Angels 5, Athletics 4 (11)
Josh Hamilton smacked a tying two-run homer in the ninth inning and added a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 11th as visiting Los Angeles defeated Oakland.
The Angels were two outs away from losing when Hamilton slammed his tying blast off Grant Balfour. J.B. Shuck had a leadoff double in the 11th against Jesse Chavez (2-4), moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Erick Aybar and scored on Hamilton’s deep fly to left field against Jerry Blevins.
J.C. Gutierrez (1-4) pitched a scoreless 10th and Ernesto Frieri tossed a perfect 11th for his 35th save in 39 opportunities. Oakland’s lead over Texas in the American League West remained at 6 1/2 games and its magic number for clinching is five.
Los Angeles’ Mike Trout hit a two-run homer off A.J. Griffin in the first inning and Oakland took the lead in the third when Coco Crisp and Yoenis Cespedes each belted two-run blasts off Jason Vargas. Aybar hit a lead single in the ninth and Balfour retired Trout before Hamilton drilled his 21st homer of the campaign.
The homer by Trout was the only hit allowed in six innings by Griffin, who struck out six and walked two. Vargas allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Oakland SS Jed Lowrie (hamstring) went 2-for-5 in his return to the starting lineup for the first time since Sunday. … Trout had three homers and six RBIs in the three-game series in which the Angels won two of three. … Sewage was being cleaned from the Athletics dugout prior to Wednesday’s game after the nearby bathroom had an issue on Tuesday night.