Angels can't get out of their own way in extra inning loss to Athletics

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Los Angeles Angels showed a step forward at the plate on Wednesday night. It wasn't a far enough step to get a win over the Athletics.

Starting with the positives at the plate, the Angels found consistent power in their bats for the first time in a long time. All six of their hits were for extra bases, three doubles and three home runs, with Jo Adell having one of each in the first sign of him snapping out of a recent slump.

"Jo, driving the ball and getting some good pitches to hit and driving it, is definitely a good sign," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said. "It's what he's been working on in batting practice, in the cages. For him to go out in the game and get some results is definitely a positive thing moving forward for him mentally."

All in all, the Angels' offensive effort translated into five runs and they headed into the ninth inning holding on to a 5-4 lead. 

Kirby Yates, whom the Angels signed this past offseason to serve as the team's newest closer, trotted to the mound with a lead to protect. 

Paige Creason – The Sporting Tribune

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell (7) runs during the MLB game against the Athletics Wednesday May 20th, 2026 at Angel's Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.

The first batter he faced was Jeff McNeil and he got ahead of McNeil early with a 1-2 count. McNeil fouled off four-straight pitches, three four-seams and a splitter, to keep his at-bat alive until Yates relented and threw a sweeper at the bottom of the zone, which McNeil took a hold off and sent down the right field line and into the seats for a game-tying solo home run.

"I was convicted in the pitch and I felt like if I threw a good one, I got him. I didn't," Yates said. "When you make decisions like that and it backfires, you've got to sit here and talk about it. That's just the life of being a closer. That's the life of the ninth inning."

Extra Inning Trouble

The bottom of the ninth passed without incident and the game went into extra innings, where even more trouble waited for the Angels. 

Chase Silseth was the new pitcher for the Angels and he had to contend with the designated runner at second base. 

After striking out power-threat Brent Rooker, Silseth faced off against Tyler Soderstrom. Soderstrom hit a line drive to left-center field that was dropping fast and drew the attention of both Mike Trout in center field and Josh Lowe in left.

Trout looked to be taking the lead on the ball at first and may have been considering a dive, but bailed out at the last second and let the ball drop and roll past him to where Lowe was backing him up. 

The problem with that was that Trout had passed right in front of Lowe when the ball dropped, and Lowe was only a few steps behind him, so the ball shot past them both and rolled all the way to the wall, scoring the designated runner and giving the Athletics a 6-5 lead and eventually, a win. 

Paige Creason – The Sporting Tribune

Los Angeles Angels infielder Nolan Schanuel (18) dives during the MLB game against the Athletics Wednesday May 20th, 2026 at Angel's Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.

A Failure to Capitalize

Though, what truly lost the game for the Angels wasn't one pitch from Yates in the ninth or a mishap in the outfield, it was a continuous failure to capitalize on opportunities that sank the team Wednesday night. 

While the Angels were able to connect with several hits, they couldn't do anything with those runners on base. The Angels went 0-8 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base. 

"When you're struggling a little bit, you tend to miss those opportunities. They come to bite you a little bit in the butt in the end," Suzuki said.