In first MLB start, Packy Naughton no match for Gerrit Cole as Yankees beat Angels 4-1
For a pitcher making first MLB start, there aren’t many tougher assignments.
Not only did Angels left-hander Packy Naughton have to face the New York Yankees potent lineup Wednesday, but he had to do it with Gerrit Cole pitching opposite of him too.
While Naughton was decent in a 3 ⅔-inning, three-run outing, Cole was on a different level, striking out 15 batters in a seven-inning, one-run gem to help the Yankees avoid a sweep in Anaheim with a 4-1 win.
“Cole was on today,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said.
Naughton wasn’t bad either early on, following up a strong 4 ⅓-inning relief appearance last Friday with more encouraging signs in his first career start.
He induced a double play in the first inning, got two strikeouts in the second and two quick outs in the third before running into trouble, when he loaded the bases by yielding two walks and a base hit before Luke Voit hit a two-run single past the shift.
The Yankees scored another two-out run in the fourth on an RBI single from Brett Gardner, bringing Naughton’s day to a close after surrendering six hits and two walks.
“I’m never going to be happy giving up runs, but felt good, body felt good,” Naughton said. “All in all, decent outing, I guess.”
Maddon said he wasn’t yet sure if Naughton would get another start the next time through the rotation, but added “I would not be disappointed in any way if he did.”
And as a Boston native whom the Angels acquired from the Cincinnati Reds last year in exchange for Brian Goodwin, Naughton called pitching against the Yankees in particular surreal.
“I was talking with my parents and my brothers about it earlier today, it was absolutely incredible,” he said. “To go up against those guys, the future Hall of Famers in that lineup, and to go against Gerrit Cole, it was a dream come true.”
The Angels’ hitters didn’t feel the same way.
Instead, they were dominated by Cole throughout the afternoon, managing only four hits and failing to draw a walk against the AL Cy Young contender.
Cole stranded the Angels’ only two baserunners over the first five innings. Then, after Jack Mayfield singled and scored on a David Fletcher double to begin the sixth, he struck out three consecutive batters to end the inning. He returned in the seventh and racked up his final two strikeouts.
By the end of the day, not only had Cole dropped his ERA to 2.73, but he had also induced a whopping 32 swing-and-misses — tying Patrick Sandoval’s start on June 6 for most in the majors this season.
Maddon compared it to San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove’s shutout of the Angels last Friday.
“They’re premium pitchers, they are aces,” Maddon said. “And they were just on their game.”
Angels vs. Yankees recap: Yankees win 4-1
A recap of the Yankees 4-1 win over the Angels on Wednesday.
Top 3rd, 2-0 Yankees — Yankees open scoring with two out rally: Angels left-hander Packy Naughton began his first career MLB start well, getting a double-play in the first inning, two strikeouts in the second and two quick outs in the third.
But then, the 25-year-old ran into trouble.
He walked DJ LeMahieu. Gave up a single to Anthony Rizzo that snuck past Jared Walsh at first base. Walked Aaron Judge to load the bases. Then yielded a two-run base hit to Luke Voit on a ground ball hit past the shift.
Top 4th, 3-0 Yankees — Packy Naughton’s start ends after another run: Packy Naughton’s first MLB start came to an end after 3 2/3 innings, following a two-out RBI single from Brett Gardner.
Naughton’s final line: 3.2 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts.
End 5th, 3-0 Yankees — Gerrit Cole rolling: Through five scoreless innings, Gerrit Cole has given up just two hits and struck out 10 batters — including two punchouts of Shohei Ohtani.
Bottom 6th, 3-1 Yankees — Angels on the board, but Cole escapes jam: The Angels got one run in the sixth after Jack Mayfield singled and scored on a David Fletcher double.
But then Gerrit Cole beared down, striking out the next three batters – Shohei Ohtani, Phil Gosselin and Jared Walsh – to end the inning. During that stretch, Cole induced whiffs on seven-straight swings, upping his total on the day to 28.
He now has 13 strikeouts.
Mid 8th, 4-1 Yankees — Yankees add to lead after Cole’s 15-strikeout start: Gerrit Cole gave his Cy Yong candidacy a big boost Wednesday, completing his seven-inning, one-run start with 15 strikeouts and no walks.
Perhaps most impressively, Cole induced 15 swing-and-misses on the day, tying Patrick Sandoval’s start from June 6 for most in a single game in the majors this season.
Meanwhile, the Yankees lineup added to their lead in the eighth after Aaron Judge hammered a solo home run off Steve Cishek.
