ANAHEIM -- The Athletics had what was a pitcher’s duel under control Wednesday, until they didn’t.
Oakland’s typically elite bullpen failed to uphold a solid Joey Estes outing, blowing a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning and allowing the A’s to fall 5-2 to the Los Angeles Angels as victims of a second consecutive sweep.
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The A’s quiet bats mustered just four hits against Angels right-handed starter Roansy Contreras, and mind-boggling errors didn’t make matters any easier. The second and sixth innings doomed Oakland thanks to a baserunning blunder at home plate and a crushing Angels rally.
Oakland entered Wednesday's game desperate for promise but earned the opposite, showing 31,240 fans at Angel Stadium why the team now is 29-54 and in last place in the AL West, trailing the fourth-place Angels by six games.
Estes’ wasted effort
Estes shone in his 11th career MLB appearance, but it all was for nothing outcome-wise.
Oakland Athletics
The right-hander allowed just three hits and two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, and he collected eight strikeouts.
However, right-handed reliever Austin Adams, who replaced Estes in the sixth, allowed three earned runs without recording an out before he was pulled. Then, the A’s lost the game in what ended up being a five-run sixth inning for the Angels.
It was Estes’ first career game against Los Angeles, and he didn’t 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 outing, he looks to be evolving into another young, trustworthy arm in manager Mark Kotsay’s rotation.
The A’s used a record 24 different starting pitchers during the 2023 MLB season.
What was that?
Somehow, some way, the A’s tagged themselves out.
In the second inning, stumbling catcher Kyle McCann failed to score after stepping over home plate on a Max Schuemann double. While missing home is notable enough for the wrong reasons, Oakland’s catcher still wasn’t out -- that was, until what happened next.
Fellow rookie Armando Alvarez, a bag ahead of McCann and brought in to score on the same hit, attempted to keep the flailing catcher upright as he galloped over the plate, unaware of the error.
Two players of the same team on offense cannot make contact with each other, per MLB rules, landing the A’s a spot on the blooper reel.
Instead of a good laugh 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 out they didn’t deserve.
Los Angeles didn’t attempt a throw home, yet it earned 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 keeps sliding in Anaheim
The A’s badly needed this win after dropping their last four, especially as they were 11-30 on the road.
Oakland entered the clash riding a season-worst 10-game road losing streak, with their last win away from the Coliseum coming June 1 in an 11-9 shootout over the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
The A’s also had lost eight of their last 11 games at Angel Stadium and currently are losers of their last four series in Anaheim.
Despite drawing an MLB-low 7,460 fans to the Coliseum on average, the A’s perform better on their home turf. Oakland will have to keep competing on the road, though, as it won’t return to the Coliseum until July 2 in a series rematch with Los Angeles.
Next up: the Arizona Diamondbacks.