Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer, Griffin Canning pitched seven strong innings and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Oakland Athletics 5-1 on Monday night.
Ward gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with his drive to right field in the first inning and he had a leaping catch against the wall for the second straight game in the ninth inning. He did the same on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
“Very poetic,” Angels manager Ron Washington said of Ward’s performance. “We definitely needed what he gave us in the first inning and we had to stop the momentum there in the ninth.”
Zach Neto, Luis Rengifo and Willie Calhoun each had a pair of hits and Neto scored twice.
The Angels, 25th in the Majors with their 4.03 runs per game, got more than enough on Monday thanks to Canning’s strong performance.
Canning (3-8) gave up one earned run and struck out five. He allowed just five hits, including Tyler Nevin’s home run on the first pitch of the second inning, and consistently pitched from the front in the count.
“I’m just proud of that,” Canning said. “That’s what we preach and I didn’t necessarily do that well this year. I’m super happy with it.”
The A’s have lost three straight games and four of the last five. The Angels had lost three of four. In the two-run third, Logan O’Hoppe drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Ward scored on an error.
Luis Medina, who made his Major League debut for Oakland in Anaheim a year ago, was chased after three innings. Medina (1-3) gave up four runs, three earned, and struck out four.
“He had zero command tonight,” athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “It’s hard when you go out there and you don’t have command and you can’t execute pitches. He gave everything he had. Eighty pitches in three innings is a lot of work to give up four runs. We’re going to continue taking a dive to find out what’s causing this and make corrections.”
Canning, on the other hand, had one of his best performances of the year.
“He was outstanding,” Washington said. “At one point he was 9-on-9 on the first pitch. During the game he threw 20 out of 25. I congratulated him when I told him that. It was great. He was in control all night, even though he was threw almost 100 pitches.”
Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh attended the Angels batting practice and chatted with Washington and players.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: RHP Ross Stripling (strain, throwing elbow) and RHP Patrick Blackburn (stress reaction in right foot) are each on a road trip and expected to conduct bullpen sessions in Anaheim. Angels: LHP Patrick Sandoval (elbow) has a torn flexor and UCL and will soon undergo season-ending surgery.
NEXT ONE
Athletics: RHP Mitch Spence (4-3, 3.86 ERA) is 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA over his last four starts after going 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his first three starts. Angels: LHP Tyler Anderson (6-7, 2.48 ERA) ranks fifth in the AL with a 2.08 ERA.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
