A’s use the long ball to claim 6-5 victory

Six-game road trip starts with a win

Two of the biggest reasons for the A’s exciting start to the second half of their 2024 season have been Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker. In six games since the All-Star Break, the two have combined to go 19-44 with a few home runs and 14 RBI’s heading into today. Tonight, it was no shock that both were in the middle of the A’s successes yet again.

Three big flies — one each for Rooker and Butler — led the way for the A’s who snagged the 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels to take game one of the four-game set. Ross Stripling returned from the Injured List and gave a resilient effort to earn his second win of the season as a nice team victory breaks the Halos four-game winning streak.

Offensively, the A’s have gotten out to some fast starts lately and tonight, they got the ball rolling early with two of their hottest hitters.

Butler doubled to start the game and two batters later, Rooker did it again.

The A’s led 2-0 before the Halos could even take their home at-bats, but the Angels would answer promptly themselves. A five-run second inning against Stripling highlighted by two doubles, two singles, two walks and a sacrifice fly swung the momentum right back to the their side.

All nine Angels starters would take an at-bat in the second, but Stripling worked the next three innings facing the minimum to respond nicely. In that time, the A’s offense would go right back to work.

Butler smashed a two-run bomb to straightaway center in the third inning to cut the lead down to 5-4. After that at-bat, the red-hot Butler was 18-for-his-last-30 at the dish.

Then in the fourth, after a Tyler Nevin lead-off double it was Daz Cameron's turn to go yard. Another two-run shot, this one to right center, put the A’s right back ahead 6-5.

As aforementioned, Stripling really buckled down after a rough second inning. His first start in over two months returning from the IL saw Stripling go 5.2 innings allowing six hits and five earned while striking out three. All five of those runs were allowed in the disastrous second, however, as well as 4/6 of the Angels hits he surrendered.

With one out in the seventh, the Angels appeared to have a perfect opportunity to tie the game.

Austin Adams was now in relief, and Mickey Moniak flipped a ball perfectly down the left-field line appearing to leg out a triple. The A’s would challenge the play as Moniak’s leg came off the base ever so slightly in the slide, and the call was overturned. Instead of the tying run at third with one out, Adams escaped the threat harmless after the next batter.

Credit the outfield assist on the play to Miguel Andujar in left who now has nine on the season in just 51 games.

With Mason Miller placed on the IL earlier this afternoon, insert Tyler Ferguson for tonight’s save opportunity. The rookie righty who made his big league debut just a little over two months ago passed his first test with flying colors striking out a pair and working a 1-2-3 impressive ninth to clinch the win.

The A’s have started their six-game road trip on the right foot with a win, and they’ll look to make it two in a row tomorrow at 6:38 PM PDT yet again. An A’s starting pitcher has yet to be named but they’ll be facing off against Angels righty Carson Fulmer.