Pujols hits 574th homer in Angels' 7-3 loss to A's
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Los Angeles Angels hit three homers and finished with 13 hits. Still, it wasn't enough to end their longest losing streak of the season.
Coco Crisp hit a two-run single and scored four times, helping the Oakland Athletics beat the Angels 7-3 on Saturday night.
Los Angeles slugger Albert Pujols hit his 574th homer to snap a tie with Harmon Killebrew for 11th place on baseball's career list. It was Pujols' second homer in two nights and No. 14 on the season, but the Angels lost their sixth in a row and fell to a season-worst 13 games under .500 (31-44).
"There seems like the situation we need to win on the field to start the flow of momentum, to put the game on our terms, some of it is slipping through the cracks," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "You absolutely cannot go out there and give 10 baserunners in four-plus innings and think you're going to have a chance to win. You'd better be pounding the ball (offensively) to do that.
Jhoulys Chacin (2-4) allowed four runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings for Los Angeles. Chacin has pitched into the sixth inning only once in his past five starts and the Angels starters have struggled throughout the series.
"My game has always been to throw strikes and get ground balls, and that way I throw a lot of innings, which I haven't done the last four or five starts," Chacin said. "I'm really thinking, just throw strikes and keep the ball down, because that's my game."
The Angels loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Sean Doolittle retired the next two in order.
Danny Valencia homered and drove in three runs for the A's, who have won three of the first four games of the series. Dillon Overton pitched into the sixth inning to get the win in his major league debut.
"When I got taken out, I was walking off the field and looking up at the stands at my family," Overton said. "It almost makes your eyes want to start watering a little bit because it's such a surreal feeling. It's a dream come true. Not many people can get their first big league win in their first outing."
Overton gave up back-to-back homers by Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout in the first inning. The 24-year-old left-hander was charged with three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: LHP Sean Manaea made a rehab start with Class-A Stockton on Friday. A's manager Bob Melvin said Manaea felt great after throwing 69 pitches over 3 2/3 innings. Manaea gave up two earned runs and two hits. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 14 with a left pronator strain.
Angels: RHP Joe Smith will begin a rehab assignment on Sunday with Class-A Inland Empire. Smith previously threw live batting practice twice, with the latest mound session coming Thursday. Smith was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 7 with a strained left hamstring.
UP NEXT
Athletics: RHP Sonny Gray will try to snap a career-high five-game losing streak in the series finale Sunday. Gray is 2-0 with a 1.52 ERA in four games at Angel Stadium.
Angels: LHP Hector Santiago has shown signs of improvement after a streak of rough outings in May and June, allowing only one earned run in each of his last two starts. Santiago is 3-3 with a 3.34 ERA in in 12 games against Oakland and allowed four earned runs over 7 2/3 innings in a no-decision in his one start against the A's this season.