Final
Athletics beat Angels 15-10 with 6-run 8th inning
Sep 27, 2009 - 7:13 AM ANAHEIM, Calif.(AP) -- Jack Cust and the Oakland Athletics are making it difficult for the Los Angeles Angels to wrap up a playoff berth.Cust homered and doubled in the go-ahead run during a six-run eighth inning, and Oakland rallied from a seven-run deficit to beat the Angels 15-10 on Saturday night.
"You don't want to mess with a team that's out of it like they are," Los Angeles center fielder Torii Hunter said. "A lot of guys over there are fighting for positions next year, and they come hungry. I'm not saying we don't, but they're starving. They're like hyenas right now. They're playing great baseball."
The Angels, whose magic number to clinch their third straight AL West title remained at four, lost their season-high fourth straight. They were the only team in the majors that hadn't lost more than three in a row this season.
The Angels lead Texas by five games with eight to play, including a four-game set against the Rangers that begins Monday night at Angel Stadium.
"We've just got to get to our first goal. It doesn't matter when it happens, really," Angels pitcher John Lackey said.
The A's have won 11 of their last 13, a stretch that began with a three-game sweep at Texas, and they can sweep the Angels with a victory Sunday.
"It's a huge confidence booster," Oakland's Ryan Sweeney said. "To be down 9-2 in the fourth and come back and win, it's a huge win for us. We've been putting it together pretty good over the last couple of weeks. It's a little bit too late, but we've got nothing to lose right now. So we've just got to go out and try to improve and put together as many good ballgames as we can."
Kurt Suzuki and Mark Ellis also homered for the A's.
Rookie Kevin Jepsen (6-4) was charged with four runs and three hits in the Oakland eighth, including a tying RBI single by Suzuki after the right-hander struck out Rajai Davis and Sweeney with runners at the corners. Cust's double gave the A's an 11-10 lead, and Daric Barton greeted Matt Palmer with an RBI single before Ellis capped the rally with a three-run homer.
Craig Breslow (8-7) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the victory after giving up an RBI single by pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr. that put the Angels ahead 10-9 in the seventh.
"Tonight they hit the ball hard. They had 19 hits and there were no cheapies," Hunter said. "They beat us. If we're going to get beat, we should get beat like that."
Cust was 3 for 5 with four RBIs and Barton was 4 for 5 with two RBIs. Suzuki had three hits and a season-high four RBIs during Oakland's 19-hit outburst, raising his team-high RBI total to 85.
"Kurt's doing an unbelievable job," Sweeney said. "He catches every single day. And to have that grind on your body and still produce the way he does is pretty impressive."
Darren Oliver relieved Lackey after five innings with a 9-6 lead and gave up two runs in the sixth. Adam Kennedy hit an RBI double and scored on a two-out wild pitch to Sweeney.
Lackey allowed six runs and 10 hits. The right-hander, who hadn't allowed a home run in his previous five starts, gave up a two-run shot by Suzuki in the first and a three-run shot by Cust in the fifth.
"That last inning I kind of got caught in a situation where I didn't want to walk anybody and threw a couple of 3-2 heaters pretty much down the middle," Lackey said. "Sometimes a team with nothing to lose is pretty dangerous. The offense was there for us today, and I stunk."
Suzuki gave the A's 2-0 lead in the first with his 15th homer after a two-out walk to Sweeney. Juan Rivera responded in the bottom half with a three-run shot over both bullpens, giving him new career highs in homers (24) and RBIs (86).
All three runs off Dana Eveland in the Angels' first were unearned after shortstop Cliff Pennington botched a potential double-play grounder by Bobby Abreu when he took a throw from second baseman Ellis off the bag and wasn't able to get the out at first, either.
The Angels increased their margin to 9-2 with six runs in the fourth. Jeff Mathis hit an RBI single, and Kendrick scored when Kennedy hit him in the back with his throw to the plate after fielding Maicer Izturis' grounder. Chone Figgins chased Eveland with a two-run single and Abreu hit a two-run homer on Brad Kilby's first pitch, giving him 100 RBIs for the season.
NOTES: Abreu needs one stolen base to become the second player in the Angels' 49-year history with at least 100 RBIs and 30 steals in the same season. Bobby Bonds had 115 RBIs and 41 steals in 1977. ... Any combination of Oakland losses and Seattle wins that equals three will guarantee the A's their seventh last-place finish since division play began in 1969, and their first since 1998.
- Angels 10, Athletics 15 - FINAL
OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Kennedy 3b 5 3 3 1 1 0 0 .293
R Davis cf 6 1 1 0 0 3 3 .313
R Sweeney rf 5 2 2 0 1 2 2 .295
K Suzuki c 4 3 3 4 1 0 0 .272
J Cust dh 6 2 3 4 0 1 3 .243
D Barton 1b 5 1 4 2 0 0 0 .281
M El
Sep 27 12:57 AM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
THREE-RUN HOME RUN BY MARK ELLIS (10) TO LEFT CENTER WITH 2
OUT IN THE 8TH OFF MATT PALMER SCORED DARIC BARTON AND JACK
CUST.
