The Los Angeles Angels received a complete effort from Dylan Bundy and clutch hitting by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to grab a 4-3 Opening Day win against a talented Chicago White Sox team.
The first inning was dominated by the strike out. Angels starter Bundy allowed one hit to Jose Abreu, but got Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada swinging. For the White Sox, Lucas Giolito had an incredible first, striking out David Fletcher, Shohei Ohtani, and Trout.
The first run of the game came in the top of the second, when Luis Robert hit a double, stole third, and got a run off of a wild pitch by Bundy. Still, two more strikeouts allowed the Angels ace to maintain control of the game as they trailed 1-0 after two.
The bottom of the fourth finally saw Giolito show signs of weakness. After two quick outs, Trout and Anthony Rendon got on base via the walk. Then, Justin Upton brought Trout home with an RBI single to tie the game at 1. Giolito limited the damage to just that, and the game was even after four.
The first big hit of the game came in the top of the fifth, when Adam Eaton hit a two-run homer off of Bundy. This gave the White Sox a 3-1 lead with the 7-9 spots due up for the Halos. The Angels cut the gap in half thanks to a solo home run by Max Stassi. After five, it was 3-2.
After one batter in the sixth inning, Giolito was removed from the game and replaced by Codi Heuer. There were some anxious moments, but the Angels were unable to get anything.
Bundy exited the game before the top of the seventh inning, finishing with three earned runs and six strikeouts in 6.0 innings and 88 total pitches. Aaron Slegers was the first reliever out of the bullpen, and he struck out one in a scoreless half-inning.
Mike Mayers was brought in to replace Slegers after a solid inning of work. Mayers projects to be one of the most reliable arms out of the bullpen for the Angels this season. He needed some help from a highlight reel play by Igelsias, but he got out of the inning with relative ease.
Left-hander Aaron Bummer was the man on the mound for the White Sox in the bottom of the eighth and faced the top of the Angels order. A couple of miscues from the White Sox infield allowed the Halos to have runners on the corners with no outs.
Trout delivered in a big way, shooting a single down the left field line to bring home Fletcher, tying the game at 3. Upton then faced an 11-pitch at-bat and was walked, loading the bases with one out for Pujols, who picked up an RBI on a groundout.
Matt Foster relieved Bummer after a tough outing, and Foster quickly got the last out to head to the ninth with the White Sox trailing 4-3 and Raisel Iglesias gearing up for his first save opportunity as an Angel.
Iglesias came in, instantly struck out two, and popped out the third to grab the save and move the Halos to 1-0 on the young season.
Looking ahead
The Angels face the White Sox on Friday, April 2 with first pitch coming at 6:38 p.m. PT. It will be Andrew Heaney vs. Dallas Keuchel on the mound.