Final, Yankees win 4-1: The Yankees finished off their 4-1 win and avoided a sweep in Anaheim, with Jonathan Loáisiga and Aroldis Chapman spinning scoreless innings after Cole’s seven-inning gem. The Angels are now 66-68.
‘It sucks:’ Patrick Sandoval discusses season-ending back injury, plus other Angels notes as rosters expand to 28
Three weeks after his breakthrough 2021 campaign was derailed by a season-ending stress fracture in his back, Patrick Sandoval spoke frankly about his injury Wednesday.
“It sucks,” said the 24-year-old left-hander, who was officially transferred to the 60-day injured list Wednesday. “You never want to be on the sidelines watching. But that’s the reality of what happened. You just got to deal with it and get healthy next season.”
Before getting hurt, Sandoval had emerged as one of the Angels’ best pitchers this year.
In 17 appearances, he had a 3.62 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 87 innings. Of his 14 starts, he completed at least five innings in all but two. In late July, he carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins. And entering August, it looked as if he were primed to finish the season strong and carry momentum into the winter.
But in an Aug. 13 outing against the Houston Astros, Sandoval gradually developed pain in his back. His velocity diminished and, after giving up four runs in 4 2/3 innings, he was removed from the game.
Initially, he was put on the 10-day injured list because of a left lumbar spine stress reaction. But then, last week, general manager Perry Minasian announced that Sandoval would miss the rest of the season because of the stress fracture.
Sandoval, who has never had back problems, said Wednesday that he thought he should be ready for the start of spring training next year.
So far, his rehab process has consisted of “just rest and doing a lot of core stuff, physical therapy,” he said.
When Minasian announced Sandoval’s injury, he noted that both Sandoval and Griffin Canning — who also suffered a season-ending stress fracture in his back — often trained together and said the team would evaluate their workouts.
Sandoval, however, said they didn’t find “any particular workout or thing that we thought was why it happened.”
Short hops
— The Angels called up infielder Luis Rengifo and pitcher Oliver Ortega on Wednesday, as rosters around MLB expanded from 26 to 28 for the month of September.
Manager Joe Maddon said Rengifo, who has bounced back and forth between the big leagues and triple A the past three years, looked “completely different” physically compared to when he was last with the Angels at the end of July.
Ortega, a 24-year-old right-hander who has a 5.48 ERA in 34 outings in double A and triple A this season, is embarking upon his first stint in the big leagues.
— Pitchers Reid Detmers, Austin Warren and Jose Marte have still not rejoined the team after going on the injured list with no designation last week during the Angels’ COVID-19 issues.
Marte is still in Williamsport, Pa., where the Angels were playing when he went on the IL, and Detmers and Warren have remained in Baltimore.
Maddon said it’s still unclear when they might be able to return to the team.
— Maddon expounded upon the Angels’ decision to not use closer Raisel Iglesias for more than three-out save opportunities for the rest of the season, saying “there’s no sense in really pushing him, whether he’s going to be with us in the future or even if it’s somebody else.”
Iglesias, who is second in the American League with 29 saves this year, will be a free agent in the offseason.
Maddon said the right-hander could still appear on three consecutive days if he’s capable of it.
Shohei Ohtani to make next pitching start on Friday against Rangers
After being scratched from a pitching start on Tuesday because of soreness around his right wrist, Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s next pitching start is now scheduled for Friday against the Texas Rangers.
Angels manager Joe Maddon announced the news on Wednesday afternoon after Ohtani threw a successful pregame bullpen session, no longer feeling the lingering effects of the a hit-by-pitch he sustained on Saturday against the San Diego Padres.
“He’s good,” Maddon said.
Friday will be Ohtani’s first pitching appearance since Aug. 25, when he gave up four runs in five innings to the Baltimore Orioles. In 19 starts on the mound this season, the right-hander has a 3.00 ERA with 127 strikeouts in 105 innings.
While the wrist soreness kept Ohtani from pitching in this week’s series against the New York Yankees, he has continued to serve as designated hitter.
Shohei Ohtani steals home, defense and bullpen clutch in Angels’ 6-4 win over Yankees
The Angels got big hits from Jared Walsh and Phil Gosselin. A big steal from Shohei Ohtani. Big plays from the infield defense. And big outs from a short-handed bullpen.
It all added up to a 6-4 win over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, giving the Angels a third straight victory and a series win over the Yankees, who began the night in the American League’s top wild-card position.
