OAKLAND, Calif. _ On the 15th anniversary of Scott Hatteberg's walk-off home run that clinched an American League-record 20th-consecutive win, the A's fell just short of pulling off another dramatic comeback at the Oakland Coliseum.
The Los Angeles Angels spoiled the excitement of Matt Olson's two-out, two-run home run in the ninth Monday, scoring a pair of runs off reliever Blake Treinen (1-3) in the 11th to pull out an 11-9 win over the A's.
The Angels erased the excitement of Olson's homer, regaining the lead in the 11th after Kole Calhoun tripled to right, scoring Justin Upton and Eric Young Jr.
The A's put the go-ahead run on first in the 11th, but Khris Davis hit into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Olson tied the game at 9-9 with two outs in the ninth, launching an opposite-field home run to left off Angels reliever Blake Parker with Jed Lowrie aboard, his second long ball of the game. The rookie first baseman also broke a 4-4 tie in the third by blasting a solo shot, his 13th home run of the season, to center.
Olson went 3 for 5 with three RBIs while Lowrie collected three hits in four plate appearance, scoring three runs.
The bullpen gave Olson an opportunity to tie the game in the ninth by keeping the Angels off the board after they scored their ninth run of the game in the fifth.
Santiago Casilla, Ryan Dull and Chris Hatcher each pitched an inning of scoreless baseball. Left-hander Daniel Coulombe retired the only batter he faced in the seventh before righty Liam Hendriks recorded the last two outs of the inning.
Starting pitcher Chris Smith appeared to have a good shot at picking up his first Major League win as a starter when the A's spotted him a 4-0 lead in the first inning. But the 36-year-old journeyman couldn't cool off the Los Angeles Angels scorching offense, coughing up seven earned runs in 31/3 innings of work.
Smith fell off the rails in second, allowing the Angels to tie the game by giving up a pair of singles, a three-run homer to Luis Valbuena and a solo shot to Martin Maldonado.
Maldonado also went yard in the fourth, this time with Valbuena aboard, breaking a 5-5 tie.
The Angles catcher's second homer of the game was the 16th surrendered by Smith in 502/3 innings pitched this season. Smith eventually got the hook after giving up a single to Brandon Philips, who came around to score on a wild pitch by Simon Castro in the fourth.
The right-hander's dismal outing was just latest nightmare for Manager Bob Melvin's rotation, which went 0-4 with a 6.98 ERA during the team's 0-6 road trip through Anaheim and Seattle last week.
With pitchers Daniel Mengden and Josh Smith expected to be recalled from Triple-A Nashville Tuesday, the outing could have been Smith's final opportunity to earn his first win as a starter this season as he's 0-4 with a 9.66 ERA in his last seven starts.
The A's jumped out to an early lead by tagging Angels starter Parker Bridwell for four runs in the first just five days after put up eight runs off him in the fourth inning of a game at Angels Stadium.
Bridwell gave up two hits and a walk to the first three batters he faced before Davis brought in three runs by driving a double to the gap in left-center field, giving the left fielder 95 RBIs on the year, which ranks third in the American League.
After Smith left the game, the Angels put up two more runs off the Castro. Mike Trout scored off an Albert Pujols single in the fourth and Andrelton Simmons crossed the plate in the fifth on a C.J Cron single after he doubled to center.
The A's added a pair of runs in the middle innings, setting the stage for Olson's heroics in the ninth. Bruce Maxwell came in on a Matt Chapman single in the fourth and Lowrie scored when Ryon Healy hit into a double play with the bases loaded and none out in the fifth.
