A’s win streak ends with loss to Angels
On Monday night at the Coliseum, the respective teams’ best players hooked up, the mastery of Gray against the magnificence of Trout, and the duels were must-see for the tiny but loyal crowd.
Next time up, done exercising patience, Trout jumped at the first pitch, a 93 mph sinker down and in, and dented Mount Davis with a two-run homer.
After sweeping three games in Seattle, the A’s returned to Oakland and fell 4-1 in the opener of a six-game homestand that includes three against the reigning champion Royals.
[...] three of the hits are homers, and Monday’s highlighted a three-run rally in the sixth inning, all the damage necessary against Gray, who beat the White Sox 2-1 in his season debut.
Gray retired the first batter the seventh before Carlos Perez doubled and Cliff Pennington drew a four-pitch walk, and Melvin went to the bullpen after Gray’s 92nd pitch.
The A’s offense (despite 10 hits) gave Gray no help, bowing down to Angels starter Nick Tropeano when it mattered most.
Oakland was 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position until Marcus Semien’s two-out single in the ninth scored Jed Lowrie.
The A’s finished 1-for-11 with RISP, the most flagrant examples of their failures coming after Coco Crisp’s one-out triple in the fifth.
The first two A’s batters reached in the sixth, and Khris Davis could have tied the game with one mighty swing, but he bounced into a double play.