A’s Beat Angels in 11th : Baseball: Gates’ two-out single gives Oakland an 8-7 victory.

Buck Rodgers peered over the backstop in the late innings, trying to make sense of what was happening Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum.

Little was easily explained, including why he was forced to watch the game hidden from the view of home plate umpire Greg Kosc as the Angels and Oakland Athletics went to 11th inning before a two-out single to left by Brent Gates scored Ruben Sierra and gave Oakland an 8-7 victory before 20,575.

And to think the game began on such simple terms.

The Angels had Mark Langston--their best pitcher this season--on the mound, looking for his 10th victory. They had a four-run lead, two home runs and Oakland starter Ron Darling on the ropes after four innings.

But Langston struggled after that, reliever Mike Butcher gave up a three-run home run to Sierra in the sixth and was ejected for throwing what appeared to be a breaking pitch over Dave Henderson’s head. Rodgers argued long and hard with Kosc, but was thrown out, too.

“He’s an (American League) umpire, 10-plus years in the league and he doesn’t know the difference between a fastball and a slider,” Rodgers said of Kosc. “He knocked him down with a . . . slider. It’s a joke. They’re trying to stop fights. Things like this start them.”

From his hiding place, Rodgers watched:

--The Angels rally to tie the score, 7-7, with two runs in the eighth inning against Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley. How strange is that? Over the past three seasons, Eckersley had given up five hits and no runs to the Angels and had recorded 11 saves in 13 1/3 innings.

--The A’s Rickey Henderson, the potential go-ahead run, thrown out at the plate on a perfect relay by second baseman Torey Lovullo on a double by Kevin Seitzer in the eighth.

--Angel reliever Gene Nelson work out of the jam he created in the eighth by striking out Dave Henderson and getting Terry Steinbach to ground into a force play, keeping the Angels even, 7-7.

To be sure, Langston hasn’t exactly been Cy Young-like against the A’s over the years, going into the game with a 5-13 record and a 4.17 earned-run average. But Tuesday seemed to be the night he would end a streak of five consecutive losses to Oakland.

Of course, the Angels haven’t offered much support at the plate. They had scored only eight runs in his past five starts against the A’s--all losses.

Tuesday, Angel hitters did their part, providing Langston with a 4-0 lead after three innings. A two-out bases-empty home run by Tim Salmon, his team-leading 14th, and a run-scoring double by J.T. Snow in the first inning, and a two-run homer by Chili Davis in the third, gave Langston some breathing room.

It figured to be a slam dunk.

And it was until the fourth inning when Oakland finally broke through with three runs, including a two-run homer by Scott Brosius. Suddenly, the A’s had made it 4-3 and Langston’s bid for his 10th victory was in serious jeopardy.

“I didn’t think Langston had very good stuff tonight,” Rodgers said. “We need somebody to be that hold guy. Right now, Butcher is a guy who could be that guy.”

Salmon’s run-scoring sacrifice fly in the fifth put the Angels ahead, 5-3, but by the sixth Langston was replaced after giving up eight hits, three runs and three walks. He did not record a strikeout for the first time this season. It also was his shortest start since he went only three innings against the Detroit Tigers on April 11.

Butcher relieved Langston to start the sixth and then things seemed to fall apart.

Sierra hit his three-run homer. Butcher and Rodgers were ejected. The A’s took the lead, 7-5, but the Angels rallied against Eckersley.

A run-scoring triple by pinch-hitter Stan Javier and a run-scoring single by Lovullo tied it.