The Los Angeles Angels are no longer in the business of competing for a postseason spot this year. But while organizations wave the white flag, players rarely do. Brandon Drury and the Angels showed that on Wednesday afternoon in a hard-fought series finale victory against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk — two players on the waiver wire — went a combined 4-for-8 with Renfroe hitting a home run and batting in four runs. But Drury was the ultimate hero, hitting a game-winning two-run shot in the ninth inning against Craig Kimbrel to avoid the sweep and send the Angels back to the West Coast with a win.
Drury recognized all of the uncertainty surrounding the Angels, especially after a month in which L.A. set a franchise record for worst margin of victory. The minus-74 was the worst for any month in club history, surpassing the minus-72 from August of 2015.
But through it all, the Angels utility man urged the team to keep fighting, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It’s been tough, we haven’t been playing good baseball, and there’s been all that stuff about the waiver wire,” Drury said. “It’s been tough for us, but there’s no other option but to keep playing. So we’re going to keep going and fight until the end.”
Drury praised the Angels for finding a way to win the third game in a series where it felt like everything was going in the Phillies direction.
“It was one of those series where it seemed like every time we scored, they came right back,” Drury said. “But we kept fighting until the end and got the win today.”
While the Angels organization no longer has anything to fight for this season, the players on the field have no interest in laying down and giving up for the final month. They have personal stakes — finances, pride and the joy of winning — on the line as well.
If Wednesday was any indication, Drury will not go away quietly this season.
Luis Rengifo has two-homer game
Luis Rengifo showed his own mettle on Tuesday when he put together his fourth two-homer game of his young career. It came in a losing effort, but it was another sign that — at least the bats — are not slowing down as the calendar flips to September.
Rengifo remains a potential core piece for the Angels moving forward, and any progression he can make would be a benefit for the franchise.
