Josh Lowe’s first career grand slam propelled the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the final game of their three-game series Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
Angels starter Sam Aldegheri (3-3) bounced back from two difficult outings, in which he allowed a combined 11 earned runs over 7 2/3 innings. On Sunday, the left-hander limited the Athletics to one run and five hits over five innings, striking out four and issuing one walk. Aldegheri pitched efficiently after showing struggles in his previous starts.
Oakland’s Aaron Civale (5-5) also worked five innings, yielding four runs on seven hits while striking out two and walking one. The right-hander has now lost four consecutive starts.
The game’s decisive moment came in the second inning. After retiring the first four batters, Civale faced trouble when Vaughn Grissom singled to center with one out, followed by a walk to Wade Meckler. Oswald Peraza then reached on an infield single to load the bases. With two strikes, Lowe connected on a cutter to right field for a grand slam, putting the Angels ahead 4-0.
Aldegheri showed signs of improvement over his previous outings by retiring the third inning in order and mixing his pitches effectively. However, in the fifth inning, the Angels’ lead was narrowed when Jeff McNeil and Alika Williams recorded back-to-back singles. A subsequent groundout advanced the runners, and a sacrifice fly by Joey Meneses brought in McNeil to make the score 4-1.
Aldegheri finished his day by striking out Shea Langeliers with a runner on third to end the fifth inning. Reliever Jose Fermin entered and retired all six batters he faced across the sixth and seventh innings.
The Angels turned to Ryan Zeferjahn to start the eighth inning. He allowed two walks on nine pitches but recovered to strike out Langeliers and Jonah Heim. Zeferjahn was then relieved by rookie Samy Natera Jr., who secured a flyout against pinch hitter Nick Kurtz.
Natera returned for the ninth inning, surrendering a leadoff single to Lawrence Butler on a 3-2 pitch but retired the next three batters to record his first Major League save.
The victory improved the Angels’ standing while extending Civale’s losing streak. Both teams look ahead to their upcoming schedules following a closely contested series finale.