Skaggs throws 7 scoreless and Trout swipes a pair in sweet 2-0 Angels victory

Tyler Skaggs locked himself in a pitcher’s duel with Gerrit Cole who has been lights out this season. Cole even took a perfect game into the 5th inning before it was broken up by Luis Valbuena single.

This game was low scoring but not without excitement. Mike Trout swiped two more bases - and he (or any Angel) has not been caught stealing yet this year. Kole Calhoun busted out of a hitless slump. Luis Valbuena busted out of a hitless slump. The Angels only managed 4 hits in this game, but it was all the needed.

Justin Anderson, fresh off the farm for his first big league appearance was thrust into the spotlight against the defending World Series champs. Reddick, Springer, Altuve, Correra. Those are some tough hitters to face in a tight game, but Anderson showed some good stuff - including a wipeout slider and some series heat at 99 MPH. He also recorded his first big league K against Carlos Correa to finish off the 8th inning.

Keynan Middleton got himself in a bit of a jam in the 9th with 2 on and no outs, but back to back Ks and a failed double steal by the Astros (that resulted in a challenge) ended the game. Machete gunned down Yuli Gurriel, who was originally called safe - but the call was quickly reversed. No more 6 game winning streak for the red hot Astros. They were shut down in a big way.

This was a beauty my friends. And - the Angels are currently undefeated in 2018 against the 2017 World Series champs. What’s not to like about that??