ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels turned a night that looked lost into a 2-1 victory Monday, beating the Athletics when Zach Neto launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off win. The blast, off a 2-0 sinker to center field, traveled 413 feet and snapped the Angels’ six-game skid.
The swing came after Adam Frazier opened the ninth with a single, setting up Neto’s first career walk-off home run and his second career walk-off hit. It also gave the Angels a result that seemed unlikely after J.T. Ginn took a no-hitter into the ninth inning and the Athletics went ahead 1-0 on Lawrence Butler’s RBI single at the top of the frame.
Ginn, who was making his 30th career start after debuting in August 2024, was dominant for eight innings and carried a no-hitter on a career-high 105 pitches, 64 of them strikes. He struck out 10, walked one and hit Neto with a pitch in the sixth. The right-hander retired 24 straight batters before the ninth, then watched the game unravel in a sequence that left him with a loss despite a performance that had all the markings of history.
“Obviously, a tough game,” Ginn said. “Just keep your head up and keep moving forward. It's just the nature of the game that we play. I attack the zone and I live with that.” He called it “just a crazy game to play” and said, “I fell behind 2-0, threw a good sinker, and he was waiting on it and put a good swing on it. So, tip your cap to him.”
The Athletics gave Ginn a lead when Butler singled home a run in the top of the ninth, then loaded the bases before Chase Silseth got Nick Kurtz to ground into an inning-ending double play. That set up the Angels’ last chance, and Neto made the inning count with one swing.
Mark Kotsay said Ginn “dominated all night. For him to walk off the mound with a loss there, it hurts, obviously,” and added, “He pitched probably the best game he's pitched in his big league career, and to have an opportunity to get a no-hitter, and two hits later you walk off with a loss, it's tough. I had full confidence in him going out there in that inning at 100 pitches and trying to get it done. It just didn't work out.” He later said, “Hindsight's always 20-20,” and, “It easily could have went the other direction.”
Shea Langeliers said Ginn “did such a phenomenal job all night keeping guys off balance. His stuff was nasty. Just kind of rolling, you know, and then it's gut-wrenching stuff in the ninth for it to end that way. It definitely sucks right now,” before adding, “Baseball will humble you in all sorts of ways.... It's going to be hard to flush this one.”
The loss was especially painful for the Athletics because Ginn became the sixth major league pitcher since at least 1974 to allow no hits or runs in the first eight innings of a game and still take the loss. He was trying for the first no-hitter in the majors since the combined no-hitter by Shota Imanaga and two Chicago Cubs relievers on Sept. 4, 2024, and the first complete-game no-hitter since Blake Snell did it for the San Francisco Giants against Cincinnati on Aug. 2, 2024. For Oakland’s current club, it was also another reminder of how long no-hit history has been waiting around: Mike Fiers threw the Athletics’ most recent no-hitter in May 2019.
For Neto, who had a previous walk-off hit in July against the Seattle Mariners, the moment was simpler. He sat on a 2-0 pitch, drove it to center and ended a game that had already had just about everything except a clean finish. The Angels got that instead.