Here are three observations from Tuesday’s game:
Stealing home
The Angels (66-67) already had a 5-2 lead in the fifth — thanks to a three-run home run from Walsh and two-run single from Gosselin — by the time Ohtani found himself standing at third base.
That’s when the Angels’ two-way star produced another highlight-reel moment, stealing home as part of a perfectly executed double steal with Gosselin.
Gosselin, who was on first base with two outs, broke for second after a swing and miss by Walsh, sliding in well before a throw from catcher Gary Sanchez. As Sanchez released the ball, Ohtani — who had originally taken a step back toward third — sprinted toward the plate.
Shortstop Gio Urshela caught the ball and immediately fired it back home, initially seeming to beat Ohtani by a couple of steps. Sanchez, however, lost his balance after making the catch and couldn’t apply a tag on Ohtani, who avoided Sanchez’s glove to touch the plate safely.
“I looked up, and Sho is sliding home,” Walsh said, adding: “It was cool. Just another night of Shohei doing something amazing.”
It was Ohtani’s second steal of the night and 22nd of the season, tied for sixth most in the majors.
“There’s all these little things going on that you have to process in the moment,” manager Joe Maddon said. “The reason why it did work was because Shohei’s break at third base, I thought, was pretty much on time.”
Bullpen delivers
Without several high-leverage relievers available and closer Raisel Iglesias limited to one inning, the Angels’ bullpen was tested down the stretch Tuesday.
At first it went well, with Jimmy Herget providing five key outs in his Angels debut before Elvis Peguero pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
But in the eighth, the crunch began to be felt.
Peguero began the inning by giving up a single and a double. Junior Guerra then entered but failed to strand either runner, giving up an RBI single to Aaron Judge and a deep sacrifice fly to Giancarlo Stanton that almost left the yard.
After Guerra walked Joey Gallo to put two runners aboard, Maddon went to the bullpen again, summoning Jake Petricka to escape the jam.
In dramatic fashion, the right-hander did, striking out Urshela and pinch-hitter Luke Voit to end the inning with an emphatic fist pump.
“Emotion came out,” said Petricka, who was making only his third appearance with the Angels after they plucked him out of independent league ball this summer. “It’s something I don’t normally show on the mound, but just with the way the stadium was going, the moment, it just happened. It’s why we play the game, for moments like that.”
That cleared the way for Iglesias to pick up his 29th save, good for second most in the AL, by retiring the side in order in the ninth.
Maddon said after the game that the team has decided to limit Iglesias to one-inning outings for the rest of the season.
Fletcher’s five double plays
The Angels turned five double plays Tuesday, their most in a game since 2013.
Starter Jaime Barria induced three of them, helping him work around five hits and two walks in a 4 1/3-inning, two-run start.
Herget got one in the sixth to negate a leadoff single. Then Peguero dialed up another one in the seventh to end the inning.
Second baseman David Fletcher was involved in all five, making spinning plays to initiate two difficult turns in the third and seventh innings and executing clean transfers on a couple of others.
“That was a virtuoso performance at second base,” Maddon said. “I’m here to tell ya, that is the Gold Glove winner right there. If you have any doubt about it, just watch that video tonight. We won because he played second base.”
Angels vs. Yankees recap: Angels win 6-4
A recap of the Angels 6-4 win over the Yankees on Tuesday night.
End 1st, no score — Barria gets double play: Angels manager Joe Maddon said he wanted to see Jaime Barria rely less on his slider, and more on his fastball and changeup Tuesday night.
In the first inning, the right-hander followed through, throwing just three sliders in a scoreless 22-pitch frame. Despite a leadoff single from DJ LeMahieu and one-out walk from Aaron Judge, Barria ended the inning by getting Giancarlo Stanton to ground into a double-play.
End 3rd, no score — Angels hitless through three innings: For the second-straight game, the Angels have been held without a hit through three innings. Tonight, it’s Jameson Taillon off to a strong start for the Yankees, requiring just 41 pitches to retire each of the first nine batters he’s faced.
Top 4th, 1-0 Yankees — Anthony Rizzo hits home run: Anthony Rizzo opened the scoring with a strange-looking home run in the fourth. Leading off the inning, the Yankees slugger hit a high fly ball deep to right field. Juan Lagares got to the wall for the Angels and seemingly had a chance to catch it, but missed. The ball instead sailed past his glove and landed just above the yellow line for a homer.
The Yankees got two more baserunners later in the inning, but then Jaime Barria dialed up his third double play of the night.
