Anaheim --

Oakland had a chance Wednesday night to sweep the Angels and to match the team's best start on the road in the past 33 years.

Instead, the A's defense was so flimsy that it would end up costing several extra outs over the course of the game - and that meant that Mike Trout and Albert Pujols could come up in a one-run game in the ninth inning. Both men singled against Luke Gregerson and Howie Kendrick's slow fielder's-choice grounder sent in Trout to tie the game.

"It doesn't help when you get Trout and Pujols up in those situations, but it happens," third baseman Josh Donaldson said. "We had the lead going into the ninth, you expect to win those games. That said, we still had a successful road trip."

In the 12th inning, Chris Iannetta ended it with a homer to dead center off Drew Pomeranz, the A's sixth pitcher, a 5-4 victory for the Angels.

The A's still had a remarkably fine first road trip, going 7-2 at Minnesota, Seattle and Anaheim. On Wednesday, though, they made two errors and had a passed ball, and they failed to complete two potential double plays.

"That was key," A's manager Bob Melvin said of the team's defense. "It turned over their lineup a little. We weren't very good defensively."

Oakland remains in first place in the AL West and returns home to face the last-place Astros and second-place Rangers.

The A's held the lead much of the night after a three-run blast in the fourth by Brandon Moss, making a start against a left-hander, Tyler Skaggs.

Moss is, strictly speaking, a platoon player, but with Josh Reddick struggling, he was in right field Wednesday. Moss has hit 59 homers off right-handers; last season, he banged 26 off righties, four off lefties.

The A's trailed in the third inning after Trout, for the second night in a row, drove in the first run of the game with a double. Tommy Milone didn't allow another run until the seventh, when Iannetta was ruled to have been hit by a pitch - a call Melvin challenged. Replays didn't seem to show Iannetta getting hit by the pitch, which bounced, but the call stood.

Collin Cowgill followed with a single. Dan Otero replaced Milone and got what looked like a double-play ball, but Eric Sogard bobbled it and got only Cowgill at second.

Alberto Callaspo then made a nice stop on a sharp grounder by J.B. Shuck, but Nick Punto couldn't come up with the throw to second and everyone was safe on the error to Callaspo, who had not played first base before this year. After Otero struck out Trout, Pujols singled in a run, and Kendrick hit a drive to deep right that Moss grabbed.

Milone worked six-plus innings, allowing three runs, two earned. He walked two and struck out one.

Oakland's rally in the fourth started when Donaldson singled and, with one out, Derek Norris whacked a single off Erick Aybar's glove up the middle. Callaspo doubled in Donaldson, and with two outs, Moss delivered. He has 15 RBIs, tied for most in the league.

Donaldson made an error in the ninth, and Iannetta reached on a strikeout-passed ball that inning.

Reddick was out of the lineup against Skaggs, but Melvin said there are some better signs with Reddick's at-bats lately and that Reddick is recognizing pitches better. He had two walks Tuesday, and he scored two runs, but he's 4-for-41, and his .098 average is second lowest in the majors.
