Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have done battle six times thus far in 2013, five of those contests resulting in A’s victories.
Wednesday afternoon’s 5-4 Angels win spoiled the A’s attempt to sweep them a second consecutive time. It also broke the A’s 13-game winning streak against their AL West division foes, as well as the team’s 22-0 record against the Halos when scoring at least four runs.
Streak-breaking aside, over the course of this past series (which featured that epic 19-inning clash) one particularly heated exchange came to the forefront, and it could potentially lead to some fireworks later this season.
On Monday night, A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes tied the game in the ninth with a dramatic RBI single against Angels closer Ernesto Frieri. However, Cespedes admired the blast, assuming it was a home run (when it in fact clanked off the wall in left-center), and only made it to first base.
In the ninth inning of Wednesday’s contest, Frieri drilled Cespedes in the left arm on a 1-o pitch, which naturally caused the Cuban slugger to stare angrily at the mound — and for a second, it seemed as if things might escalate into something more dramatic.
Instead, he took his base — and then cost the A’s the chance to tie up the game when he over-slid the bag at second on a steal attempt.
The exchange between Cespedes and Frieri was pretty heated, and now that the two have a history (albeit one forged over the past three days), it will definitely be an intriguing matchup to pay attention to the next time the teams face off.
One other note from Wednesday’s game: Josh Reddick put together a solid day at the plate, picking up a base hit, but more importantly walking three times. Reddick hasn’t really shown much plate discipline so far this season, so hopefully Wednesday’s performance is a sign that the right fielder will soon begin to heat up offensively.
Adrian Garro is an Oakland Athletics writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter and/ or add him to your network on Google.
