A’s fall to Angels 13-1 at home; Spoil Shintaro Fujinami’s MLB Debut

Apr 1, 2023 - 10:57 PM

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Fresh off of an exciting comeback victory over Ohtani, Trout & Company on Opening Day, The A’s and Angels were back at it Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum. Lefty Patrick Sandoval took mound for the Angels against A’s Righty Shintaro Fujinami. “Fuji’s” first major league start began with two strikeouts and a soft groundout to some of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. Unfortunately, his masterly over the Angels bats did not last long.

The Angels got on the board first against Fujinami in the top of the third, when Luis Rengifo walked, Gio Urshela singled. Logan O’Hoppe doubled scoring Urshela. Mike Trout walked. Singles by Ward, Ohtani, and Lamb brought the score to 6-0 and chased Fujinami. Adam Oller replaced Fuji and gave up five more runs before closing out the inning. The A’s trailed 11-0.

Ramon Laureano got the Athletics on the board with a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. The Angels got that run back when Trout doubled and Ohtani drove him home with a base hit to right field. That brought the score to 12-1 at the end of 6.

In the top of the seventh, Rengifo reached on an error. Taylor Ward singled on a sharp line drive to left fielder Seth Brown. Luis Rengifo scored, making the score 13-1.

Jeurys Familia made his A’s debut in the top of the eighth, throwing a scoreless frame. This is his second stint with the A’s splitting the 2018 season between the Mets and Athletics. Lefty Sam Moll shut the Angels down in the ninth, yielding just one walk.

The A’s managed just 1 run on five hits against the two Angels hurlers. Shintaro Fujinami took the loss in his MLB debut. The A’s and Angels will finish up this inaugural series of 2023 tomorrow at 1:07 pm at the Coliseum.