A's Hit 3 HRs, Laureano's 3 Fine Catches Help Top Angels 8-4
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Stephen Piscotty, Matt Olson and Robbie Grossman homered, center fielder Ramón Laureano made three nifty catches and the Oakland Athletics averted a sweep with an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.
Piscotty put the A's ahead with his solo drive in the fourth inning. Olson and Grossman also went deep off Griffin Canning (0-3) as Oakland's offense bounced back after being shut out on Tuesday night.
Seven of the Athletics' nine hits were for extra bases, including a pair of doubles by Matt Chapman.
Laureano contributed with his glove. He remained in Oakland's lineup while Major League Baseball decides on his appeal of a six-game suspension after being involved in a benches-clearing brawl Sunday against the Houston Astros.
Laureano made a sliding catch to rob Jo Adell of a single in the fifth and then made leaping grabs at the wall to rob Tommy La Stella and Brian Goodwin of extra-base hits.
Chris Bassitt (2-0) went 5 2/3 innings en route to his third straight win against the Angels. The right-hander came in with only two earned runs allowed in 16 2/3 innings but gave up four runs on five hits while striking out four.
Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon hit solo homers for the Angels, who went deep 10 times in the three-game series. Los Angeles came into the game tied with San Diego for most homers in the majors with 20.
Olson opened the scoring three batters into the game with a 454-foot blast into the elevated stands in right-center. Trout evened it in the bottom of the first when he put Bassitt's sinker over the wall in right-center.
Grossman made it 3-1 in the second with a two-run shot to right-center but Los Angeles evened it in the third on La Stella's RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Trout.
Piscotty then gave the Athletics the lead for good when he drove Canning's curveball down the left-field line. Oakland added a run in the fifth on Chapman's RBI double and broke it open with three in the eighth.
Canning allowed four runs on six hits and struck out two. All four of his home runs allowed this season have been to Oakland.
BOUNCING BACK
Rendon's drive to center in the fifth inning gave him a homer in three straight games for the second time in his career. The other time was in 2017 for Washington.
The third baseman came into the series with a .103 batting average and an 0 for 21 hitless streak but went 5 for 11 with three home runs and five RBIs in the series.
HOMER HAPPY
The Angels' 10 home runs against the Athletics ties a franchise record for most in a three-game home series. They also had 10 in a 1994 series against the Chicago White Sox and 2014 vs. the New York Mets.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: SS Andrelton Simmons (ankle) took some at-bats against live pitching at the alternate training site in Long Beach on Wednesday. While manager Joe Maddon is optimistic that Simmons could return for this weekend's series against the Dodgers, Simmons said he is a bit more cautious. He said during the game that he still doesn't feel quite ready yet.
UP NEXT
Athletics: Get an off day on Thursday before going across the bay to face San Francisco in a three-game weekend series. RHP Frankie Montas (2-1, 1.57 ERA) gets the call in Friday's opener.
Angels: Remain home to host the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend in the Freeway Series. LHP Patrick Sandoval (0-1, 2.70 ERA) gets his first career start against the Dodgers on Friday.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press.
