Joey Estes pitched a five-hit shutout as the Oakland Athletics made it two in a row over the visiting Los Angeles Angels with a 5-0 victory Wednesday night.
Estes, at age 22 years and 269 days, became the youngest major-leaguer to throw a shutout since Zach Eflin accomplished the feat for the Philadelphia Phillies at age 22 years and 105 days against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 22, 2016.
Making just his 12th big-league start, Estes (3-3) didn’t yield an extra-base hit. He walked one and struck out four.
Brent Rooker homered for the second consecutive night and Max Schuemann also went deep for the A’s, who will shoot for a series sweep Thursday afternoon. Brett Harris chipped in with an RBI single.
Having never pitched into the eighth inning in his two-year career, Estes needed just 92 pitches to record Oakland’s first complete-game shutout since Sean Manaea blanked the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 2021.
The last time a younger pitcher threw a shutout for the A’s was when Trevor Cahill, at age 22 years and 204 days, did it against the Kansas City Royals on August 2, 2010.
The A’s gave Estes the comfort of pitching with a lead in the bottom of the second when singles by Zack Gelof and Lawrence Butler preceded a run-scoring throwing error by Angels starter Davis Daniel (1-1). Butler later scampered home from third base while Harris was caught in a rundown between first and second on a steal attempt.
The homers by Schuemann, his fourth, and Rooker, his 17th, added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. Harris’ RBI single capped a two-run sixth that completed the scoring.
Making his second start of the season, Daniel was pulled one out into the sixth, charged with five runs (four earned) on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Rooker added a pair of singles to his home run for the A’s, who were swept in a three-game series against the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., last week.
Matt Thaiss had two singles for Los Angels.