ANAHEIM, Calif. -- David Murphy
looked around at the loaded bases, the drawn-in infield and the
left-handed Oakland pitcher on the mound in the bottom of the ninth
inning of a crucial game for the Los Angeles Angels' playoff hopes.
Murphy saw nothing but a chance to be a star -- and to send the Angels' improbable playoff surge into another day.
He drove a pinch-hit single into left field to end it, and the Angels kept the pressure on in the AL wild-card race with their sixth consecutive victory, 5-4 over the Athletics on Monday night.
After celebrating wildly with his teammates and getting an ice water bucket dumped on his head, Murphy praised the tenacity of a team that was all but finished before going a majors-best 17-8 in September.
"We've got a great group of guys with a lot of character in here," Murphy said. "Just a never-say-die attitude, and the results truly reveal the character of this team. People say it's not how you start, it's how you finish. We're finishing strong."
Albert Pujols tied it with his 558th career homer in the sixth inning for the Angels, who have won nine of 11 to make the AL race awfully tight heading into the final six days.
Johnny Giavotella and Erick Aybar had early run-scoring doubles as the Angels (82-74) remained a half-game behind the Houston Astros (83-74), who won at Seattle, and one game ahead of the Minnesota Twins (81-75), who beat Cleveland.
Los Angeles also closed within just two games of the AL West-leading Rangers (84-72), who lost to Detroit. The Angels finish the season with four games at Texas.
"It's fun when you're on the right side of a one-run game," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "These guys have been putting everything into every pitch, every out, every play. We're hanging in there. We're grinding it out, and we're getting clutch hits."
Trevor Gott (4-2) recorded the final four outs for the Angels' depleted bullpen, which is missing closer Huston Street and eighth-inning specialist Joe Smith due to injuries.
Edward Mujica (3-5) retired the heart of Los Angeles' order in the eighth, but gave up a leadoff single in the ninth to C.J. Cron, who had three hits. Mujica then fielded David Freese's squib grounder in front of the plate and threw wild to first, allowing pinch-runner Collin Cowgill to advance to third.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Murphy's sharp single off Fernando Abad set the fireworks at the Big A.
"It's fun to be in a situation like that, especially with what's going on with the season right now," Murphy said. "It may seem like a pressure-packed situation, but I think it's really not. You just try to slow things down."
Marcus Semien homered for the A's, who have lost three straight and eight of nine while guaranteeing their last-place finish in the AL. Oakland has lost 16 of 22 to the Angels.
"When you play close games like that, sometimes (mistakes) will show up," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "We've seen it often this year. It comes down to us not getting a big hit late in the game, or making an error and them getting a big hit."
Pujols connected for his 38th homer, his best total during the $240 million slugger's four-year tenure with the Angels.
Felix Doubront yielded five hits, four walks and four runs in six innings for the A's.
HECTOR'S NIGHT
The Angels hoped for a long start from Hector Santiago after taxing their bullpen in recent days, but the All-Star left-hander didn't quite deliver despite yielding only three hits and two walks. Santiago needed 24 pitches to escape the first inning with just one run allowed, and he was chased in the sixth after Jake Smolinski's tying sacrifice fly. Pinch-hitter Coco Crisp then drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop single.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: Sonny Gray won't pitch again this season due to hip soreness. Barry Zito will start Wednesday instead.
Angels: Smith thinks he can return from a sprained ankle this week. The Angels need their eighth-inning specialist with Street sidelined by a groin injury.
UP NEXT
Athletics: Chris Bassitt (1-7, 3.07 ERA) has received more than one run of support just three times in his 11 starts.
Angels: Nick Tropeano (2-2, 4.35 ERA) is unbeaten in three September starts while filling in for injured Matt Shoemaker.
inal
Murphy saw nothing but a chance to be a star -- and to send the Angels' improbable playoff surge into another day.
He drove a pinch-hit single into left field to end it, and the Angels kept the pressure on in the AL wild-card race with their sixth consecutive victory, 5-4 over the Athletics on Monday night.
After celebrating wildly with his teammates and getting an ice water bucket dumped on his head, Murphy praised the tenacity of a team that was all but finished before going a majors-best 17-8 in September.
"We've got a great group of guys with a lot of character in here," Murphy said. "Just a never-say-die attitude, and the results truly reveal the character of this team. People say it's not how you start, it's how you finish. We're finishing strong."
Albert Pujols tied it with his 558th career homer in the sixth inning for the Angels, who have won nine of 11 to make the AL race awfully tight heading into the final six days.
Johnny Giavotella and Erick Aybar had early run-scoring doubles as the Angels (82-74) remained a half-game behind the Houston Astros (83-74), who won at Seattle, and one game ahead of the Minnesota Twins (81-75), who beat Cleveland.
