Chapman Homers In 9th, A's Help Wild-Card Hopes With 3-2 Win Over Angels

ANAHEIM (AP) — Matt Chapman hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning and the Oakland Athletics boosted their playoff chances, rallying past the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Oakland remained a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay for the first AL wild-card spot. Cleveland fell two games behind the A's.

Ramon Laureano also homered and the A's avoided their first three-game losing streak since July 24-26.

Oakland right-hander Frankie Montas was effective in his return after serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, giving up one run in six innings. He allowed four hits and two walks, while striking out six.

Joakim Soria (2-4) threw one inning of scoreless relief, and Liam Hendriks got his 24th save.

Chapman hit his 35th homer on the first pitch he saw from Hansel Robles (5-1). Marcus Semien started the comeback with a leadoff single, reaching second on a sacrifice bunt by Laureano to set up Chapman's 436-foot shot to center. The A's had been 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position before Chapman connected.

Kaleb Cowart had an RBI double and Taylor Ward hit a solo homer, but the Angels lost seven of their final eight games to the A's.

Cowart gave the Angels a 2-1 lead in the seventh. Oakland had failed to go ahead in the top half of the seventh when Mark Canha hit into a double play with the bases loaded.

Laureano tied it at 1 in the fifth with a solo homer.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the second on Ward's first homer of the season and seventh of his career.

ROSTER MOVE

The A's designated C Beau Taylor for assignment to create a roster spot for Montas. Taylor hit .174 with two RBIs in 10 games for Oakland.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Athletics: Canha left the game in the seventh because of a groin strain. . LF Khris Davis (stomach flu) did not play. . RF Stephen Piscotty (sprained ankle) took batting practice and ran the bases Wednesday. "He's getting better every day," Melvin said of Piscotty, who has not played since Aug. 24.

Angels: CF Mike Trout expects to participate in his normal offseason routine after undergoing surgery to remove a Morton's neuroma from his right foot on Friday. Trout said he would likely need six weeks of recovery before being cleared for physical activity.

UP NEXT

Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea (3-0, 1.14 ERA) will start in the opener of a four-game series at Seattle on Thursday. Manaea has allowed three earned runs in 18 2/3 innings while winning each of his past three starts.

Angels: RHP Jaime Barria (4-10) 6.43) gets the nod to start a four-game series against Houston on Thursday. Barria is 1-3 with a 4.34 ERA in six career games against the Astros.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.