Anaheim, CA – Yeonis Cespedes' two-run single capped a four- run eighth inning the Oakland Athletics used to down the Angles, 5-3, in the second test of a three-game set at Angel Stadium.
Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick added an RBI each in the eighth for Oakland, which snapped a three-game slide.
Brian Fuentes (1-0) tossed a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win, while Tyson Ross scattered seven hits and two runs over a six-inning start for the Athletics.
Grant Balfour worked around a Vernon Wells home run in the ninth inning to record his third save of the year.
Kevin Jepsen (0-1) allowed all four runs in the eighth inning to suffer the loss. Dan Haren got the start for the Angels, who lost for the fifth time in seven games, and gave up one run on five hits through 6 2/3 innings.
"I felt good, minus the home run," said Haren. "I was in command the whole game."
Jepsen took the mound for the Angels to start the eighth inning and after striking out Josh Donaldson to start the frame, he issued back-to-back walks to Cliff Pennington and Jemile Weeks.
Crisp stepped up next and laced the first pitch he saw into center field for a base hit, scoring Pennington. Reddick then pulled a ground-rule double to right to bring home Weeks and knock Jepsen off the mound.
A Cespedes single to right off David Carpenter plated Crisp and Reddick to give the Athletics a 5-2 lead.
Wells hammered a ball over the left-center field wall in the ninth inning to bring the Angels within two, but Balfour then induced a fly out to right by Alberto Callaspo before Chris Iannetta hit a grounder to first to end the game.
"Anytime you can come from behind against a real good team like that, it's an accomplishment," Ross said about the win.
After the Angels spoiled a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Albert Pujols was tagged out at third while trying to advance from first on a Kendrys Morales base hit to right, Oakland got on the board in the fifth on Daric Barton's solo home run into the right-field seats.
The Angels, though, were able to knot the game in the home half of the fifth when Wells singled, moved to second on a Callaspo base hit and came home on a pair of groundouts by Iannetta and Peter Bourjos.
Morales then reached on a two-out single in the sixth and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Torii Hunter pulled a base hit through the left side of the infield to plate Morales and give the Angels a 2-1 lead.
Game Notes
Ross was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento earlier Tuesday...Oakland went 3- for-7 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base...The Angels hit 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded five.
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