ANAHEIM, Calif. _ At the start of this season, the Los Angeles Angels made comeback victories their thing. For the last week, they have done the opposite, instead surrendering them to opposing teams. On Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium, they squandered a late five-run lead to Oakland in an 11-10 loss.
They suffered a defeat by the same score a week ago in Toronto, with closer Bud Norris the culprit then. On Sunday, he shared the burden with set-up man Blake Parker.
Mike Trout has played 20 games since his July return from a torn thumb ligament. In 19 of those games, he has reached base. In 14 of them, he has reached base more than once. Plate appearance by plate appearance, he is stringing together a season for the ages to add to an unprecedented career. He is hitting, walking and slugging all at rates better than his career bests.
His next hit will be his 1,000th. He turns 26 Monday. He is already by all measures the most valuable player in franchise history.
And, still, it was not enough.
To begin Sunday's game, Angels starter Ricky Nolasco guided two fastballs outside to Marcus Semien. He left the third over the plate, and Semien walloped it to the left-field wall for a double. After Nolasco walked Jed Lowrie, he began to locate his slider where he sought, down and away to right-handed hitters. And he got out of the inning.
Yunel Escobar waited out the count to begin the Angels' half of the first inning. When he had left-hander Sean Manaea cornered, he pounced on a 3-and-1 fastball and shot it into the left-field seats. Trout then hooked a low changeup to a similar spot for his 22nd home run of 2017.
That lead remained until the fourth, as Nolasco used a double play to finish the second and two strikeouts to escape the third. Oakland then pushed across four runs on two doubles, a walk and a vicious home run from Mark Canha.
The Angels matched the Athletics' output in the bottom of the inning. Andrelton Simmons drew a one-out walk, Kole Calhoun singled and Shane Robinson walked to load the bases for backup catcher Juan Graterol, who laced a double down the left-field line.
Cliff Pennington then blooped a single into center field, where an error by Jaycob Brugman allowed Robinson and Graterol to score.
When Nolasco surrendered a leadoff double to Ryon Healy in the fifth, Angels manager Mike Scioscia called in reliever Cam Bedrosian, who let in a run with a wild pitch. He would have let in another if not for Calhoun chasing down a drive to right.
The Angels added two runs in the fifth when Simmons doubled and Calhoun and pinch-hitter Ben Revere notched singles, and two more in the sixth. After Escobar and Trout walked, C.J. Cron singled to score Escobar, and an Oakland error allowed Trout to score.
Right-hander Yusmeiro Petit handled the next two innings before Parker took over in the eighth. He was not sharp, and neither was Norris, who replaced him. Between the two, they yielded the Angels' four-run lead on three singles, two doubles and a home run.
So the Angels trailed as they batted in the bottom of the eighth. Cron doubled, Simmons took a fastball off his ribs and Calhoun moved both men up a base with a one-out tapout. After Revere walked to load the bases, pinch-hitter Luis Valbuena struck out swinging.
Both teams went down in order in the ninth. Still, the 4-hour, 12-minute affair was the longest nine-inning game in Angel Stadium's 51-year history.
The Angels (55-57) fell back in the American League wild-card race as their competitors from Seattle and Kansas City engaged in a daylong doubleheader.
