What we learned how two calamitous innings cost A in loss to the Angels originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Athletics had what was a pitcher’s duel under control Wednesday, until they didn’t.
Oakland’s typically elite bullpen couldn’t sustain a solid outing from Joey Estes, taking a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning and allowing the A’s to fall 5-2 to the Los Angeles Angels as victims of a second straight sweep.
The A’s silent bats managed just four hits against Angels right-handed starter Roansy Contreras, and mind-boggling errors didn’t make things any easier. The second and sixth innings doomed Oakland thanks to a base run error at home plate and a crushing Angels rally.
Oakland entered Wednesday’s game desperate for promise, but won the opposite, showing the 31,240 fans at Angel Stadium why the team is now 29-54 and in last place in the AL West, trailing the fourth-place Angels by six games.
Estes’ wasted effort
Estes shined in his 11th career MLB appearance, but it was all for naught.
The right-hander allowed just three hits and two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, and collected eight strikeouts.
However, right-handed reliever Austin Adams, who replaced Estes in the sixth, allowed three earned runs without recording a strikeout before being pulled. Then the A’s lost the game in what turned out to be a five-run sixth inning for the Angels.
It was Estes’ first career game against Los Angeles and he did not disappoint.
Estes was coming off a June 2 game against the Minnesota Twins when he allowed five hits and two earned runs in six innings. After Wednesday’s departure, he appears to be evolving into another young, reliable arm in coach Mark Kotsay’s rotation.
The A’s have used a record 24 different starting pitchers during the 2023 MLB season.
What was that?
Somehow, the A’s stood out.
In the second inning, catcher Kyle McCann failed to score after going over home plate on a double by Max Schuemann. While the home miss is notable enough for all the wrong reasons, Oakland’s catcher wasn’t out yet — that is, until what happened next.
Fellow rookie Armando Alvarez, a bag ahead of McCann and brought in to score in the same at-bat, tried to keep the catcher upright as he galloped over the base, not realizing his mistake.
Kyle McCann was called upon after failing to touch the plate and then making contact with Armando Alvarez before returning to touch home pic.twitter.com/p046l0Mdxa
– A at NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 26, 2024
Two players on the same team on offense cannot make contact with each other, per MLB rules, putting the A’s on a spot on the error roll.
Instead of good laughs and high fives all around, what could have been a 2-0 lead was reduced to one run as the Angels earned an inning ending they didn’t deserve.
Los Angeles did not attempt a throw home, but did get an out at the plate.
The A’s can’t let that happen, especially in a game where their bats are keeping fans cool in the Southern California heat.
Oakland continues to slip in Anaheim
The A’s needed this win badly after losing the last four, especially since they were 11-30 on the road.
Oakland entered the matchup on a season-worst 10-game losing streak, with its last win away from the Coliseum coming on June 1 in an 11-9 shootout over the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
The A’s have also lost eight of their last 11 games at Angel Stadium and are currently underdogs in their last four series in Anaheim.
Despite drawing an average of 7,460 fans to the Coliseum, the MLB minimum, the A’s perform better at home. Oakland will have to continue competing on the road, as it won’t return to the Coliseum until July 2 in a series rematch with Los Angeles.
Next up: the Arizona Diamondbacks.
