Final in Anaheim: Angels 8, Marlins 2
After being beaten by Miami 7-1 in the opening game of their 3-game series on Monday night, the Angels lost their lone hold atop the AL West. That lasted just one day however, as the Angels led by the pitching of Matt Shoemaker and the hitting of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, and David Freese regained their one-game lead over the Oakland A's by pounding the Marlins Tuesday night, 8-2.
Shoemaker (13-4, 3.33 ERA) tossed 7 shutout innings, giving up just 2 hits and 2 walks, while striking out six. Over his last two starts, the rookie right-hander has thrown 14.1 innings, allowing no runs and just 3 hits, while striking out 15 and walking three. The two strong outings by Shoemaker come after the Angels lost Garrett Richards for the season after suffering an injury to his left knee, giving the Angels a much needed boost to their depleted starting rotation.
Trout, Pujols, and Freese each had three hits on the night, with each Halo starter except of Josh Hamilton, getting at least one hit. The club managed just two extra-base hits against Miami pitching, but the team was able to get timely hitting with men on base. Most of the Angel scoring coming in a 5-run fourth when the Angels batted around, driving Marlins' starter Nathan Eovaldi from the game.
With their 14th win in the month of August, coupled with Oakland's loss to the Houston Astros by the score of 4-2, the Angels have a 1-game lead in the West division. Seattle picked up a game on Oakland and are now 5 games behind the A's, and are tied with the Tigers for the second wildcard spot. The Angels will face Miami one more time on Wednesday (Alvarez-Santiago) before starting a four-game set at home against Oakland.