ANAHEIM, Calif. _ First baseman Yonder Alonso, whose error in the eighth inning allowed the Angels to tie the game and force extra innings, delivered a run-scoring double in the 10th to trigger an 8-6 A's win, snapping a five-game Oakland losing streak.
Danny Valencia and pinch-hitter Billy Butler backed up two-out singles in the 10th before Alonso stepped in and lined a double into the gap, scoring Valencia. Butler came home on a Marcus Semien single as the A's closed a 3-6 road trip with a badly needed win.
The A's took a 6-5 lead into the eighth thanks mostly to left fielder Coco Crisp, but an infield hit by Jefry Marte got the Angels going, eventually seeing Anaheim load the bases with one out.
Reliever John Axford got a potential double-play grounder, but Alonso, Oakland's best defender in the infield, muffed the pickup, then his throw to the plate was judged to be too late for the force out, the Angels tying the game even as Alonso protested that his throw had beaten Marte to the plate.
Ryan Madson pitched 12/3 innings of scoreless relief for the win and Ryan Dull pitched the 10th for his second save for the A's (48-60).
The game's torrid early offensive pace calmed after the A's tied it at 5-all with three runs in the fourth. Nothing would change until the seventh when two walks and Crisp's rocket off the right field wall for an RBI double pushed Oakland up 6-5.
Crisp had been hitless to that point, but it was no surprise that he delivered with men on first and second. He's been the best hitter for average in the Major Leagues this year with runners in scoring position, Thursday's double moving him to 26-for-58, .448 when there are RBIs to be had.
The A's left fielder actually took control of the game earlier, preserving the tie in the fifth inning.
First Crisp picked up Andrelton Simmons' ground ball single and gunned a strike to second base, beating the Angels shortstop there for the second out of the inning.
That was just the warmup act. Angels left fielder Ji-Man Choi, who'd homered in his first two tries, went to the opposite field in an effort for a third home run. To keep the game tied at 5-all, Crisp launched himself up against the fence, stretching the upper half of his body over the barrier to make the catch and pull it back into the field of play.
Oakland's first three runs all came on solo homers, one from Max Muncy in the first, one from Ryon Healy in the third and, with the A's down 5-2 in the fourth, a leadoff blast from Valencia.
The A's would go on to score two more runs to tie the game. Alonso came within a foot or so of a two-run homer, but settle for a double that set up Semien's run-scoring grounder and a wild pitch from starter Ricky Nolasco that forged the tie.
A's starter Jesse Hahn could have done without seeing as much of Choi as he did. The left-handed hitting left fielder gave the Angels their first run with a solo homer, then came up in a 2-2 game in the third and cranked a three-run blast.
The homers were the 26th and 27th off A's pitchers since the All-Star break, the second-worst total in the league behind the 29 yielded by Kansas City hurlers.