Bottom 4th, 3-1 Angels — Jared Walsh gives Angels the lead: Just like Monday night, the Angles offense came to life in the fourth inning.
David Fletcher hit a leadoff single, Shohei Ohtani drew a walk, both advanced on a double-steal, and then Jared Walsh lashed a three-run homer into the right-field corner.
For Walsh, it continues a recent hot streak at the plate. After suffering a 12-for-65 (.185) post-All Star Break slump, the first baseman in now 12-for-39 (.308) in his past 11 games with 3 home runs, 9 RBI and as many strikeouts as walks (seven each).
Top 5th, 3-2 Angels — Jaime Barria pulled, Jimmy Herget makes Angels debut: Jaime Barria failed to get through the fifth inning, being pulled after surrendering a long solo home run to Gary Sanchez and walking Brett Gardner with one out.
Though Barria had only thrown 74 pitches, Joe Maddon opted to summon Jimmy Herget for his Angels debut instead. Herget escaped the inning by getting DJ LeMahieu to ground out — aided by a strong barehanded play at second by David Fletcher — and striking out Anthony Rizzo.
Bottom 5th, 6-2 Angels — Phil Gosselin delivers two-run single, Shohei Ohtani steals home: With runners at second and third and two outs, the Yankees made a sensible decision with Shohei Ohtani coming up to the plate. They intentionally walked him, his 11th automatic free pass this year.
Phil Gosselin, however, made the Yankees pay in the next at-bat, battling back from an 0-2 hole and lining a two-run single up the middle.
Then, Gosselin and Ohtani combined on the bases for another run, executing a delayed double-steal from the corners that ended with Ohtani narrowly avoiding a tag at the plate.
It was Ohtani’s second steal of the night and 22nd of the season.
Top 7th, 6-2 Angels — Angels turn fifth double-play to escape jam: After Jimmy Herget threw a scoreless sixth inning — with the help of a double-play — Elvis Peguero entered the seventh inning and dialed up his own double-play to escape a jam.
After Gio Urshela hit a leadoff double and Rougned Odor was hit by a pitch, Gary Sanchez flied out before Brett Gardner hit a grounder to second that David Fletcher and Jack Mayfield turned for two.
It was the Angels’ fifth double-play of the night, their most in a game since 2013.
Top 8th, 6-4 Angels — Yankees get a couple, but Jake Petricka escapes jam: The Yankees got a couple runs back in the eighth inning against Elvis Peguero and Junior Guerra, who combined to retire just one of the first five Yankees who came to the plate.
But, with two on and one out, Jake Petricka came out of the bullpen and saved the day, striking out Gio Urshela and Luke Voit to keep the Angels in front by two.
Final, Angels win 6-4: Raisel Iglesias picked up his 29th save to finish off the Angels’ 6-4 win. The team is now 66-67 and can go for a sweep of the Yankees on Wednesday.
Jimmy Herget called up, José Iglesias on the bench again
The Angels added another pitcher to the roster Tuesday, selecting the contract of reliever Jimmy Herget and optioning infielder Kean Wong in a corresponding move.
Herget, 27, is a right-hander who has a 4.20 earned-run average in 29 career major league appearances with the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers, the latter of whom designated Herget for assignment two weeks ago, allowing the Angels to sign him to a minor league contract.
Fellow reliever Oliver Ortega was also around the team Tuesday at Angel Stadium but was not added to the active roster. Manager Joe Maddon said it’s possible Ortega could be one of the team’s two September call-ups when rosters expand to 28 players Wednesday.
Normally, Maddon prefers having position players fill the expanded roster spots. But with the Angels working around a short-handed pitching staff of late, “right now, I think the premium would be more on pitching,” he said.
Iglesias, Upton on the bench again
José Iglesias was left out of the Angels’ lineup for the third straight game and fourth in the last five days as the team continues to give increased playing time to Jack Mayfield.
Maddon said he talked with Iglesias, who unlike Mayfield will be a free agent this winter, about the decision.
“He’s been great,” Maddon said of Iglesias, who is batting .259 with an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .670. “He’s really respectful. We’ve had really good talks. We had a great one in my office yesterday. There’s no animosity. It’s just, ‘This is what we’re doing right now. This is what is going on.’ Yes, I’m looking to get him back out there, but you watch the games the last couple days, there’s nothing I really want to do differently.”
Outfielder Justin Upton is in a similar boat, with Tuesday marking his second straight game out of the lineup because of playing-time reasons.
