The Los Angeles Angels are having fun beating up on the Athletics this season.
The Angels are 5-0 against the Athletics as the teams enter a Tuesday game at Anaheim, Calif., the second of a three-game series between American League West rivals.
Los Angeles won 7-4 on Monday and has racked up 38 runs against Athletics pitching this season.
Jo Adell homered and had three RBIs to lead the offensive charge as the Angels won for the fifth time in seven games overall. Adell had two hits and Mike Trout had two RBIs. Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel each had two hits and one RBI.
“Our offense was working,” Schanuel said. “We put the good work in and it paid off.”
While the Athletics lost for the 22th time in their past 26 games, rookie center fielder Denzel Clarke again opened eyes with his third superlative catch in his three weeks as a major-leaguer.
Clarke committed flat-out robbery in the first inning when Schanuel hit a drive to left-center. Clarke climbed the wall and had half his body above it before reaching up to make the catch for the second out of the inning.
Against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, Clarke sprinted into the left-center-field gap to make a catch on Jorge Mateo while slamming into the wall. And against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 30, Clarke scaled the wall to take a homer away from Alejandro Kirk.
The prior two were each honored as MLB’s best catch of the week.
“I’m always very tentative to say this was the best one,” Clarke said after the game against the Angels, “but I think this is probably the best one I’ve ever made.”
Angels manager Ron Washington, 73, has been around the game since signing his first professional contract in 1970.
“One of the best I’ve seen,” Washington said. “That was an athlete on that wall. He caught the ball, he rolled, jumped down on his feet. He’s a gymnast.”
Schanuel said he didn’t see a replay of the catch during the contest.
“I didn’t want to watch it because I would get too mad,” Schanuel said.
JJ Bleday and Max Muncy each hit a two-run homer for the Athletics.
The A’s will take aim on Tuesday at Jose Soriano (4-5, 4.11 ERA) as the Angels right-hander attempts to bounce back from his worst outing of the season.
Soriano, 26, was rocked for seven runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. He received a no-decision in the Angels’ 11-9 setback.
Soriano defeated the Athletics on May 19 when he gave up three runs and six hits over six innings. Overall, he is 1-2 with a 9.64 ERA in five appearances (three starts) against the A’s.
Brent Rooker is 4-for-7 with a homer against Soriano, and Lawrence Butler is 3-for-8 with a blast vs. the Angels starter.
The Athletics will use Mitch Spence (2-1, 4.09 ERA) as an opener on Tuesday before turning it over to fellow right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-4, 6.14).
Spence, 27, is 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA in six career appearances against the Angels — four starts in 2024 and two scoreless relief appearances this season.
Bido gave up two runs and two hits while recording two outs in relief against the Minnesota Twins on June 3. It was the 29-year-old’s first appearance after a brief demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Bido is 1-1 with a 7.27 ERA in four career appearances (one start) against the Angels. Taylor Ward hit a grand slam off Bido last season.
Athletics rookie Nick Kurtz (left hip flexor strain) was activated from the 10-day injured list on Monday and went hitless in four at-bats as the designated hitter. The 22-year-old, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft, is hitting .235 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 30 major league games this year.
The A’s optioned Logan Davidson to Las Vegas to clear a spot for Kurtz.
The Angels are expected to activate first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. prior to the Tuesday game. He was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Outfielder Jorge Soler (groin) underwent an MRI exam and is a candidate to go on the IL.
–Field Level Media
