After defeating the San Diego Padres in the series opener, there was little pressure for the Los Angeles Angels to snag a win in the finale. A series split on the road against a playoff-caliber team is certainly a win given what the Angels are working with on a nightly basis.
To emphasize this, the Halos put together a bullpen game due to their lack of available starters. Mike Mayers kicked things off with a scoreless first inning. However, things quickly got out of hand in the second.
Mayers walked Wil Myers, then allowed an RBI double from Adam Frazier. He then recorded two outs and was replaced by Sam Selman, having given up just one run and leaving an inherited runner on third.
Selman hit a batter, then allowed an RBI single, then walked a third and was taken out without recording an out. At this point, it was 2-0 with the bases loaded and two outs.
Jake Petricka came in to stop the bleeding, and wound up doing the exact opposite. He walked three straight batters, allowed a run on a wild pitch, and gave up a two-run single. By the time he got the third out, the Padres had scored eight runs in the inning.
This was all they needed to defeat the Angels, with a final score of 8-5. Joe Maddon was disappointed in the Angels, not necessarily for giving up eight runs, but for the way it happened, according to Jeff Fletcher of The O.C. Register:
“That second inning was a killer,” Maddon said. “We just needed one out. … The hit batter with two strikes hurt us, and so did the walks. They didn’t beat us up physically. We beat ourselves.”
Even after this deflating frame, the Angels still managed to put up a fight, scoring five runs between the fourth and eighth innings. This was much to the delight of Maddon.
“I like the way we kept fighting till the end,” Manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s just typical. Like I keep saying about our guys, they come ready to play tonight and they did tonight.”
Outside of Game 2’s second inning, the Angels outscored the Padres 9-0 during the other 17 innings of the series. However, one bad inning can always make a difference, especially when seven consecutive batters go unretired.
The Angels were obviously not in the best position to win this game, but that cannot be used as an excuse for the rest of the season, as they have managed to win some impressive outings even with their dearth of big name talent.
Maddon calls series opener the best win of the season
The Angels were on the wrong end of a perfect game heading into the seventh inning on Tuesday. Blake Snell allowed two walks, a host of stolen bases, then a single to Jo Adell, one that scored two runs and gave L.A. the lead for good.
Maddon raved about the effort level of the team following the game, calling it perhaps the best win of the season thus far.
