Angels bullpen collapses in 6-5 loss; playoff hopes nearly dead

The Angels bullpen suffered a complete meltdown Sunday, failing to hold a three-run lead in the ninth inning in a loss to the Oakland Athletics, 6-5, in Angel Stadium.

Closer Jordan Walden threw away a potential game-ending double-play grounder during a four-run ninth inning, and with it he may have thrown away the Angels’ playoff hopes.

Thanks to Boston’s 6-2 loss to the New York Yankees in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday, the Angels remained 2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the American League wild-card race with three games to play.

But Tampa Bay beat Toronto, 5-2, on Sunday to move to within a half-game of Boston, and if the Red Sox lose the nightcap, the Red Sox and Rays would be tied for the wild-card lead with the Angels needing to win three games against Texas and Boston and Tampa Bay to lose three games each just to force a tie.

The A’s scored twice in the top of the eighth off relievers Bobby Cassevah and Scott Downs on Sunday to cut the Angels’ lead to 3-2, but the Angels scored two huge insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth when Peter Bourjos dunked a two-out, two-run single into shallow right field to make it 5-2.

Walden, who got Hideki Matsui to fly out to left field to end the eighth inning, gave up a solo home run to Josh Willingham to open the ninth, only the second home run the rookie right-hander has allowed this season.

Michael Taylor struck out, but Scott Sizemore and Chris Carter both singled to put runners on first and second.

Adam Rosales followed with a hard grounder up the middle that Walden snared, but his flat-footed throw to second in an attempt to start a game-ending double play sailed wide and off the glove of shortstop Erick Aybar for an error.

Sizemore scored on the miscue to make it 5-4, and Carter took third. Kurt Suzuki, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, flared a double to right field to score Miller for a 5-5 tie and put runners on second and third with one out.

Jemile Weeks was walked intentionally to load the bases, and Manager Mike Scioscia summoned left-hander Hisanori Takahashi, who gave up a sacrifice fly to Coco Crisp that gave Oakland a 6-5 lead and retired Matsui on a fly to the wall in right to end the inning.

Howie Kendrick reached on a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth off A’s closer Andrew Bailey, but Bobby Abreu popped out to second to end the inning.

Wasted was a superb start by Angels right-hander Joel Pineiro, who allowed three hits in 6 1/3 shutout innings, striking out four and walking one, and home runs by Abreu in the third inning and Vernon Wells in the sixth.

-- Mike DiGiovanna