will mark just the second time in Oakland history the A's finished last two years in a row (1997-98).
All but one batter in the Angels' starting lineup had at least one hit, including two hits apiece from Kole Calhoun (single, homer) and Jefry Marte (two doubles). Of the Angels' 10 hits, only two came outside of their eight-run fourth inning.
Oakland made things somewhat interesting after falling behind 8-2 in the fourth. Khris Davis hit his team-leading 41st homer of the year in the sixth, and Marcus Semien's three-run homer (No. 27) in the eighth made 8-6.
However, the Angels' bullpen -- Los Angeles used six pitchers in relief of starter Alex Meyer -- was able to close it out, ending with JC Ramirez's first save with the club. Los Angels won for the seventh time in eight games.
The Angels got a scare in the eighth inning when Mike Trout was hit on the back of the left shoulder/upper back by a 96 mph fastball thrown by Oakland reliever John Axford. Trout left the game for evaluation.
The A's got to Meyer for two runs in the first inning, the rally starting on Stephen Vogt's one-out double. Ryon Healy followed with an RBI double, and one out later, Healy scored on a single by Yonder Alonso.
A's right-hander Sonny Gray made his first start after missing seven weeks with a strained right forearm, and he was scheduled to pitch just one inning. He was effective in that inning, giving up a leadoff single to Calhoun but retiring the next three hitters and completing the frame in 18 pitches.
Left-hander Ross Detwiler replaced Gray to start the second and held the Angels scoreless until the fourth inning, when they erupted for eight runs on eight hits.
Most of the damage came after two were out, when the Angels scored six of their eight runs. Shane Robinson hit a two-run double, and Calhoun hit a two-run homer. Andrelton Simmons, who drove in the first run of the inning with a single, also had an RBI with a bases-loaded walk later in the inning, during which the Angels sent 14 batters to the plate.
Detwiler didn't make it out of the inning, but he was charged with all eight runs.
Meyer, whom the Angels acquired in the deadline deal that sent Hector Santiago to the Twins, lasted four innings. He held the A's scoreless after the first, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk overall. He struck out five.
NOTES: Angels RHP Garrett Richards took another step toward pitching in 2017 and avoiding Tommy John surgery when he faced live hitters for the first time since the injury, throwing 20 pitches in one simulated inning. Richards threw fastballs, curveballs and sliders. ... A's RHP Sonny Gray, out since Aug. 7 with a strained right forearm, was activated and started the game. ... Angels DH/1B Albert Pujols was not in the starting lineup for the second game in a row because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. It is possible that Pujols could be done for the season. ... A's OF Khris Davis became the fifth player in Oakland history to hit 40-plus home runs in a season, joining Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi, Reggie Jackson and Mark McGwire.