Mike Clevinger shuts down non-Mike Trout Angels

Indians 7, Angels 3

The Angels’ happiness lasted maybe ten minutes. Mike Trout took a first pitch fastball from Mike Clevinger and rocketed it into the left field seats. It was your classic Trout liner dinger:

Then reality set in.

Taylor Cole opened for the Angels, and he was wild. He walked Francisco Lindor on five pitches, then threw a meatball to Oscar Mercado that went for a single. Carlos Santana roped a single, Cole went 3-0 on Yasiel Puig, who then lasered a single, and immediately the Angels were in the hole. Just like that. As Jose Ramirez doubled in another run, Brad Ausmus told Dillon Peters, the primary pitcher, to start loosening. Cole struck out Franmil Reyes for the first and only out he would record.

Peters induced a soft grounder to Albert Pujols, but the first baseman bobbled the ball and allowed another run to score.

After the four-run first, the Indians added two in the second and one in the third. Sadly they could not score half a run in the fourth or a quarter in the fifth to continue the cycle, so they settled for none. Dillon Peters pitched some good, solid ball, eating up innings, but the damage was already done.

Clevinger did his thing, rocking back and forth, and he dominated the Angels the first two times through the order, only allowing two hits to Trout while striking out five. He started the third time through the order by striking out three of the top four.

Just a good ol’ fashioned beatdown Friday afternoon, folks, and Matt Thaiss’s siiiick oppo double wasn’t enough to reverse the Indians’ damage. Enjoy your Friday evening!