Mike Trout finished the game just a triple shy of the cycle. However, David Fletcher was the hero in the 11th as a two-run single gave the Los Angeles Angels a 7-5 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Angels jumped on Ross Stripling early, as Trout hit a double in his first at-bat of the game. Anthony Rendon singled immediately after to bring Trout home and give the Angels an early 1-0 lead.
In Griffin Canning’s first start of the 2021 season, he faced significant struggles early. He walked Cavan Biggio, who found his way home on a single from Teoscar Hernandez. Then, he gave up a two-run home run to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., meaning the Blue Jays led 3-1 after the first inning.
Stripling had not yet found his command, as a trio of doubles in the second inning by Justin Upton, Jose Iglesias, and David Fletcher brought the Angels back to a 3-3 tie before two full innings had even been played.
From here, both pitchers found some momentum. Stripling and Canning allowed just one combined base runner until the fifth inning. Here, Trout hit a 444-foot bomb off of the Blue Jays starter to give the Angels a 4-3 lead. This continued a history of success for the Angels superstar against Stripling.
After the home run given up to Guerrero, Canning retired 14 consecutive batters before allowing a solo shot to Biggio. This tied the game at 4 and got Canning removed from the game, where he was replaced by Aaron Slegers in the bottom of the sixth.
Slegers did not fare any better against Guerrero. The son of the Angels legend hit a two-out, two-strike single to right field to get a run home and give the Blue Jays a 5-4 lead. He limited the damage to that, but it ensured the Angels would need to score at least two more to win the game.
The Halos responded quickly in the top of the seventh inning. Dexter Fowler got on base with an infield single, then got to third with a steal and a fielders choice. He was brought home Shohei Ohtani to tie the game at five with two outs and Trout coming to the plate.
Trout reached on an infield single, but the inning ended when Hernandez tracked down a deep fly ball by Rendon, leaving two stranded and the game tied at five.
Mike Mayers struggled to throw strikes in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading to a walk for Guerrero. However, he was able to escape without any runs going on the board, keeping it tied going into the ninth.
Trout found his way to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second in the top of the ninth. He took the Blue Jays pitcher deep into the count and hit a ball to dead center field, but a remarkable diving catch by Randal Grichuk saved the game and kept it tied going to the bottom of the inning.
Steve Cishek was the Angels pitcher for the ninth inning, and three quick outs — including one via the pickoff — sent the Halos to their first extra innings game of the season.
After a dull 10th inning, Fletcher was the hero of the night for the Angels, bringing home two runs in the top of the 11th to give them a 7-5 lead. Raisel Iglesias would come in to potentially get his second save of the year.
Iglesias had no issues getting three straight outs with a runner on second, securing a 7-5 win for the Angels as they moved to 5-2 on the year.
Looking Ahead
The Angels take on the Blue Jays in the second of four games on Friday, Apr. 9 at 4:07 p.m. PT. It will be Andrew Heaney on the mound against T.J. Zeuch.
