Angels 9 Astros 1
There are a lot of ways this game can be spun, but the most prominent is the outburst of an offense that went quiet in recent days. The Angels tattooed Astros starter Mike Fiers for eight runs in what can only be described as a team effort.
The day began with four doubles in the first by Brandon Phillips, Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun, and Andrelton Simmons. Then Luis Valbuena stepped up to the plate and hit a dinger (as shown in the article picture), engulfing himself in the moment with a classic bat flip to cap off a 5-run first inning. Opposing starter Fiers did not take kindly to this, his writhing rage evidenced by a ball thrown at Valbuena somewhere in the neighborhood of one to two stories high of in the fourth inning. It was at this point, then, that both benches were issued warnings by the home plate umpire.
Valbuena, for his part, wasn’t having any of it.
When someone starts tweeting spoilers and you haven’t caught up yet. pic.twitter.com/5EDPx2yNaU
— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) September 14, 2017
Valbuena followed that up with a double off Fiers the very next pitch, inciting ‘Team of Destiny’ chants that could be heard live on the broadcast on the Halos Heaven gamethread, clearly a result of the shirt that went up earlier today. The baseball gods are listening, people. That was the start of another multi-run inning, this one being three runs instead of five, but one that chased Fiers from the game while sticking him with the bill. It’s also a reminder that productive Valbuena is the fun Valbuena is the best Valbuena.
Luis Valbuena's game-tying single bat flips are on point. pic.twitter.com/g1owoWcGTJ
— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) August 24, 2017
Justin Upton capped off the offense in a later inning with his first home run with his new team off of...Tyler Clippard! Clippard might be a double agent, at this point...
Tyler Skaggs did his part and more to contribute on the pitching side, tossing seven solid shutout innings on just 85 pitches, one of his best outings of the season. He struck out five, allowing just three singles and a walk, holding a talented Astros lineup at bay. It’s an encouraging performance for a pitcher that is one of the Angels’ keys to success moving forward.
Let’s hope the Angels can build off this bounce-back win. The #tod stops for no one.