Short hops
• Maddon said Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound remains unclear but that the two-way star’s sore right wrist has continued to progress. Ohtani, who has been able to continue serving as designated hitter after getting hit in the wrist by a pitch Saturday, will need to play catch and then throw a bullpen session before making another pitching start.
• Maddon didn’t have any injury updates on pitchers Alex Cobb (right wrist inflammation) or Chris Rodriguez (right lat strain). Cobb threw a bullpen session Monday and felt good afterward, Maddon said, but still doesn’t have a targeted return date.
Andrew Heaney has fond Angels memories, but also regrets: ‘We never accomplished what we were seeking to do’
During his seven-year stint with the Angels, Andrew Heaney loved the club, his teammates, and the fanbase. It was the place where the left-hander blossomed into a bonafide major-leaguer, where he went from touted prospect to respected veteran.
For almost the entirety of his MLB career, it was the place he called home.
“I look at it as a whole like, just happy I got to be a part of that group,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean he left last month without any regrets.
After being traded to the New York Yankees on deadline day, Heaney returned to Anaheim for the first time this week.
On Monday, he had a pregame reunion with former teammates and coaches during batting practice, received applause from the crowd during a scoreboard thank you video in the first inning, and then took the mound for a two-run, two-inning relief outing in which he yielded a mammoth solo home run to Shohei Ohtani.
On the field before the game, he stopped to talk with reporters too, reflecting back on an Angels career that still stirred up mixed emotions.
On the one hand, he said, “I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed being in the clubhouse, being around these guys.”
Adjusting to life with his new team has taken time as well -- including, he joked, the need for a new shaving routine to adhere to the Yankees’ facial hair policy.
“It’s still not quite daily,” he said, laughing. “Maybe once every two or three days. Just kind of seeing how far I can get away with it.”
But Heaney was also introspective about his Angels tenure, reckoning with the fact that, upon his arrival ahead of the 2015 season, neither he nor the club ever seemed to fully maximize their potential.
“There’s maybe a little bit of a sense of regret,” he said. “Never really feeling like we accomplished what we set out to do.”
Indeed, during his six-plus seasons, Heaney struggled to maintain consistency, posting a 4.51 ERA in 102 starts. The team, meanwhile, never made the playoffs, finishing above .500 only once.
“I never had any major part in any season, really trying to help push us,” Heaney said. “I was always kind of league-average. That is tough, feeling like we never accomplished what we were seeking to do.”
So far, Heaney’s personal performance with the Yankees has remained unsteady.
After they acquired him for two pitching prospects, Heaney, who will be a free agent this offseason, gave up 15 runs and eight homers in his first three starts. His next two starts were better, surrendering just three runs in 11 innings, but the team still moved him to the bullpen this week as Corey Kluber returned from injury.
For the first time in his career, however, Heaney is on the verge of a postseason appearance, with the Yankees protecting a two-game lead in the American League wild card race.
“Getting traded to a new team in the middle of a season that was, at that point, in a playoff push, and now in the lead in the wild card, there’s a different sense of urgency,” Heaney said. “It’s a little bit less about me personally and more about the team.”
It’s something he always hoped to experience with the Angels, the one goal that was never fulfilled during his time in the Southland.
Instead, on the day the trade went down, Heaney rushed to pack his bags, swung by the ballpark for some final goodbyes, and reconciled all the highs and lows of his time in Anaheim.
“On my way out, that was the worst feeling, walking out of the clubhouse and leaving,” he said. “It was like, the show doesn’t stop. Everything keeps going. You’re just moving, but everybody else is going to play a game that night, they’re gonna replace you with a different pitcher on the roster and they’re gonna keep doing their thing.
“In that moment, it’s kind of sad to be leaving what I was familiar with and going to something new. But time heals all wounds. So just getting acclimated in New York, everything has been great here.”
Shohei Ohtani’s 42nd home run, Juan Lagares’ late RBIs help Angels to 8-7 win over Yankees
Angels manager Joe Maddon loved just about everything he saw Monday night.
An engaged crowd at Angel Stadium. The strategy of a back-and-forth bullpen game. The contributions he got up and down the lineup. And, of course, the result -- an 8-7 Angels win over the New York Yankees to open a three-game series.
“The whole group did a wonderful job,” Maddon said after eight players got a hit and seven took the mound to help the Angels improve to 65-67, adding “Just a really interesting, good baseball game.”
Here are three observations from Monday.
Ohtani, Mayfield, Lagares lead the way
While Shohei Ohtani’s sore right wrist will keep him from pitching Tuesday, it didn’t seem to hamper his swing at all Monday night.
