McCarthy lit up for seven; Angels top A's again

April 26, 2011BOXSCOREA'SVIDEOMLBPAGEMLBSCOREBOARDPaul GutierrezCSNCalifornia.com

ANAHEIM - The A's had two players hurt on the same third-inning play, losing the red-hot Coco Crisp to a tight left quad, and then lost the game, 8-3 to the Los Angeles Angels and a rookie pitcher Tuesday night.The A's (11-13) have now dropped the first two games of a series for the fifth time in eight series this season.The Angels (14-10) pounded out five extra-base hits off Brandon McCarthy, 14 hits total, in his season-low 5 13 innings. In his previous four starts, the right-hander had given up a total of 27 hits.The 14 hits McCarthy surrendered were the most allowed by an A's starter since Barry Zito gave up 15 hits to Tampa Bay on July 8, 2003 in Oakland.McCarthy (1-2) was charged with seven runs while striking out three, walking one and uncorking two wild pitches."Too many hits, too many runs," McCarthy said. "A lot of infield singles, just some things that were tough to work throughI just kind of compounded the problems there."A lot of it with two outs, a lot of it with two strikes. That's just unacceptablea lack of sharpness for the most part."Angels right-hander Tyler Chatwood (2-1) also went 5 13 innings, giving up three runs on five hits, one strikeout and four walks.The Angels got to McCarthy with two runs in the second inning.With two out, Howie Kendrick at third base and Peter Bourjos at first, Alexi Amarista, making his big league debut, doubled into the left-field corner. Bourjos, running on the pitch, scored standing up and the Angels had a two-run lead.But the A's answered in the third.David DeJesus' fielder's choice scored Kevin Kouzmanoff, who had walked to lead off the inning. One batter later, Conor Jackson turned on a Chatwood fastball and drove it into the left-field seats for a two-out, two-run homer. It was Jackson's first home run of the season, and it gave the A's a 3-2 lead.McCarthy, though, gave it all back immediately.
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"Seems like like we were right there putting it on them," Jackson said. "Then they came back and scored a couple of runs and it's kind of deflatingwe just couldn't match them tonight."A lead-off single by Bobby Abreu was followed by a double from Torii Hunter and then a McCarthy wild pitch that allowed Abreu to scamper home to tie the score.A Vernon Wells single off McCarthy's hand scored Hunter and Hank Conger's flare single to right brought in Kendrick, who had again doubled.The Angels added two more with two out in the fifth.Kendrick singled to left and came around on Conger's double off the right-field wall. A's second baseman Mark Ellis might have had a play on Kendrick at the plate, but right fielder Ryan Sweeney did not throw to the cut-off man, instead throwing to second in trying unsuccessfully to get Conger.One pitch later, Bourjos hit a stand-up triple to right-center and the Angels led 7-3 and aedd another run in the eighth after Bourjos' second triple was followed by an Amarista sac fly to center.For the A's, clean-up hitter Josh Willingham did not play after leaving Monday night's series opener with back stiffness.
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Crisp pulled up lame in his second at-bat, beating out an attempted 6-4-3 double-play, but Cliff Pennington has his left hand stepped on by Angels second baseman Alexi Amarista sliding into second on the play. Pennington played on, with the hand heavily taped."Same thing happened to the other hand last year, diving back to first on a pick-off play," Pennington said. "I guess I just have to keep my hands away from people's feet."It wasn't feeling super-great, but it didn't affect me (in the game).A's manager Bob Geren said Crisp was "day-to-day but probably doubtful for tomorrow."