Since leaving Oakland 11 days ago, the A’s saw their momentum halted and their roster stripped by a trade-deadline deal.
But as they finished up a rough nine-game road trip Thursday, they at least flew home with a much-needed victory to savor. Yonder Alonso’s go-ahead double keyed a two-run rally in the 10th inning that lifted the A’s to an 8-6 victory as they avoided a sweep to the Los Angeles Angels.
The A’s finished just 3-6 on their three-city trip, which started well with a series victory at Texas before they lost five in a row. Then they watched two of their most prominent players, left-hander Rich Hill and right fielder Josh Reddick, get traded to the Dodgers just hours before Monday’s trade deadline.
The rest of the season will be about playing for pride and trying to set the team up for success in 2017. Their victory Thursday had to boost their morale as they boarded their team charter. They fell behind early, fought back to take the lead, relinquished the lead and broke a 10th-inning tie with two runs off Angels reliever Mike Morin. After Alonso’s RBI double off the wall, Marcus Semien added a run-scoring single and gave Ryan Dull some cushion as he closed out the victory for his second save.
Left fielder Coco Crisp had a big game with an RBI double in the seventh and back-to-back big defensive plays in the fifth. First, Crisp threw out Andrelton Simmons as he tried to stretch a single into a double. On the next batter, Crisp hauled in a home run-saving catch of Ji-Man Choi’s drive to left. Crisp made a leaping catch as he went teetering on the short left field wall, nearly tipping into the stands. That play robbed Choi of his third home run of the game.
The A’s return to the Coliseum to begin a 10-game homestand that starts Friday against the Chicago Cubs.