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 15, LA ANGELS 10
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: E PATTERSON (.264, 0-FOR-3, BB)
Athletics 15, Angels 10 Top 8, 0 OutsSep 27 12:23 AM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DARIC BARTON SCORED KURT SUZUKI
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, D BARTON ON FIRST, J CUST ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 12
LA ANGELS 10 TOP,8TH
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: M ELLIS (.267, 0-FOR-4)
Athletics 12, Angels 10 Top 8, 0 OutsSep 27 12:21 AM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY JACK CUST SCORED ADAM KENNEDY
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J CUST ON SECOND, K SUZUKI ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 11
LA ANGELS 10 TOP,8TH
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: D BARTON (.276, 3-FOR-4, RBI)
Athletics 11, Angels 10 Top 8, 0 OutsSep 27 12:19 AM - 69
roots - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY KURT SUZUKI SCORED CLIFF PENNINGTON
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, K SUZUKI ON FIRST, A KENNEDY ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 10
LA ANGELS 10 TOP,8TH
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: J CUST (.242, 2-FOR-4, HR, 3 RBI)
Athletics 10, Angels 10 Top 8, 0 OutsSep 27 12:17 AM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY GARY MATTHEWS JR. SCORED KENDRY MORALES
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, G MATTHEWS JR. ON FIRST, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 9
LA ANGELS 10 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: M IZTURIS (.294, 0-FOR-2, BB, RBI)
Athletics 9, Angels 10 Bot 7, 0 OutsSep 26 11:57 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY DARIC BARTON SCORED KURT SUZUKI
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D BARTON ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 9
LA ANGELS 9 TOP,7TH
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: M ELLIS (.268, 0-FOR-3)
Athletics 9, Angels 9 Top 7, 0 OutsSep 26 11:39 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
WILD PITCH BY DARREN OLIVER ALLOWED ADAM KENNEDY TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 8
LA ANGELS 9 TOP,6TH
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: R SWEENEY (.295, 1-FOR-2, BB)
Athletics 8, Angels 9 Top 6, 0 OutsSep 26 11:21 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY ADAM KENNEDY SCORED ERIC PATTERSON
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, A KENNEDY ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 7
LA ANGELS 9 TOP,6TH
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: R DAVIS (.316, 1-FOR-3)
Athletics 7, Angels 9 Top 6, 0 OutsSep 26 11:18 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
THREE-RUN HOME RUN BY JACK CUST (24) TO LEFT WITH 1 OUT IN
THE 5TH OFF JOHN LACKEY SCORED RYAN SWEENEY AND RAJAI
DAVIS.
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 6, LA ANGELS 9
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: D BARTON (.273, 2-FOR-2)
Athletics 6, Angels 9 Top 5, 0 OutsSep 26 10:52 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY KURT SUZUKI SCORED ADAM KENNEDY
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R SWEENEY ON FIRST, R DAVIS ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 3
LA ANGELS 9 TOP,5TH
DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: J CUST (.241, 1-FOR-2)
Athletics 3, Angels 9 Top 5, 0 OutsSep 26 10:50 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY BOBBY ABREU (14) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH 1
OUT IN THE 4TH OFF BRAD KILBY SCORED CHONE FIGGINS.
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 2, LA ANGELS 9
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: T HUNTER (.299, 0-FOR-2)
Athletics 2, Angels 9 Bot 4, 0 OutsSep 26 10:35 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY CHONE FIGGINS SCORED MAICER IZTURIS AND JEFF
MATHIS
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, C FIGGINS ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 2
LA ANGELS 7 BOTTOM,4TH
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: B ABREU (.290, 0-FOR-1, BB)
Athletics 2, Angels 7 Bot 4, 0 OutsSep 26 10:31 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
ERROR BY ADAM KENNEDY ALLOWED HOWIE KENDRICK TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, M IZTURIS ON FIRST, M IZTURIS ON SECOND, J
MATHIS ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 2
LA ANGELS 5 BOTTOM,4TH
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: C FIGGINS (.302, 1-FOR-2)
Athletics 2, Angels 5 Bot 4, 0 OutsSep 26 10:29 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JEFF MATHIS SCORED KENDRY MORALES
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J MATHIS ON FIRST, H KENDRICK ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 2
LA ANGELS 4 BOTTOM,4TH
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: M IZTURIS (.295, 0-FOR-1)
Athletics 2, Angels 4 Bot 4, 0 OutsSep 26 10:27 PM - AL
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
THREE-RUN HOME RUN BY JUAN RIVERA (24) TO LEFT CENTER WITH 2
OUT IN THE 1ST OFF DANA EVELAND SCORED VLADIMIR GUERRERO
AND CHONE FIGGINS.
CURRENT SCORE: OAKLAND 2, LA ANGELS 3
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: K MORALES (.301, 31 HR, 99 RBI)
Athletics 2, Angels 3 Bot 1, 0 OutsSep 26 9:41 PM - AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
OAKLAND 2 2 3 0
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: OAK - DANA EVELAND
LAA - JOHN LACKEY
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: C FIGGINS (.301, 5 HR, 51 RBI)
B ABREU (.291, 13 HR, 98 RBI)
T HUNTER (.300, 22 HR, 86 RBI)
Athletics 2, Angels 0 Bot 1, 0 OutsSep 26 9:22 PM
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