Los Angeles also closed within just two games of the AL West-leading Rangers (84-72), who lost to Detroit. The Angels finish the season with four games at Texas.
"It's fun when you're on the right side of a one-run game," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "These guys have been putting everything into every pitch, every out, every play. We're hanging in there. We're grinding it out, and we're getting clutch hits."
Trevor Gott (4-2) recorded the final four outs for the Angels' depleted bullpen, which is missing closer Huston Street and eighth-inning specialist Joe Smith due to injuries.
Edward Mujica (3-5) retired the heart of Los Angeles' order in the eighth, but gave up a leadoff single in the ninth to C.J. Cron, who had three hits. Mujica then fielded David Freese's squib grounder in front of the plate and threw wild to first, allowing pinch-runner Collin Cowgill to advance to third.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Murphy's sharp single off Fernando Abad set the fireworks at the Big A.
"It's fun to be in a situation like that, especially with what's going on with the season right now," Murphy said. "It may seem like a pressure-packed situation, but I think it's really not. You just try to slow things down."
Marcus Semien homered for the A's, who have lost three straight and eight of nine while guaranteeing their last-place finish in the AL. Oakland has lost 16 of 22 to the Angels.
"When you play close games like that, sometimes (mistakes) will show up," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "We've seen it often this year. It comes down to us not getting a big hit late in the game, or making an error and them getting a big hit."
Pujols connected for his 38th homer, his best total during the $240 million slugger's four-year tenure with the Angels.
Felix Doubront yielded five hits, four walks and four runs in six innings for the A's.
HECTOR'S NIGHT
The Angels hoped for a long start from Hector Santiago after taxing their bullpen in recent days, but the All-Star left-hander didn't quite deliver despite yielding only three hits and two walks. Santiago needed 24 pitches to escape the first inning with just one run allowed, and he was chased in the sixth after Jake Smolinski's tying sacrifice fly. Pinch-hitter Coco Crisp then drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop single.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: Sonny Gray won't pitch again this season due to hip soreness. Barry Zito will start Wednesday instead.
Angels: Smith thinks he can return from a sprained ankle this week. The Angels need their eighth-inning specialist with Street sidelined by a groin injury.
UP NEXT
Athletics: Chris Bassitt (1-7, 3.07 ERA) has received more than one run of support just three times in his 11 starts.
Angels: Nick Tropeano (2-2, 4.35 ERA) is unbeaten in three September starts while filling in for injured Matt Shoemaker.
inal
Series: Game 1 of 3
10:05PM,EDT,September 28,2015
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Oakland - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Hector Santiago pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Burns singled to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Canha hit by pitch, Burns to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Lawrie grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Canha out at second, Burns to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Valencia walked, Lawrie to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Butler flied out to center, Burns scored on error by first baseman Cron. | 1 | 0 |
| Smolinski walked, Lawrie to third, Valencia to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Semien flied out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Felix Doubront pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Aybar bunt grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 0 |
| Calhoun struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Trout walked. | 1 | 0 |
| Pujols grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Hector Santiago pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Gentry grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Anderson flied out to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Burns struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Felix Doubront pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Cron singled to shallow center. | 1 | 0 |
| Freese struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Victorino lined into double play, third to first, Cron doubled off first. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Hector Santiago pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Canha flied out to right. | 1 | 0 |
| Lawrie struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Valencia grounded out to third. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Felix Doubront pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Iannetta walked. | 1 | 0 |
| Giavotella doubled to deep right, Iannetta scored, Giavotella to third on error by center fielder Burns. | 1 | 1 |
| Aybar doubled to deep left center, Giavotella scored. | 1 | 2 |
| Calhoun struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| Trout struck out swinging, Aybar stole third. | 1 | 2 |
| Pujols grounded out to second. | 1 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Hector Santiago pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Butler lined out to third. | 1 | 2 |
| Smolinski struck out looking. | 1 | 2 |
| Semien homered to left (397 feet). | 2 | 2 |
| Gentry safe at first on error by third baseman Freese. | 2 | 2 |
| Gentry caught stealing second, pitcher to first to shortstop. | 2 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Felix Doubront pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Cron reached on infield single to third. | 2 | 2 |
