The Oakland Athletics hit a bump in the road this week and the official name of said bump is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Flying from the east coast on Sunday to face the already at home Angels may have cost the A’s game one, but that doesn’t excuse Tuesday’s performance in game two. Oakland was able to salvage the series finale on Wednesday as the offensive production finally came through for the team (and Tommy Milone).

Oakland now holds a 3.5 game lead over the Angels in the AL West. Both teams have an off day on Thursday with the A’s playing the New York Yankees Friday - Sunday, while the Angels travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves for an interleague match-up.

Here is a brief recap of the three game series between the A’s and Angels:

Game 1 final score: Angels 4, Athletics 1

Despite a somewhat controversial call that took away a home run for Mike Trout, the Angels took advantage of what looked like a tired/lackadaisical A’s club. Oakland’s Jesse Chavez gave up 8 hits and 3 runs (2 ER’s) over 6 innings, as it continues to look like the SP is showing signs of wearing down and/or the league catching up to him.

Aside from the performances of Yoenis Cespedes and Stephen Vogt at the plate, the Athletics offense struggled against Garrett Richards and the Angels bullpen. Richards went 7 innings strong, only allowing 4 hits and the 1 ER, while not walking a single batter.

Game 2 final score: Angels 2, Athletics 1 (in 14 innings)

The A’s offense remained anemic for over four and a half hours on Tuesday night. In a pitcher’s duel between Drew Pomeranz and Hector Santiago, the A’s and Angels remained scoreless until the bottom of the 6th inning, when a Josh Hamilton single scored Mike Trout. Within the same play you saw what could be considered the defensive play of the year from Yoenis Cespedes. Take a look for yourself:

With that defensive gem, the A’s were able to tie the game at one run apiece in the 8th inning. The two teams combined to throw out ten relief pitchers over the course of the game with each bullpen shutting down the other team’s offense completely until the bottom of the 14th inning. It was then that ex-Athletics prospect Collin Cowgill finally sent fans home with a walkoff home run for the Angels.

Game 3 final score: Athletics 7, Angels 1

The A’s managed to avoid the sweep with a convincing victory in the series finale. SP Tommy Milone went 6.2 IP strong to help the A’s build back up its lead in the division. Once again, Cespedes and Vogt led the offensive attack against Angels SP Jered Weaver. Vogt homered for the first time this season for his two RBI’s, while Cespedes went 3-5 that included two separate singles that scored Coco Crisp.

As if the highlight reel wasn’t full of Cespedes’ efforts already, he duplicated his defensive effort from the night prior by throwing out Albert Pujols at third base:

What's Next?

With Thursday’s day off, the A’s can recharge their proverbial battery before the New York Yankees visit Oakland for a weekend series, which includes fireworks on Friday and a Father’s Day game on Sunday.