The Oakland Athletics face the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, aiming to break a series tie and maintain their half-game lead over the Texas Rangers atop the American League West.
The Athletics secured a dominant 14-6 victory on Tuesday night, driving in 12 of their 14 runs with two outs, including a six-run explosion in the third inning.
First baseman Nick Kurtz delivered a five-RBI performance and has now reached base in 42 consecutive games.
Brent Rooker and Zack Gelof each added home runs and three RBIs.
Angels center fielder Mike Trout hit his 12th home run of the season in the third inning, but the team could not keep pace.
Angels starter Reid Detmers suffered his fifth loss after allowing eight runs on eight hits over 5.2 innings.
Oakland reliever Jacob Lopez pitched 3.2 innings, allowing four runs but earning the win.
The victory evened the four-game series after Los Angeles won the opener 2-1 on Monday via a walk-off two-run home run by Zach Neto.
Pitching Matchup
Right-hander Aaron Civale will start for the Athletics on Wednesday.
He brings a 5-1 record, a 2.70 ERA, and 35 strikeouts across 46.2 innings in his 10th appearance of the season.
Civale allowed two runs over five innings in a 5-2 win against the San Francisco Giants on Friday.
He holds a career 3-1 record with a 4.28 ERA against the Angels.
Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz will take the mound for the Angels.
He has gone 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA over three starts this month and holds a 2-3 record with a 4.56 ERA and 34 strikeouts through 51.1 innings this season.
Kochanowicz surrendered six earned runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last outing on Friday.
Angels manager Kurt Suzuki noted that the Athletics maintained their offensive focus early in the count during their high-scoring frames.
"When they got the momentum, it seemed like they kept going," Suzuki said.
The six runs scored by the Angels on Tuesday broke a stretch where the team had been held to two runs or fewer in seven consecutive games.
Suzuki praised his team's approach at the plate. "We've been really focusing on battling with two strikes, maybe shortening up a little bit," he said.
The Angels lead the major leagues in strikeouts but only struck out five times on Tuesday.
Civale praised the consistent offensive support from his teammates, particularly Kurtz's historic on-base streak. "He's able to pick me and a lot of other pitchers up," Civale said.
The game is scheduled for first pitch at 6:38 p. m.
PDT with live coverage available on MLB. TV and regional sports networks.
