Cubs pay Father’s Day tribute
GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players.
Trevor Bell (Crescenta Valley High, 2005) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim relief pitcher: Although his 1/3 of an inning pitched against the Chicago Cubs in a 12-1 loss on Sunday was his first professional appearance at Wrigley Field, Bell’s family roots in the Windy City go way back.
Bell’s grandfather, Bob Bell, portrayed Bozo the Clown for 25 years on the popular children’s television show that was produced in Chicago and aired on the Chicago-based WGN network.
And, when Bell took the mound with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday, the show’s theme song was played on the organ.
Bell’s outing was brief — he recorded the final out of the eighth inning against the first batter he faced — but it likely made for quite a memorable Father’s Day for him and the numerous family and friends that were reportedly in attendance.
Bell was summoned from the bullpen with runners at first and second base and one out in the top of the seventh inning of the Angels’ home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, but had to sit through an 18-minute delay caused by a malfunction of the stadium lights.
Once the game resumed, Bell fanned Russell Martin and retired Reed Johnson on a fielder’s choice to snuff out the threat in eight pitches. Bell was 1-1 on the year with an earned-run average of 5.71 as of press time after seventh inning.
Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) San Francisco Giants infielder: Sanchez continues to round into form after coming off the disabled list in mid-May. While playing errorless defense in 32 starts at second base, he has also batted .309.
With a three-run home run in a 9-6 road win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, Sanchez broke a long-ball drought going back to Aug. 1 of last season and collected his 17th run batted in on the year.
Sanchez went 0 for three with a run scored in a 7-5 road loss to the Houston Astros on Thursday that dropped San Francisco to 39-32. The Giants are in second place in the National League West Division.
Doug Slaten (Glendale Community College, 1999) Washington Nationals relief pitcher: Slaten rebounded from a poor outing on June 17 to notch a spotless inning of relief in a 1-0 home loss to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
On the year, Slaten is 1-1 with 2.63 ERA and eight strikeouts to four walks for the Nationals, who are 33-40 for last place in the National League East Division.