Angels fall to Athletics on the same day they trade closer Carlos Estévez
Shea Langeliers hit a three-run homer in the first inning, helping the Oakland Athletics earn a 3-1 win over the Angels on Saturday night at Angel Stadium.
The Angels extended their losing streak to three games. The A’s have won three in a row over the Angels and eight of their last 10 games overall.
Langeliers hit his 20th home run of the season 411 feet to center field. Oakland leads the majors for most home runs in July with 41 and Langeliers has five of those.
Mitch Spence (7-6) gave up one run and three hits in six innings, with three strikeouts and two walks. Tyler Ferguson retired the Angels in order in the ninth to earn his second save.
Brent Rooker hit his 10th home run in July, helping the Oakland Athletics edge the host Angels 5-4 on Friday at Angel Stadium.
The Angels’ Nolan Schanuel homered for the second consecutive day. Schanuel hit a solo shot to right field — his 11th of the season — in the third inning.
Tyler Anderson (8-9) struck out 10 batters in seven innings. His lone blemish was the homer by Langeliers in the first, but it was a costly one. After that, Anderson didn’t allow a runner past second for six innings. He scattered six hits.
Angels closer Carlos Estévez was traded to Philadelphia earlier in the day. He hugged teammates and employees on his way out. Asked what he would remember most about his two-plus years with the Angels, Estévez said: “Everything. The fans. The guys. Even the media has been really good to me and my teammates, Day in and day out they always showed up no matter what it is. They’re always there. They always had our backs here.”
The Angels received right-hander George Klassen and left-hander Samuel Aldegheri, a prospect from Italy.
The 31-year-old Estévez, a native of the Dominican Republic, originally signed with Colorado in 2011 and made his major league debut in 2016.
He has 76 saves in 418 appearances, all in relief.
The Los Angeles Angels star said an MRI on his sore left knee came back clean and he is hoping to resume his minor league rehab assignment soon.
“He’s one of the best relievers in baseball this past year,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “He’s a guy that can pitch the ninth inning. How (manager Rob Thomson) determines how he’s going to use him, we’ll see. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets a lot of ninth innings.”
The Phillies lost the World Series in 2022 to Houston and lost in the NL Championship Series a year ago to Arizona. They entered Saturday’s game against Cleveland with the best record in baseball at 64-39 but had lost seven of 10 games.
“We are trying to win,” Dombrowski said. “We think he’s a guy that can be a real significant piece of that.”
Estévez has a $6.75-million salary in the second season of a $13.5-million, two-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series.
Estévez was expected to help strengthen a bullpen that lost an arm Friday, after they traded Seranthony Domínguez to Baltimore as part of a trade for outfielder Austin Hays. Thomson had not designated a closer this season as the Phillies became the first team in baseball to win 60 games.
Luis Rengifo delivered a two-run double during a five-run second inning, but the Angels couldn’t keep pace during a 6-5 loss to Oakland on Thursday.
Estévez has 15 strikeouts and two walks over a streak of 18 straight scoreless innings. He set an Angels franchise record when he converted his first 23 save opportunities to begin the 2023 season.
Aldegheri, 22, was 6-7 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 starts between Class A Jersey Shore and double-A Reading this season. He was signed by the Phillies on June 13, 2019.
The 22-year-old Klassen was 3-2 with a 1.97 ERA in 14 starts for Class A Clearwater and Jersey Shore this year. He was selected by the Phillies in the sixth round of the 2023 amateur draft and signed for a $297,500 bonus.
“We didn’t want to give them up, but it’s sort of the price of acquisitions at this time,” Dombrowski said.
UP NEXT
Angels: RHP Jose Soriano (6-7, 3.51 ERA) is 0-2 with a 15.19 ERA in three career games against Oakland (one of which was a start). He got the win in his last start on Tuesday.
Athletics: RHP Osvaldo Bido (2-1, 3.09 ERA) will make his second start for the A’s. In his first start on Tuesday, he allowed one earned run on four hits in five innings.
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