Angels pitching combines to shutout Athletics in close win

The offense was essentially non-existent again, but luckily their pitching was fantastic, as the Angels defeated the Athletics, 1-0.

LA’s lone run on the afternoon came courtesy of a double from Shohei Ohtani in the third inning. Aside from that, the Angels only had four other hits on the afternoon. They were only 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and they stranded six runners on base. For the most part, that’s something you’ll pull your hair out over. But luckily, it was more than enough to win the game.

Jaime Barria made his second straight start and his fourth of the season. He was everything the Angels could ask for and more. He tossed 6 ²⁄₃ innings of scoreless ball, allowing only four hits. Oakland threatened on the bases a few times against Barria, but he was able to escape each jam when needed.

The biggest threat from the Athletics came in the seventh inning when they loaded the bases with two outs. Barria was removed from the game in favor of Steve Cishek. He faced Mark Canha and got him to lineout to left field, escaping the jam untouched.

Jose Quijada took the eighth and allowed hits to two of the first three hitters he faced. He was pulled with two outs as the Angels turned to Raisel Iglesias to complete the four-out save. He faced four hitters and recorded four outs to secure the save and the win for the Angels. The closer has 22 saves this season, with seven of them being four-out saves.

As we turn the calendar to August, the Angels find themselves right at .500 as they’re 52-52 on the season. They’re currently six games back of the second wild card.