Angels' woes continue in second straight loss to A's

ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the second consecutive night, the Angels squandered an early lead and fell to the Oakland A's 5-4 Friday at Angel Stadium.

The Angels hit a pair of two-run home runs in the first inning off A's starter Paul Blackburn, but failed to score another run for the rest of the game. 

Oakland has been a thorn in the side of the Angels in July. The Angels have lost seven of eight games to the last-place A's in July after sweeping them at home in late June. 

"They got us. if we continued to put some runs up, it would be a different story but they got us," Angels manager Ron Washington said. "They are swinging the bat over there.

"Every mistake we make, we pay for it."

Taylor Ward and Nolan Schanuel each hit two-run home runs in the first inning and led to a 4-0 lead. Schanuel's home run was his 10th of the season, giving the Angels four players under the age of 25 with 10 or more home runs for the first time in franchise history. 

The Angels got everything they could have asked for from starting pitcher Carson Fulmer. Fulmer, who was making just his third start of the season, pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowed three runs on two hits, had three walks and three strikeouts. He matched a season-high with 77 pitches and left the game in line for a win.

"It's great being out there for that long. It stings a bit that I couldn't get into the sixth," Fulmer said. "I kept us into the ballgame and on to the next one."

Friday was the most innings Fulmer has pitched in a game since 2018 when he was a starter for the Chicago White Sox.

Hans Crouse entered the game and A's designated hitter Brent Rooker welcomed him with a game-tying home run, his 25th of the season.

"I told him he could give up anything but a bomb and Rooker got us," Washington said. "He's (Crouse) been doing the job for us, tonight it just didn't happen."

Seth Brown hit a liner down the right-field line that was initially called foul. A's manager Mark Kotsay challenged the play which was overturned and allowed the go-ahead run to score.

Friday was the first loss for Crouse with the Angels and his first since 2021 with the Philadelphia Phillies. 

The Angels had two scoring opportunities that could have changed the outcome of the game. In the fifth inning, Anthony Rendon hit a double to right-center field. Jo Adell, who was running on the pitch and held up at second to make sure the ball wasn't caught, was easily thrown out at home plate by JJ Bleday and Max Schuemann. 

"EY (Eric Young Sr.) did what he felt he had to do, I'm not going to question that," Washington said. "I think all of you saw the play, you can come up with your own conclusion on that." 

"We rest our head on being aggressive and on that one it was really really aggressive," Adell said. "We tried to push it and it wasn't the right scenario maybe. 

"I was sent but it's mutual. We both want to be aggressive there."

In the eighth inning, the Angels had a runner in scoring position, but A's reliever TJ McFarland struck out Nolan Schanuel to keep the A's lead intact. 

Brown hit a two-run home run off Fulmer in the second inning to cut the Angels' lead to 4-2. 

Jose Quijada, Matt Moore and Roansy Contreras each threw scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the Angels. Quijada, who underwent elbow surgery last season, was making his first appearance at Angel Stadium in 15 months.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson (8-8, 2.91 ERA) will start at 6:38 p.m. Saturday for the Angels against Mitch Spence (6-6, 4.67) of the A's.