The Los Angeles Angels were routed by the Athletics in their series finale as they head toward a franchise record.
The Los Angels Angels continue to make losing an art form, with their latest installment being a 7-3 loss to the Athletics as the Angels got behind big early and stayed there.
This was a lifeless game that featured a rare bad start from rookie Walbert Urena, who continues to struggle on and off down the stretch as his innings pile up. The Athletics won this one early with a four spot in the first and another run in the second, and the best the Angels could manage was a popgun comeback with three runs in the middle innings.
Lawrence Butler started the scoring for the A’s with an RBI single, and Urena got himself in big trouble after that by walking one hitter and hitting another. Former Angels retread Donovan Walton made Urena pay with a three-run homer to make it 4-0, and Henry Bolte doubled home a run in the second to pad the lead to 5-0.
Most of what followed was perfunctory, but the Angels did mount their usual token comeback. Mike Trout and Vaughn Grissom both took advantage of the bandbox ballpark with solo homers in the fourth, and Grissom added an RBI groundout in the fifth to make it 5-3.
The Angels offense ran out of gas after that, though, and Shea Langeliers extended the A’s lead to 7-3 with a two-run RBI double in the sixth.
Urena’s season is almost certainly over, and he gave up five runs on seven hits and a walk to go with a pair of strikeouts as he was able to last four innings. He managed to keep his ERA under three at 2.97, and Urena will definitely be a linchpin in the Angels rotation next year after they get a real manager and a genuine lineup to back him up.
Meanwhile, there’s that 100-loss season to talk about. The A’s can breathe easier after this win, as they’re now three games up on the Angels with four to play.
The Angels need to take three of four against the Seattle Mariners this weekend as the countdown continues, and while they did do that recently against the Mariners and Minnesota Twins, those games were in Anaheim. Think of this upcoming series as a mercy killing of sorts, and the 100-loss season would be a kind of achievement as it would be a franchise first to finish off an ugly campaign.
