OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Brandon Moss had grand slam on his mind. It felt as good as he thought it might.
Moss hit a grand slam in the first inning, Josh Donaldson had two home runs and four RBIs, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-5 on Friday night.
“I’ve never come close to one,” Moss said after his first career slam. “I came close-ish once last year when I flied out to the wall. It was on my mind, not that I was trying to hit one. I just thought it would be cool to do it. And it felt good, for sure.”
Coco Crisp had two hits and drove in a run for the A’s, who have won three of five since a four-game losing streak.
Moss, who left the game later with right calf tightness, came to the plate ready to swing.
“He had just thrown six balls in a row and I was looking for one pitch in one spot,” he said. “He needed to throw a strike. He has good stuff and you never know if the first pitch will be the best one you see. He missed twice and then threw a pitch in a good spot.”
Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer and Mike Trout added a solo shot for the Angels, who lost for only the seventh time in 21 games. C.J. Cron also drove in a pair of runs.
Drew Pomeranz (5-2) pitched a season-high 5 1-3 innings, allowing five runs and four hits. He walked three and struck out five.
Pomeranz had not allowed a run at home in 17 innings before the Angels struck in the fourth.
Garrett Richards (4-2) had not allowed more than two runs or five hits in his first six starts on the road before giving up five runs on five hits in the first inning.
“That was embarrassing,” he said. “I didn’t show up for us tonight. I put us in a hole early. I couldn’t find a feel for the two-seamer and couldn’t make the adjustment.”
He did get an out prior to Moss’ slam and loaded the bases again before getting his second (and final) out. Richards walked Crisp to force in a run and was replaced by Wade LeBlanc.
“When you know a fastball is coming, it’s easier to hit,” Richards said. “Wade threw a heck of a game to keep us in it. I’m disappointed, but I can’t let one outing ruin my progress.”
Donaldson homered in the second and singled home a run in the third before the Angels answered with three runs in the fourth on the homers by Kendrick and Trout.
Donaldson added a two-run shot in the fifth to put the A’s up 9-3. Cron responded with a two-run double in the sixth.
“I’ve been seeing good pitches for a while now,” Donaldson said. “It’s a matter of squaring them up or not. I was preparing for Richards and then it’s completely different with LeBlanc. He left a couple of mistakes over the plate and I was able to take advantage.”
Moss got his 19th extra-base hit of the month, setting an Oakland record for May. Donaldson reached base safely in his 45th straight game as a third baseman, the longest such streak in franchise history since at least 1914.
LeBlanc pitched 6 1-3 innings in relief. He gave up four runs and six hits, striking out four.
NOTES: The A’s sent 10 batters or more to the plate in an inning for the sixth time this season, which leads the majors. … Angels OF Josh Hamilton was 2 for 4 with a run scored and a strikeout in his first game of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake. … Oakland LHP Eric O’Flaherty threw 20 pitches in a simulated game at Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday. … LHP Tyler Skaggs (4-2, 3.97 ERA) is the Angels’ scheduled starter Saturday. He set a season high with eight strikeouts in his last start. LHP Tommy Milone (3-3, 3.50) goes for the A’s. He is 3-0 with a 1.03 ERA over his last four starts. … Trout extended his hitting streak to 11 games. … The A’s improved to 21-3 when scoring first, best in the majors.
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