The Los Angeles Angels hope to do a better job of closing out innings when they host the Athletics in the third contest of their four-game series on Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif.
The A’s scored 12 of their 14 runs with two outs on Tuesday, including all six runs in the third inning.
“Sometimes, it’s tough to get that last out … stop that momentum,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said after the 14-6 win. “When they got the momentum, it seemed like they kept going. It was early in the count too, right. They kept going and going. Sometimes, it’s hard to get it stopped. There’s no rhyme or reason.”
On the bright side, the Angels lead the MLB in strikeouts but fanned just five times on Tuesday.
“We’ve been really focusing on battling with two strikes, maybe shortening up a little bit,” Suzuki said. “Not just trying to put the ball in play but put some good swings on some pitches and not try to do too much. I thought they did a nice job (Tuesday) night. … They got some big hits with two strikes and it was definitely nice to see.”
The six runs the Angels totaled on Tuesday ended their streak of scoring two runs or fewer at seven games.
The Angels were no-hit for eight innings in the series opener on Monday before Zach Neto belted a walk-off two-run homer in the ninth for a 2-1 victory. That win ended a six-game skid.
The A’s are planning to start right-hander Aaron Civale on Wednesday.
Civale (5-1, 2.70 ERA) is 3-0 this month with a 1.69 ERA.
He most recently allowed two runs and six hits in five innings of a 5-2 win versus the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
Civale is 3-1 with a 4.28 ERA in five career starts against the Angels.
He last faced the Angels on Aug. 2 as a member of the Chicago White Sox and blanked them on one hit over 6 1/3 innings in a 1-0 win.
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (2-3, 4.56) is scheduled to take the mound for the Angels on Wednesday.
Unlike Civale, Kochanowicz has struggled this month to the tune of going 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in three starts.
Kochanowicz surrendered six earned runs for the second straight outing on Friday, a 6-0 setback against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He has made two career starts against the A’s and is 0-1 with a 12.38 ERA.
After getting three more hits and five RBIs on Tuesday night, A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz has reached base in 42 straight games.
The franchise record is 62 straight games by Mark McGwire from the end of the 1994-95 season to halfway through the next season.
The longest on-base streak in the MLB last season was 41 games by Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies.
“He’s able to pick me and a lot of other pitchers up,” Civale said.
–Field Level Media
