Angels get three in 12th to beat Orioles, 9-8

Bobby Abreu hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to cap a three-run 12th inning and give the Angels a 9-8 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night.

The Orioles took an 8-6 lead in the top of the 12th before Kevin Gregg (0-2) gave up a leadoff single to Erick Aybar in the bottom half and hit rookie Mike Trout. Hank Conger laid down a sacrifice bunt to third baseman Josh Bell, whose wild throw allowed Aybar to score.

Bell then made a diving stop on Peter Bourjos’ grounder in the hole, checked the runner at third and threw too late to get the speedy Bourjos. Gregg walked Alberto Callaspo to force in the tying run and Troy Patton gave up Abreu’s scoring fly to deep center on a 1-1 pitch.

Hisanori Takahashi gave up a one-out walk to No. 9 hitter Josh Bell and a single to J.J. Hardy in the Orioles’ 12th before retiring Nick Markakis on a popup. Manager Mike Scioscia then brought in Fernando Rodney (3-5), who gave up Adam Jones’ hit to right and didn’t bother to back up the plate as Hardy scored behind Bell on a throwing error by right fielder Torii Hunter. But Rodney still ended up with the win.

Takahashi gave up a leadoff single in the 11th to Baltimore’s Matt Wieters before getting the force at second on a surprise bunt toward the mound by slugger Mark Reynolds -- who has only two sacrifice bunts in his five-year career and none since July 26, 2008, with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Robert Andino then grounded into a double play.

Jones cut the Angels’ lead to 5-4 in the fifth with a two-out homer, his 22nd this season and fourth on the road. Bourjos chased right-hander Tommy Hunter in the seventh with his seventh home run, but the Orioles tied it in the eighth with an RBI groundout by Vladimir Guerrero and Wieters’ RBI single off closer Jordan Walden.

The Angels turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead in the third despite a botched call by third base umpire Doug Eddings. Bourjos started the four-run rally with his 13th bunt hit of the season and the 34th by the team. He advanced to third on Callaspo’s single, and both runners scored on Abreu’s opposite-field double over the head of left fielder Nolan Reimold.

Mark Trumbo followed with a line drive over third that hit the line, but Eddings called it foul. Scioscia ran out to argue, pointing several times to the spot where Trumbo’s ball kicked up chalk, and the animated discussion carried on for a good while before play continued.

TV replays showed that Eddings got it wrong, but on the next pitch Trumbo blooped Hunter’s 2-2 delivery the other way over the head of first baseman Reynolds to drive in the go-ahead run. Howie Kendrick smacked the next pitch into the left-field corner, driving in Trumbo.

Angels right-hander Joel Pineiro allowed four runs and nine hits over six innings, struck out two and did not walk a batter in his return to the rotation after a 2 1/2 week stint in the bullpen. In his previous four starts, he was 0-3 with a discouraging 14.85 ERA that sent his season figure soaring to 5.31.

Pineiro, getting a reprieve because of an injury to the guy who replaced him in the rotation -- rookie Garrett Richards -- gave up hits to seven of his first 10 batters and fell behind 3-0 in the second inning.

Reimold, who didn’t have an RBI in his first 38 career at-bats against Angels pitching, ended that drought with a run-scoring single. Hardy added an RBI double and Reimold scored on a groundout by Markakis.

The Angels loaded the bases with none out in the bottom half, but got only one run. Torii Hunter extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a leadoff single and scored on Aybar’s double-play grounder.

Tommy Hunter gave up six runs and 10 hits over 6 1-3 innings and did not strike out a batter in his fourth start for the Orioles, who acquired the 25-year-old right-hander in a trade with the Rangers on July 30. He was moved up in the rotation to fill in for Jeremy Guthrie, who is missing at least one turn because of shoulder stiffness.

-- Associated Press