Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Kole Calhoun provided the Los Angeles Angels
their lone hit and it was the only one they needed.
Calhoun blasted a two-run homer in the third inning and the Angels split their
four-game series against the Oakland Athletics with a 2-0 win on Thursday.
Nick Tropeano (1-0) was solid in his Angels debut, scattering five hits and
one walk over six scoreless frames.
Tropeano, who was acquired by the Angels when they sent catcher Hank Conger to
the Astros, was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake when Matt Shoemaker was
placed on the bereavement list.
“I felt good, I approached today like any other start,” Tropeano said. “All
four of my pitches worked. Drew (Butera) called a great game. I had good
fastball command and that made all the other pitches better.”
Jesse Chavez (0-1) was the tough-luck loser starting in place of Jesse Hahn,
who suffered a blister on his throwing hand last start, causing him to miss
his turn in the rotation.
Chavez was charged with two runs — one earned — on one hit and three walks
over six innings for Oakland, which went 5-5 on its 10-game road trip.
“Jesse was great,” Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. “We expected a lot out
of him. He gives up one hit, you can’t ask much more out of him.”
Tropeano did not face much trouble throughout his outing, and he came through
for the hosts when he did.
Eric Sogard bounced a single into right that put runners at the corners with
two outs in the second, then Tropeano struck out Marcus Semien to end the
inning.
Los Angeles broke the deadlock in the third inning when Drew Butera reached on
a throwing error to lead off the frame. Calhoun sent him home with his third
homer of the season two batters later.
“It was a pitch up and I put a good swing on it. With Nick throwing like he
did, we didn’t need many runs,” Calhoun said.
Semien doubled with one down in the fifth, but Tropeano got Sam Fuld to go
down swinging before Mark Canha grounded out to end the inning.
Fernando Salas and Joe Smith bridged the gap to the ninth, each throwing a
scoreless inning in relief, and Huston Street polished off the shutout with
his fifth save of the season.
Game Notes
Oakland opens a six-game homestand on Friday against Houston … Chavez had
made four relief appearances for the A’s coming in … Los Angels had lost
four of its last five.
