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For one inning, the most important 9th inning, the Halos went to bat as a team. Working the pitcher, taking what was being given and moving the team frame on to the next batter behind, the Angels marched back from a 3-1 deficit to take a 5-3 lead. The keys were a 2-run bases-loaded single by Shohei Ohtani, followed by a stolen base by Ohtani to put him into position to end up being the winning run, then a clutch 2-run single up the middle by Andrelton Simmons against a drawn-in infield, and sealed by a 200-foot strike from right field by Kole Calhoun to nail the hoped-for tying run in the form of Curtis Granderson.
Earlier, during the slumbering innings, Simmons made a Top Five Defensive Play Of The Year to Rob a still-unbelieving Josh Donaldson. And the Angels drew 9 bases on balls while stranding 13 runners on base, going 4 for 15 with Runners In Scoring Position. Tyler Skaggs went 6 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits with 6 K’s. Not horrible, but not good enough to get the W out of this 5-4 LAA victory.
Oh, and in other exciting news mike trout got a base hit. He stole a base, too (his 11th). And he drew 3 more walks giving him a league-leading 45 to date. His slugging rate is plummeting as he goes through this punk, but his B-on-B success is resulting in a good percentage of team runs, demonstrating his ability to create value even when he is slumping.
This morning’s game (9:37AM PDT start) is not on FOX so don’t go looking for it. It’s this week’s Facebook stream......Which nobody likes..........
If you are going to catch the game, hurry up and get through these Coffee-And-Donuts-Links:
A Little Bit of Angels News
I am still wondering why we have so many huckster reality shows, but are we still without The Shohei Ohtani Batting Practice Channel?..........Scott Servais and Jerry Dipoto, take a note on how to promote MLB..........
Tool #5, for all the doubters..........But no Tool #6. Mikey ain’t got a Tool #6..........
Even when the Angels are not winning, we Angels fans are sure spoiled. Happily, gleefully, spoiled rotten. And I love it...........And let’s hope we get to remain this way. It would be good to take down one of the totems of MFY fans everywhere.........
Zack Cozart gets to expand on his comments about bullpenning, and his focus is the same as what we linked to the other day. There is the opportunity to game payroll and that could cost players money. Now, to be honest, I personally think that the players need to have created a stronger contractual position in their relationship with the owners so that they could be just as flexible as necessary as the game goes through it’s recent revolutions. the players ARE the product, after all. But it’s not the job of a General Manager or Team Manager to figure out shit on behalf of the Players’ Union. Cozart should join the ranks of those pissed off at his own leadership.........
Silly MLBTR, forgetting the Sosh Factor. It means little how well a David Fletcher is doing at SLC as long as we have Gritty Veteran presence at 2B in Anaheim..........
The Wicked Witch of the TJ zooms high in the sky over the head of Blake Wood, painting the words “Surrender Blake!” and portending his doom. You are within the emerald gates of Anaheim, Blake. Your future is inevitable.........
We need to see more of these clips of LAA players showing up for the community, as JC Ramirez does here..........
In case you forgot, we had Chris Carter in Tempe and then in SLC. Now Carter has been traded to the Twins. Or, as most headlines still call him: “2016 NL Home Run leader Chris Carter”..........
Everywhere In Baseball
Let’s talk Home Run Derby. Aaron Judge declines (the same Aaron Judge being celebrated for his days playing for Linden High School - h/t UniWatch), suggesting that there is nothing left to prove while side-stepping the probability that he believes that might be the cause of his second-half slump.....The Red Sox are ducking, too, with Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez wishing to avoid the Derby any possible 2nd-half phenomenon........Others are still clamoring for Ohtani, ignoring that he might have pitched just the day before............So again I say that MLB needs to create special recognition patches for players to wear on their right sleeves, denoting special accomplishments of the past season. One of those would be the Derby Champ patch. The patch would belong to the player as long as he was Champ, regardless of what team he may move to. And all photos and videos of the player would reveal that patch, reinforcing it’s value...........
Some records are meant to never be broken..........
Lenny Dick-stra is still doing Dick-stra things. Amazing for a guy 22 years removed from the adulation and glory of the limelight..........
Oh, sure, MFY fans. Cole Hamels is spending his days pining to be picked by you. That is exactly why he is good at his job. Can’t be any other reason.........
Here we go again. MLB targeting yet another Dominican with random drug testing and busting Welington Castillo with an 80 game suspension..........
Jose Bautista, booted off the Atlanta Braves party bus, did end up landing safely with the Mets. With his first at-bat he tripled down the left field line, with his aging wheels turning that into a soft double..........
43 games into his St. Louis career, Marcell Ozuna learns that The Cardinal Way includes a required alarm clock..........
Why can’t these guys go on the DL BEFORE they get a chance to hurt us? Take, for example (#1) Khris Davis. He has been pretty dismal against the Angels in 2018, but that 3-run homer in the opening game helped put that A’s back into position to eventually win..........Example #2: Josh Reddick. That would be this guy............
The Duffle Bag
Velcro on the outfield wall? That’s a new one...........LAA Social Media maven with a pop pull. The reference is here..........Angel Hernandez continues to be really bad at his job, making him the last guy who should be suing for discrimination........Geddy Lee in pursuit of Albert Pujols for the very coolest of reasons..........Oh sweet. We can all get drunk earlier and later in the DC Metro for the All-Star Game. How accommodating..........Well, that is awkward. Watching your brother homer off of your husband? It must make for fun family gatherings..........If you win some contest to throw out a ceremonial first pitch, learn your job...........