Angels take another try at baseball, don’t manage to baseball properly

A’s 4, Angels 0

Brad Ausmus filled out his lineup card. Back then, five hours ago, the team was so full of hope. They were going to play baseball! With the best player in baseball! With the best defensive player in baseball! With the most exciting player in baseball! And with the player who has the best active career in baseball!

Things started superbly. After a Brian Goodwin single and an Albert Pujols scorched double, A’s ace (let’s be honest, all of their pitchers are aces to us) Tanner Roark struck out Shohei Ohtani to end the inning.

The Angels left another runner on in the second, and then Justin Upton couldn’t come through with the bases loaded in the third. By then, the Angels’ best chances to score all game had already evaporated. It was all Oakland from then on.

Patrick Sandoval lasted all of 1.2 innings before the Athletics would take the lead.

Brad Ausmus decided to pull Sandoval after 52 pitches and 3.1 innings. It was an interesting decision, one that was punctuated by esteemed colleague Rick Souddress predicting, “...ok. I await the 3 run implosion from Jewell [after we pulled Sandoval].”

Sure enough, Jewell gave up three runs. Sean Murphy, in his first big league game, managed to homer off a “real Major League pitcher.”

Of course Marcus Semien followed that inning with a two-run shot.

Meanwhile, Matt Chapman is good:

The highlight of the night didn’t come from Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani or even Albert Pujols. Trevor Cahill managed to pitch three scoreless innings. It’s his longest scoreless appearance of the year. He’s now at 94.1 innings on the season.

Just kidding. The coolest thing definitely was this Mike Trout catch:

Yay for moral victories! At least we tried this whole baseball thing.