In the fifth inning, the two-way star crushed a 431-foot solo blast off former teammate Andrew Heaney, who was returning to Anaheim for the first time since being traded last month.
“I’ve never seen a ball hit to that level there,” Maddon said of Ohtani’s blast, which landed deep into the utility area beyond the right-field wall to break what was a 5-5 tie. “It looked farther than [431 feet].”
It wasn’t the only big hit for the Angels on either.
An inning earlier, Jack Mayfield helped the Angels erase an early two-run hole by hitting his first career grand slam into the left-field bullpens, giving him nine home runs and 17 RBI since the All-Star break.
“I blacked out a little bit,” Mayfield said. “I don’t remember running the bases.”
Then, in the latter innings, Juan Lagares completed a three-hit performance by driving in two key runs.
After Ohtani’s homer put the Angels ahead, Lagares plated a key insurance run in the sixth inning with an RBI triple.
Then, after Giancarlo Stanton tied the game at 7-7 with a monstrous two-run home run in the seventh, Lagares came back to the plate in the eighth and lined a go-ahead single into left field.
“I thought we did a nice job of just staying with it,” Maddon said of the Angels offense, which came to life after failing to record a hit off Yankees starter Corey Kluber in the first three innings.
“There was a lot of conversation in the dugout, guys talking to one another. And eventually, we got it going.”
Bullpen game
With the Angels still limited by a short-handed rotation, they had to go with an all-out bullpen game against a potent Yankees lineup -- requiring seven different pitches to patch together nine innings.
Mike Mayers got the start, giving up two runs in the first before settling down in a scoreless second inning. Sam Selman and Andrew Wantz posted more zeros in the third and fourth. And when José Quijada took the mound in the fifth, the Angels had surged to a 5-2 lead behind Mayfield’s grand slam.
But then the Yankees answered with a two-out rally.
With a runner on first and two outs, Quijada gave up singles to DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Rizzo that scored one run.
With runners then on second and third (able to advance after a fielding error by Brandon Marsh), Steve Cishek entered the game and gave up an infield single to Aaron Judge on a ball Jared Walsh couldn’t corral at first, then a line-drive single to Giancarlo Stanton that tied it.
The Angels, however, steadied the ship again afterward.
Cishek returned in the sixth and stranded a runner. Junior Guerra pitched the seventh and eighth innings, making only one big mistake on Stanton’s two-run homer. And then closer Raisel Iglesias was summoned for the ninth, retiring the top of the Yankees’ lineup in order for his 28th save.
“That was classic,” Maddon said of Iglesias. “That is a big league save.”
Split crowd
Monday was one of the more electric atmospheres inside Angel Stadium, with a crowd of 29,436 -- the fifth-largest this season -- seemingly split roughly in half between Angels and Yankees fans.
What did Maddon think of the environment?
“Bring it on,” he said. “It was wonderful. I know there’s a lot of Yankee fans in town. It’s always been that way here. I’m not going to bemoan that whatsoever. It’s great to have all that noise. I think our players fed off of it and reacted to it. It’s just wonderful to have Angel Stadium all filled up. That’s what we want to see happen in the future.”
Angels vs. Yankees recap: Angels win 8-7
A recap of the Angels series-opening win against the Yankees...
Top 1st, 2-0 Yankees — Mayers gives up two, but limits damage: Mike Mayers began the Angels bullpen game by giving up two runs in the first, but it could have been worse.
After Jo Adell took a bad route on a DJ LeMahieu fly ball, resulting in a leadoff double, and Anthony Rizzo doubled down the line in the next at-bat, Mayers got Giancarlo Stanton to roll into a run-scoring double-play and then ended the inning by inducing a flyout from Joey Gallo.
Mid 4th, 2-0 Yankees — Angels pitching better: Since the opening frame, the Angels have had three different pitchers post scoreless innings. Mike Mayers retired the side in order in the second, Sam Selman did the same in the third, and then Andrew Wantz stranded a two-out walk in the fourth.
Bottom 4th, 5-2 Angels — Jack Mayfield hits grand slam: After being no-hit by Yankees starter Corey Kluber in the first three innings, the Angels’ bats came to life in the fourth.
Phil Gosselin, Jared Walsh and Jo Adell hit three straight singles to plate one run. Then, after Max Stassi walked to load the bases, Jack Mayfield hit his first career grand slam to put the Angels in front 5-2.
