Oakland Athletics edge Los Angeles Angels 6-5 – MLB Update
Oakland Athletics continued to impress the critics as they edged the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California on Tuesday, September 11 in second game of their four match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Athletics’ starting pitcher Dan Straily had a great time on the mound as he gave up seven hits and three runs in just over six innings to grab his second win of the season. Striking-out eight batters, he created all sorts of problems for the Angels’ batting
line-up.
"I just wasn't going to be embarrassed against these guys again," Straily said. "In (the clubhouse), we were kind of going nuts when the double play happened. There were a lot of fist-pumps."
Relief pitchers Sean Doolittle, Grant Balfour and Jerry Blevins combined to give two runs in two plus innings as Athletics held on to claim an impassable 2-0 series lead.
Yoenis Cespedes provided the A’s with a great start as he homered to centre in the second inning. Brandon Moss also made his presence felt with a home-run to right centre in the fourth inning. Coco Crisp tripled to deep right in the ninth to give his side
a decisive 6-3 lead.
"I put a good swing on the fastball, and it just happened to be right at the third baseman," said Angels’ second baseman Howard Kendrick, who went 0-for-5. "It happens sometimes. We had an opportunity to win the game, and it just didn't happen. But you want
to be that guy up there to get that big hit."
Both teams displayed some top quality fighting skills in a game that could decide the fate of American League West Division. With their win, Oakland moved to second place on the standings table, just four games behind the leaders Texas Rangers.
Oakland gave poor results in the first half of the season and credit should be given to the Manager Bob Melvin who turned things around dramatically after the All Star Break. It will be interesting to see if the A’s can stretch their winning streak to claim
the AL West title.
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