Griffin Canning makes early exit in Angels’ blowout loss to Athletics
OAKLAND — Max Schuemann hit a three-run homer, JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers both added two-run shots, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Angels 13-3 on Friday night but lost top prospect Jacob Wilson to a left hamstring strain in his major league debut.
Schuemann, who went three for four with four RBIs and entered the game batting .351 in July, gave the A’s a 6-2 lead in the fourth with his homer. He added an RBI double in the sixth. Oakland scored seven times in the sixth, with Bleday and Langeliers hitting homers.
The A’s, who scored 18 runs the game before the All-Star break, have recorded double-digit runs in their last two games and the most runs scored in a two-game stretch by any team this season.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred should be concerned that the big-market Angels continue to struggle with no end in sight under Arte Moreno’s ownership.
“Hitting is contagious,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “This lineup, they feed off one another. We have some power in this lineup. When these guys get locked in, the ball jumps off their bats and goes over the fence as we saw tonight.”
A’s starter JP Sears (7-7) pitched into the sixth and gave up two earned runs on solo homers by Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel.
“I think that you’re starting to see a lot of guys that are younger getting really comfortable with who they are,” Sears said of the team’s recent offensive success. “You can see that at the plate, just the types of at-bats we’ve had.”
Wilson, the A’s first-round pick in 2023 and top prospect according to MLB.com, left the game after straining his hamstring while scoring on Lawrence Butler’s two-run triple in the third. Wilson, who had just singled in his first career at-bat, was visibly frustrated in the dugout in between innings, stretching out his hamstring before leaving the game with a trainer.
Wilson, 22, also sat out more than a month because of a knee injury at triple-A Las Vegas earlier this season. He was hitting over .400 in the minors.
Kotsay hopes that Wilson just has a minor strain, but took him out of the game once he saw Wilson take the field in the fourth.
“There’s no reason for us to push that kid when when there’s a lower half injury that can get any worse by having to make a play for us or by not being able to make a play — and hurting the team,” Kotsay said. “From that standpoint, I admire the kid’s passion and desire to be on the field but at that point, it’s my job to make that decision.”
The A’s, who took two of three from the major league-best Phillies on the road prior to the All-Star break, also won their fourth straight game over the Angels in front of an announced crowd of 11,596 at the Coliseum.
Athletics owner John Fisher says moving to Las Vegas will improve the franchise, but Paul Sewald, Bryce Harper and other players don’t see it that way.
Angels starter Griffin Canning (3-10) gave up six runs in 3⅓ innings before leaving the game with elbow irritation. The Angels have lost seven straight at the Coliseum.
“My goal for the second half is to figure out how to sustain, and get more consistent,” manager Ron Washington said before the game. “We just got to get more consistent. And if we can do that, the second half is going to be a beautiful time.”
Injury update: Angels outfielder Mike Trout (knee) will face live hitters in Arizona before starting a rehab assignment at triple-A Salt Lake City. … Third baseman Luis Rengifo (wrist) took ground balls and hit off a tee Friday.
Up next: Right-hander Mitch Spence (5-6, 4.75 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the A’s against right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (0-1, 12.00 ERA) for the Angels.
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