Mayfield now has nine home runs since the All-Star break, most on the team.
Top 5th, tied 5-5 — Yankees answer with two-out rally: The Yankees answered Jack Mayfield’s grand slam with a two-out rally in the fifth against José Quijada and Steve Cishek.
With a runner on first and two outs, Quijada gave up singles to DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Rizzo that scored one run.
With runners on second and third (able to advance after a fielding error by Brandon Marsh), Cishek entered but gave up an infield single to Aaron Judge on a ball Jared Walsh couldn’t corral at first, then a line-drive single to Giancarlo Stanton that tied the game.
Cishek ended the frame by striking out Joey Gallo.
Bottom 5th, 6-5 Angels — Ohtani homers to give Angels lead: Shohei Ohtani has extended his MLB home run lead, crushing his 42nd of the season to deep right field off former teammate Andrew Heaney.
The ball traveled a projected 431 feet and left Ohtani’s bat at 111.8 mph.
Bottom 6th, 7-5 Angels — Juan Lagares drives in insurance run: Juan Lagares gave the Angels a little more breathing room by driving an RBI triple to right field, where Aaron Judge seemed to have trouble tracking the ball all the way to the warning track.
Top 7th, tied 7-7 — Giancarlo Stanton ties it up: Giancarlo Stanton hit a monstrous two-run homer off Junior Guerra to tie the game up, a two-run blast to the center-field rock pile that traveled a projected 457 feet and left the bat at 115.2 mph.
Bottom 8th, Angels lead 8-7 — Juan Lagares gives Angels the lead: Juan Lagares’ third hit of the night was a big one, a two-out RBI single in the eighth that put the Angels back in front.
After Brandon Marsh — who hit a leadoff single and advanced to third on a couple groundouts — scored, Lagares was thrown out going for second to end the inning.
Raisel Iglesias will now enter for the save opportunity in the ninth.
Final, Angels win 8-7: Raisel Iglesias finished off the Angels’ bullpen game with his 28th save, retiring the top of the Yankees’ lineup in order to give the Angels an 8-7 win.
The Angels are now 65-67.
Mike Trout ‘getting closer’ to potential season shutdown as calf soreness lingers
Mike Trout is still battling soreness in his strained right calf, according to Angels manager Joe Maddon, and could be nearing the point where he is sidelined for the rest of the season.
“It’s a possibility,” Maddon said of potentially shutting down the three-time MVP, who hasn’t played since May 17.
Maddon continued: “We’re probably getting closer to having to say something like that. But he still wants to continue to fight, and we’re going to honor his wishes. However Mike sees this, we’re going to go with it that way.”
Maddon said if the soreness in Trout’s calf continues to be a problem, a discussion about potentially shutting him down could take place within the next week or two.
“This is truly a time you listen to an athlete,” Maddon said. “He’s listening to his body, and you just try to make the best decision. But yes, there’s got to be that moment where we have to start being realistic about it, where we may just have to say, ‘That’s it.’”
Over the last six weeks, Trout has returned to doing on-field activities, but still continues to feel too much soreness in his calf afterward — preventing any minor league rehab assignment or major league return.
The latest occurrence came in the past several days, Maddon said.
“He had another good day working out, we were very optimistic, and then he came up sore,” Maddon said. “We keep going back to that.”
On Aug. 21, Trout told reporters he wanted to return this season, but also acknowledged that his rehab process, which was originally expected to only take six to eight weeks, has been “wearing on me.”
On Monday, Maddon reiterated Trout’s desire to get back on the field this season. The time to do so, however, is dwindling.
“The biggest thing about it right now is his mental well-being, how he feels about now and going into the offseason,” Maddon said. “That’s the most important thing, and then how it plays into next year.”
Shohei Ohtani to miss pitching start on Tuesday because of wrist soreness
Shohei Ohtani will not be able to make his scheduled pitching start on Tuesday, Angels manager Joe Maddon announced Monday.
Ohtani is still battling soreness around his right wrist after it was hit by a pitch Saturday night. While he will be able to continue serving as the Angels’ designated hitter, he is considered day to day on the mound.
“Pitching is going to be problematic,” Maddon said. “So we’ll just have him hit until he’s ready to pitch again.”
Ohtani was struck by a 93-mph fastball from San Diego Padres pitcher Ryan Weathers on Saturday just below his right hand. The two-way star was in clear pain while being checked on the field by trainers, but remained in the game.
Maddon initially hoped Ohtani would still be able to pitch on Tuesday, but said on Monday that the right-hander was still too sore to take the mound.
