Luis Severino gave the Athletics seven strong innings. Then Zack Gelof and the bullpen finished the series.
Gelof drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th, Mark Leiter Jr. escaped a major jam, and the A’s beat the Angels 3-2 on Thursday at Angel Stadium. The win gave the Athletics a 3-1 series victory, their third straight win and their second straight 10-inning one-run victory.
Seve settles in
Severino gave up a two-run homer to Nolan Schanuel in the first inning, but that was all the Angels managed against him.
After that, Severino took control. He allowed three hits over seven innings, walked none and struck out 10.
The A’s trailed 2-0 until the sixth. Then Shea Langeliers doubled and Nick Kurtz singled him home with two outs.
Late push pays off
The Athletics tied it in the seventh after Tyler Soderstrom singled and Gelof reached on a forceout.
Gelof stole second, moved to third on a Jeff McNeil groundout and scored on Darell Hernaiz’s two-out single to left. After that, the A’s had chances in the eighth and ninth but left runners on.
In the 10th, Langeliers opened the inning at second. Then Kurtz was intentionally walked, and Brent Rooker was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Soderstrom hit into a forceout at the plate. However, Gelof followed with a forceout that scored Kurtz after the A’s challenged and won the play at first.
Bullpen locks it down
Justin Sterner worked a clean eighth, and Joel Kuhnel handled the ninth. Kuhnel worked around a single and a walk to earn his first win of the season and his first as an Athletic.
Leiter entered for the 10th and immediately allowed a single to Jo Adell, putting runners on the corners with no outs. But he struck out Josh Lowe, then got Jorge Soler to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.
As a result, Leiter earned his fourth save.
Numbers that mattered
The A’s had seven hits and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Kurtz went 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI. Rooker added two hits, while Langeliers doubled and scored.
Gelof stole two bases and drove in the winning run. Hernaiz added the game-tying RBI and also stole a base.
Up next
The Athletics head home Friday to open a series against the Padres.
Jeffrey Springs is scheduled to start for the A’s. He enters 3-4 with a 3.93 ERA and 47 strikeouts. San Diego is set to counter with Walker Buehler, who is 3-2 with a 5.01 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
Related stories
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
