Angels bullpen collapses in ninth, lose to Rockies on walk-off grand slam

After rallying back from behind and taking the lead, the Rockies came from behind and won the game in the bottom of the ninth, defeating the Angels 8-4.

The Angels had the lead entering the ninth, and Ty Buttrey came in to get the save. He recorded the first out, but then allowed a game-tying home run to Ryan McMahon. Josh Fuentes then followed with a double They intentionally walked Daniel Murphy, putting runners on first and second with an out.

Buttrey was relieved by Jose Quijada. He struck out Raimel Tapia, but then proceeded to walk Trevor Story on four pitches. Charlie Blackmon then stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. On a 3-1 pitch, Blackmon connected and hit a walk-off grand slam, giving Colorado the 8-4 win. They scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth after beginning the inning with an out.

For most of the game, LA’s offense was quiet.

The Angels used four consecutive singles to give them an early 2-0 lead. Jared Walsh, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and Justin Upton all singled to give LA the lead. Though they were playing at the greatest offensive ballpark in all of baseball, the Angels had only two hits over the next five innings. They were held scoreless and their only hits were singles.

Walsh brought the offense back to life in the eighth as his solo homer tied the game at three.

Then in the ninth, Anthony BenBOOM gave the Angels the 4-3 lead with his solo homer.

Griffin Canning had a decent start, but by Coors Fields standards it was nearly a complete game. He threw 5 ²⁄₃ innings and allowed only three runs. Again, a pretty okay start, but usually you will take that outing from your starter while in Denver. He struck out five and only walked one, There were some plays that really didn’t go his way, with the Rockies getting some bounces that went their way. He could’ve finished the game with either no runs allowed or one, but he ended up with three.

Friday particulars

WP: Daniel Bard (3-2) 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 SO

LP: Ty Buttrey (1-3) ¹⁄₃ IP, 3 ER

HR: Jared Walsh (4) Anthony Bemboom (2) Ryan McMahon (7) Charlie Blackmon (6)

Box score

Up next

The Angels look to bounce back tomorrow night as they’ll send Jaime Barria (0-0, 3.38 ERA) to the mound. First pitch is at 5:10 p.m. PT.