The Oakland Athletics had a chance to lock up a series win early. They blew it. Instead of a third straight victory, they served up a masterclass in self-sabotage, falling 5-2 to the Los Angeles Angels in a game that felt like a rerun of every frustrating loss this season. Bad defense, cold bats with runners on, and another injury. It is a familiar, exhausting script.
Jonah Heim tried to write a different story early on. Celebrating his birthday in the second inning, the A’s catcher absolutely demolished a first-pitch offering from Angels starter Reid Detmers, sending it 445 feet into the center-field seats. That solo shot gave Oakland a brief 1-0 lead. It was the high point of the night. It did not last.
Then came the physical toll. Left fielder Tyler Soderstrom limped off in the third with hip soreness, forcing a defensive shuffle. Colby Thomas slid to left, Lawrence Butler took right, and the ball immediately found them. Thomas made a spectacular diving grab to end the frame, but his defensive luck would soon run dry.
Oakland’s offense, meanwhile, specialized in squandering opportunities. They went a miserable 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. In the fourth, Shea Langeliers walked and Butler singled, putting two on with nobody out. Detmers did not blink. He carved up the next three hitters, racking up eight strikeouts through his first four frames.
The Angels made them pay in the bottom half. Jack Perkins walked his leadoff man, gave up a single to Jorge Soler, and then watched Jo Adell slice a ball down the left-field line. Thomas misplayed it. Two runs scored, Adell reached third, and the Angels led 2-1.
Thomas redeemed himself, briefly, in the sixth. After Nick Kurtz singled and Butler walked, Thomas snapped an ugly 0-for-19 slump with a clutch, two-out RBI single to tie the game. That chased Detmers. Chase Silseth came on and promptly struck out Max Muncy to leave two runners stranded.
Perkins deserved better. He turned in one of his finest starts of the year, grinding through five innings of two-run ball. Justin Sterner escaped trouble in the sixth, but the bullpen could not hold the line.
Enter the seventh, and enter Max Muncy’s nightmare. With two outs and a runner on third, Denver Guzman hit a routine grounder. Muncy, playing third, let the ball slip right under his glove. Josh Lowe trotted home. Another unearned run, another lead surrendered.
The A’s had one last gasp in the eighth. They loaded the bases with one out against Sam Bachman. But manager decisions raised eyebrows. Instead of letting the newly confident Thomas hit, the A’s sent up Carlos Cortes to pinch-hit. He struck out. Muncy followed with another empty at-bat. Threat neutralized.
The Angels put the game to bed in the bottom of the eighth. Matt Krook served up RBI singles to Oswald Peraza and Logan O’Hoppe, stretching the lead to 5-2. Kirby Yates handled the ninth with clinical efficiency, securing his second save.
The rubber match looms. Aaron Civale takes the mound for Oakland, trying to salvage the series against young Angels lefty Sam Aldegheri. If the A’s want a win, they will need to actually catch the ball.
