Tyler Soderstrom delivered the game-winning RBI in the 10th inning as the Athletics edged the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 in Game 2 of the four-game series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Wednesday.
Soderstrom finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs, driving in the decisive run in extras after Jeff McNeil hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth to force the game into extra innings, Sportsbook Wire reported. Jorge Soler opened the scoring with his ninth homer in the bottom of the first, and Jo Adell finished 2 for 4 with a double and a solo homer for the Angels.
Jacob Lopez started for the Athletics. Lopez is 3-2 with a 5.80 ERA in eight starts this season and has recorded thirty strikeouts in 40 innings in 2026.
The result left the A's with a narrow win but a larger, odd standing: the team entered the game one game under.500 and still led the American League West by one game over the Mariners and Rangers. The Angels entered the game in last place at 17-31 and have dropped eight of their past nine.
The Athletics’ victory was their second straight, the franchise’s first back-to-back wins since May 7-9. That streak, short as it is, matters because the A's are clinging to a division lead despite hovering below.500; Soderstrom’s late heroics have been the most visible evidence of how they’ve managed it.
The box score reads like a game of momentum swings: Soler’s early blast, Adell’s middle-order response, McNeil’s ninth-inning solo shot to tie, then Soderstrom’s extra-inning finish. The Athletics needed those swings because their starters have not delivered consistently; Lopez’s 5.80 ERA across eight starts underscores how much the club has relied on its offense and late relief to win tight games.
For the Angels, the homers offered flashes of offense but not enough to halt the skid. Adell’s double and solo homer and Soler’s early power did not change the broader pattern of losses — the club’s recent stretch includes eight defeats in nine games — and the team remains mired at the bottom of the division despite sporadic production.
Wednesday’s game also highlighted the way both teams have reached this point: the A's through narrow, sometimes unlikely victories; the Angels through moments of individual power that have yet to coalesce into sustained success. Sportsbook Wire’s 6-5, 10-inning line captured the drama, and the night ended with Soderstrom walking off on a play that felt decisive on the field even if the standings remain messy off it.
The single most consequential unanswered question is whether the Athletics can turn late-inning theatrics into a steadier formula for wins while sitting a game under.500 — and whether that will be enough to hold their slim lead in the AL West. The two clubs are scheduled to wrap up the four-game set at Angel Stadium on Thursday at 9:38 p.m. ET, a short window to answer a much bigger season-long one.