Jaime Barria will instead pitch on Tuesday for the Angels, while Packy Naughton is now scheduled to start on Wednesday.
Ohtani hasn’t been on the injured list this year, but did previously miss time as a pitcher because of a blister in April and soreness in his thumb in July after it was struck by a foul ball in the dugout.
As a pitcher, Ohtani is 8-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts this year. He has appeared either as a pitcher or hitter in all but three of the Angels’ games this season.
Asked whether the club would exercise any extra caution with Ohtani’s usage down the final stretch of the season, Maddon said they simply would continue to communicate with Ohtani regarding playing time as they have all season.
He also noted there could be long-term benefits next year if Ohtani can continue to accumulate innings as a pitcher over the final month of this season.
“There’s no reason or want to push him, but you also don’t want to step away from it if he’s feeling good too,” Maddon said, adding: “I do know, he wants to play, he wants to pitch. That’s the commitment we made to him. And plus, the guy’s in the running for some pretty big personal awards right now. I don’t ever want to get in the way of anybody’s greatness. So I will continue to listen to him and make our judgements and decisions based on that.”
Angels notes: Mike Mayers to start on Monday; José Iglesias sits for second straight game
The Angels announced that right-hander Mike Mayers will start on the mound in Monday’s series opener against the New York Yankees.
Manager Joe Maddon said Mayers would be the first arm in a bullpen game for the team as it continues to work around a shorthanded rotation.
Mayers has started only one time previously in his six-year MLB career. That was in his MLB debut in 2014, when he pitched the first 1 1/3 innings for the St. Louis Cardinals (he was pulled after giving up nine runs and eight hits).
This season, Mayers has a 4.07 ERA in 59 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.
In other roster news Monday:
— The Angels recalled infielder Kean Wong, who effectively fills the vacant spot on the team’s active roster left by José Quintana’s departure.
— Shortstop José Iglesias was out of the lineup for a second-consecutive game, but according to Maddon isn’t battling any injury.
Instead, Maddon said the team simply wanted to see Jack Mayfield get some time at shortstop, hinting that Mayfield could be part of the club’s future plans.
— Joe Maddon said it’s unclear when pitchers Reid Detmers, Austin Warren and Jose Marte — the three players who went on the injured list with no designation last week amid the Angels’ COVID-19 issues — will be able to return to the active roster.
Not only does each player need to be cleared to return, but they also might need some time to rebuild their arms.
“I know that we’re getting them back soon,” Maddon said. “But how good of shape their arm is in, I’m not certain.”
Here is the Angels’ full lineup for Monday:
Betting odds and lines for Angels vs. Yankees on Monday
The Angels host the Yankees at 6:38 p.m. PDT Monday in the first game of a three-game series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
Las Vegas oddsmakers hadn’t posted a line as of 9 a.m. Monday as the Angels haven’t announced a starting pitcher, but DraftKings Sportsbook (which operated in eight states) has made New York a -145 road favorite with Corey Kluber (4-3, 3.04 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) taking the mound for Yankees, who are coming off two straight losses to the A’s after having their 13-game winning streak snapped.
The season series is tied 2-2 with the Yankees outscoring the Angels 24-22. The Over/Under for Monday’s game is 9 at Draftkings. The Angels average 4.55 runs per game with the Yankees averaging 4.35, so that’s a combined 8.9 and right around the total. However, that might be a little low considering the 11.5 runs these teams are averaging against each other (granted, four games is a small sample), plus the uncertainty of which pitchers Angels manager Joe Maddon is going to send out there.
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After disappointing year with Angels, José Quintana claimed off waivers by Giants
The Angels announced Monday that left-handed pitcher José Quintana had been claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants, marking the end of Quintana’s unsuccessful debut campaign in Anaheim.
The Angels signed the 10-year veteran to a one-year, $8 million contract this offseason hoping he could bring stability to the starting rotation. Instead, Quintana struggled from the jump, posting a 7.22 ERA in nine starts before being moved to the bullpen in June.
While Quintana was better as a reliever (he had a 3.93 ERA in 14 relief appearances) and routinely praised by manager Joe Maddon for his mentorship of younger pitchers, he made just one more start — a rough six-run, 1 1/3 inning outing against the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 19.
And even as the Angels rotation suffered injuries in the following two weeks, the team kept Quintana in the bullpen.
With the Angels, Quintana posted career-worsts in ERA (6.75), walks-per-nine-innings (4.9) and WHIP (1.781).