Strong Start By Suarez Spoiled By Bronx Bomb

Jose Suarez and All-Star Gerrit Cole went toe-to-toe in a pitching battle Monday night, however, the Yankees would get the last laugh in the “one night only” make-up game, emerging victorious by the final of 2-1.

The first inning brought plenty of firepower to the Bronx from both teams. Justin Upton got the party started with his 16th home run of the season with two-outs, giving the Angels an early 1-0 lead. Coming into the game, Upton had plenty of previous success against Cole, going 8-for-22 with a home run and four runs batted in.

But in typical Angels fashion, right after they take the lead offensively, the pitching staff gives it right back. With one-on and one-out, newly acquired Joey Gallo teed off against an inside four-seam fastball from Suarez driving it deep into the short porch in right field, giving the Yankees a 2-1 advantage.

Pitching was the name of the game following a lively first as Suarez and Cole buckled down for lockdown innings. Cole shutout the Angels for the rest of his outing, which lasted 5.2 innings. After the Upton homer, which was his only blemish, Cole allowed just one hit (Phil Gosselin Single) while nine of 17 outs were via the strikeout.

Suarez spun four consecutive 1-2-3 innings (2nd through 5th), while matching a season high in strikeouts with six before treading in danger in the sixth. Prior to getting the hook from Joe Maddon, Suarez began the inning by walking DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Gallo to load the bases with nobody out. Out of the bullpen, Steve Cishek, entering the game as the most used Angels relief pitcher this season (55 appearances), emphatically struck out Giancarlo Stanton and induced a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Luke Voit to end the frame that had the potential to blow the game wide open for the Bronx Bombers.

As the Yankee bullpen lulled the Angels to sleep, Jared Walsh flashed hope in the ninth with a two-out single down the left field line putting the tying run on base. With the leading run at the plate, Gosselin struck out looking against RHP Chad Green on a ball off the outside corner to end the game. The four Yankees bullpen arms (Britton, Abreu, Rodriguez and Green) allowed just one hit while striking out six in 3.1 innings.

With this loss, the Angels fall to 59-61 (.492) and have succumbed to defeat in seven of their last 11 games. After a “one night only” stay in New York, the Halos travel to Detroit to begin a three-game series against the Tigers who currently sit in third-place in the AL Central. On the bump for the Angels will be RHP Dylan Bundy (2-9, 6.17 ERA) against fellow righty Casey Mize (6-6, 3.66 ERA).

Angels News & Notes

• With the Solo Home-Run tonight, Justin Upton currently sits 4 RBI short of 1,000 in his career
• Even with the loss, the Angels still hold the best record in 1-run games in all of MLB (20-10)
• In August, the Angels rank #19 in hits (111) and #23 in runs scored (52), averaging just 3.25 runs per/game