WEST SACRAMENTO — On Saturday night, the third time was the charm for the Angels against the A’s. In the third game of the series, they held a 2-0 lead and were threatening for more with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning.
This was the Angels’ third time loading the bases, coming up empty the first two occasions. With relief pitcher Scott Barlow on after the Angels had knocked starter J.T. Ginn from the game, Zach Neto doubled to left field to give the Angels some breathing room, bringing in two. Nolan Schanuel followed with a double of his own to push the score to 6-0.
This time, the lead held. The Angels would add one more run on a solo homer from Denzer Guzman, his second of the season, and second in as many days in the team’s 7-0 win.
“Guzy is looking like he’s kind of settling in a little bit, both on the defensive side and the offensive side. He looks like he belongs.”
“I think it was huge,” Suzuki said of the win. “These guys never stop fighting, man. We’ve had some tough losses before, and the next day they always come back fighting even harder. They deserve a lot of credit for that.”
When Ureña and A’s starter J.T. Ginn last faced off on May 18, they were locked in a pitcher’s duel. Ureña went six scoreless, while Ginn went eight no-hit frames before he gave up a walk-off homer to Zach Neto in the ninth.
A change of venue and a month later, the two pitchers matched up again in a similar type of game for the first five innings, only with the quest for a no-hitter taken care of early. The A’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but Ureña was able to wiggle free of the threat on a Lawrence Butler grounder to third.
The Angels scored twice in the top of the second, with Jo Adell leading off the inning with a double, followed by a Wade Meckler walk. A Donovan Walton single and a sac-fly from Jose Siri put the Angels ahead. They would load the bases themselves in the second, but Ginn would get Nolan Schanuel to ground out to first.
The Angels loaded the bases again in the top of the third, but a pair of groundouts to first base kept the score at 2-0 Angels.
Ginn faced more traffic on the bases, as Ureña settled in nicely after the first inning, but the A’s were able to drive up Ureña’s pitch count, while the Angels were unable to take advantage of their opportunities until the sixth.
Ureña finished with five scoreless innings on Saturday night, giving up four hits and striking out six. This is now the tenth straight outing for Ureña where he has gone at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs. He entered the game tied with Jered Weaver’s nine-game rookie streak in 2006. Now he is tied with Ron Romanick’s ten games in 1984.
The only Angels rookie ahead of him is Marcelino López, who had a streak of 12 games in his rookie campaign in 1965.
Ureña was very pleased that he didn’t allow a walk for the first time in his career.
“Really great,” Ureña said of how he felt he performed. “I mean, maybe too many pitches, but everything works — no walks,” he said with an added smile.
Catcher Tyler Heineman made his debut on Friday night after Logan O’Hoppe was replaced in the 10th for a pinch runner. In his first time in the lineup, Heineman made a big impression, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.
“I think he’s a great complement for Logan (O’Hoppe),” Suzuki said of Heineman. “Having him around and working together with Hop, I think it’s gonna be a good duo.”
After going 3-for-21 on the road trip entering play Saturday, Adell collected three hits and a run scored.
Before Ureña threw a pitch in the first inning, home plate umpire Dan Bellino came out to have the Angels right-hander remove his headband with the flag of the Dominican Republic. He was told that it was because there was white on the headband, which they said could be distracting for the hitter. He found a red one to replace it.