Taylor Ward’s grand slam in the fourth inning capped a rally from a six-run deficit, lifting the Los Angeles Angels to an 8-6 victory over the visiting Oakland Athletics on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.
The Angels avoided a four-game sweep to the A’s, who won the series’ first three games by a combined four runs.
Los Angeles first baseman Nolan Schanuel reached base five times with two singles, two walks and a hit by pitch. Ward had two hits, while Kevin Pillar had three.
Five Angels relievers combined for 6 1/3 scoreless innings to secure the win. With closer Carlos Estevez traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, Los Angeles manager Ron Washington turned to Luis Garcia, who pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Roansy Contreras (2-1) earned the victory over Oakland starter Osvaldo Bido (2-2).
The A’s jumped out to a big lead against Angels starter Jose Soriano with a six-run third inning, thanks in part to an error by Los Angeles second baseman Brandon Drury. Oakland had runners on first and third with one out when Miguel Andujar hit a sharp two-hopper to Drury for what looked to be a tailor-made double play ball.
But the ball got past Drury for an error, allowing the first run of the inning to score. After JJ Bleday walked to load the bases, Brent Rooker’s double to right-center scored all three runners for a 4-0 Oakland lead.
The A’s added two more runs in the inning on an RBI single by Abraham Toro and an RBI double by Kyle McCann to go up 6-0.
The Angels, though, responded with three runs in the bottom of the third against Bido, getting an RBI groundout from Luis Rengifo and a two-run single from Willie Calhoun.
Ward’s grand slam in the fourth inning put Los Angeles up 7-6 and knocked Bido out of the game. Schanuel was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, increasing the Angels’ lead to 8-6.
Bido allowed seven runs and six hits over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked four.
Soriano gave up six runs (three earned) and five hits over 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked two.
–Field Level Media