| Freese walked, Cron to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Victorino sacrificed to first, Cron to third, Freese to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Iannetta hit sacrifice fly to center, Cron scored, Freese out at third. | 2 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Hector Santiago pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Anderson grounded out to second. | 2 | 3 |
| Burns struck out swinging. | 2 | 3 |
| Canha fouled out to third. | 2 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Felix Doubront pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Giavotella grounded out to second. | 2 | 3 |
| Aybar grounded out to third. | 2 | 3 |
| Calhoun grounded out to first. | 2 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Hector Santiago pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Lawrie hit by pitch. | 2 | 3 |
| Valencia flied out to center. | 2 | 3 |
| Butler doubled to deep right center, Lawrie to third. | 2 | 3 |
| Smolinski hit sacrifice fly to right, Lawrie scored, Butler to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Rasmus relieved Santiago. | 3 | 3 |
| Semien walked. | 3 | 3 |
| Crisp hit for Gentry. | 3 | 3 |
| Álvarez relieved Rasmus. | 3 | 3 |
| Crisp singled to shallow right, Butler scored, Semien thrown out at third. | 4 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Felix Doubront pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Smolinski in right field. | 4 | 3 |
| Crisp in left field. | 4 | 3 |
| Trout grounded out to third. | 4 | 3 |
| Pujols homered to center (402 feet). | 4 | 4 |
| Cron flied out to left. | 4 | 4 |
| Freese walked. | 4 | 4 |
| Victorino flied out to left. | 4 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jose Alvarez pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Anderson singled to center. | 4 | 4 |
| Burns grounded out to first, Anderson to second. | 4 | 4 |
| Canha struck out looking. | 4 | 4 |
| Bedrosian relieved Álvarez. | 4 | 4 |
| Lawrie struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Fernando Rodriguez pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Rodriguez relieved Doubront. | 4 | 4 |
| Iannetta struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| Giavotella flied out to right. | 4 | 4 |
| Aybar lined out to left. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Cam Bedrosian pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Valencia struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| Butler struck out looking. | 4 | 4 |
| Reddick hit for Smolinski. | 4 | 4 |
| Reddick singled to right. | 4 | 4 |
| Gott relieved Bedrosian. | 4 | 4 |
| Semien grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Reddick out at second. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Daniel Coulombe pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Reddick in right field. | 4 | 4 |
| Coulombe relieved Rodriguez. | 4 | 4 |
| Calhoun grounded out to first. | 4 | 4 |
| Mujica relieved Coulombe. | 4 | 4 |
| Trout flied out to center. | 4 | 4 |
| Pujols fouled out to first. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Oakland - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Trevor Gott pitching for Los Angeles | OAK | LAA |
| Crisp singled to shallow center. | 4 | 4 |
| Anderson sacrificed to third, Crisp to second. | 4 | 4 |
| Burns grounded out to second. | 4 | 4 |
| Canha grounded out to third. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Edward Mujica pitching for Oakland | OAK | LAA |
| Cron singled to shallow center. | 4 | 4 |
| Cowgill ran for Cron. | 4 | 4 |
| Freese safe at second on throwing error by pitcher Mujica, Cowgill to third. | 4 | 4 |
| Victorino intentionally walked. | 4 | 4 |
| Murphy hit for Iannetta. | 4 | 4 |
| Abad relieved Mujica. | 4 | 4 |
| Murphy singled to left, Cowgill scored, Freese to third, Victorino to second. | 4 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Oakland Athletics | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Burns CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | .297 | .335 | .398 |
| Canha 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .252 | .310 | .419 |
| Lawrie 2B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | .263 | .303 | .415 |
| Valencia 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | .292 | .346 | .514 |
| Butler DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .252 | .322 | .396 |
| Smolinski LF-RF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | .191 | .276 | .376 |
b-Reddick PH-RF
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .272 | .334 | .454 |
| Semien SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 21 | .257 | .311 | .400 |
| Gentry RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .089 | .176 | .133 |
a-Crisp PH-LF
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .175 | .256 | .225 |
| Anderson C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | .333 | .333 | .333 |
| Totals | 31 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 152 | |||
| a-singled to shallow right for C Gentry in the 6th b-singled to right for J Smolinski in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Butler (28, Santiago) HR: Semien (14, 4th inning off Santiago 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Semien (43), Smolinski (26), Crisp (6) S: Anderson SF: Smolinski 2-out RBI: Semien, Crisp Athletics RISP: 1-8 (Burns 0-1, Lawrie 0-2, Semien 0-1, Canha 0-2, Crisp 1-1, Butler 0-1) Team LOB: 7 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING CS: Gentry (1, 2nd base by Santiago) Picked Off: Gentry (1st base by Santiago) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Burns (3, bobble); Mujica (2, throw) DP: 2 (Valencia-Canha, Burns-Canha-Valencia). Outfield Assist: Burns (Freese at 3rd base). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA |
| Attendance | 31,858 (70% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:23 |
| Weather | 80 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 4 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mark Carlson, First Base - Tripp Gibson, Second Base - Chris Guccione, Third Base - Brian Gorman |
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