OAKLAND, Calif. -- — Lawrence Butler homered, JP Sears won for the first time in more than a month, and the Oakland Athletics blanked the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday for a second straight game by the same 5-0 score to complete a three-game series sweep.
Miguel Andujar and Brent Rooker hit back-to-back RBI singles in the third and Tyler Soderstrom added a sacrifice fly in the decisive inning on a hot Independence Day in the Bay Area, with an announced holiday crowd of 11,956.
Oakland's pitching shut down an Angels lineup that had been on quite an offensive run.
“This offense that we faced had scored five or more runs in (seven) consecutive games, they had won six of their last seven, they swept us in Anaheim, beat a Detroit team at home, came here really confident and really swinging the bats well," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “So our pitching staff really did a great job this series of controlling their offense, keeping the guys that had really been providing the offense at check and not giving away free bases.”
Sears (5-7) struck out six and walked one, allowing two hits over five innings to snap a six-start winless stretch since beating Houston on May 25. The left-hander had dropped his previous four decisions.
“It's contagious, you just want to do what the guy did before you,” Sears said.
The Angels lost a fourth straight game coming off a 5-0 shutout Wednesday. They were shut out in consecutive games for the first time since June 20-21, 2023 at home against the Dodgers.
The club now has a six-game losing streak at the Coliseum.
"It was just a tough overall series," said center fielder Kevin Pillar, who made several sparkling catches and said he was close to snagging Butler's eighth inning drive. “We were playing really good baseball at home, you got that off day, you come here, just playing these guys not a lot of secrets.”
Right-hander Roansy Contreras (1-1) walked two of the first three batters in the third to get in trouble, then gave up the run-scoring singles and a sacrifice fly before another walk — and that was it in his second start for the Angels. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings.
The Angels played the first of four straight day games as they head to Chicago to face the Cubs — their first visit to Wrigley Field since 2019.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: OF Mike Trout hit on the field off a tee during Monday's off day and is running on a treadmill as he recovers from a torn meniscus in his left knee. Manager Ron Washington saw the video and said “he looked natural.” ... 3B Luis Rengifo was feeling better after exiting a night earlier with an injury on his lower right arm near the wrist after fouling a ball off it in the ninth inning. ... 3B Anthony Rendon (left hamstring strain) will return to regular third base duties when healthy, with some games at designated hitter as needed, Washington said.
Athletics: LHP Kyle Muller has rejoined the team from his rehab assignment and is expected to be activated from the injured list this weekend after dealing with tendinitis in his pitching shoulder.
UP NEXT
RHP Griffin Canning (3-8, 4.71 ERA) takes the mound for the Angels in the series opener with the Cubs. LHP Hogan Harris (1-2, 3.18) pitches for the A's in Friday’s series opener against Baltimore, which counters with RHP Albert Suárez (4-2, 2.43).
------
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
US Temperature Map Scaled Sst Us Temps F 1536x1024 Us Temps F 1536x1024 National Lows Tonight Fig2 GCH2023 PR ERA5 Surface Temperature Anomaly Annual 2023 Nlmjpfnnc8l11 ?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=3cb17d484750ce01413cb99af43f1c139cedf0c1D3y4hwtnyt411 89706060 89706059 Ca Temps C 1280x960 2023 MAM Temperature Prediction Us Temps C 768x512 1342856387 Screenshot2024 01 25at12 02 54xmACIS2 .457624a1e03d597186429e99b5d603ad Jas 23 Temp Outlook Normals TotalPrecipAvgTemp Annual 1991 2020 Continuous 1400x2193 Predicted Feb 23 Temp Ranking 55ea63f0 Aec8 11ed A91f E5c6a4974884 Standard ?dpr=2&fit=scale Down&quality=medium&source=next&width=7002023springoutlook Seasonal Temperature 2023 2100 368759E000000578 3704667 Image A 13 1469276214054 Min.temp 20230901 To 20230927ALL 0 ?itok=CViqJGlYEnso.thumb .c348d2e687709c9b212376cc3f8a3cf4 Feb 23 Temp Outlook Final 132255098 Global Sea Temp Lines 2023 12 30 640 2x Nc 63da6ea168279fe60e555844 Apr 23 Precip Dep ClimateDashboard Global Surface Temperature Graph 20230118 1400px ?itok=JBME0itqUS Summary July Precipitation Duo 20230808 Statewidetavgrank 202301 202304 Social Screenshot 4DEC01A600000578 5933587 While An Isolated Heatwave Can Be Put Down As An Anomaly The Sca A 43 1531139557601