After Felix Peña spotted the Athletics 3 runs in the first things were not looking good for the Angels. That didn’t stop them from trying hard against one of the hottest teams in baseball right now. Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps it was the underdog syndrome, perhaps they just needed to show that they’re still relevant in the AL West, but somehow, the team managed to come back for a 4–3 victory.

Back Over .500

With the win, the Angels climbed back over the .500 mark for the first time in August. And to do so, they needed solid outings from the starting pitching, the bullpen, and the offense.

After surrendering 3 runs in the 1st, Peña settled down and ended up shutting down the A’s for the rest of his 5 2/3 innings. It was good to seE him overcome his early game trouble and shake it off. Once he left, the bullpen pitched well too. They threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings to keep Oakland within striking distance.

On the offensive side of thing, Albert Pujols became the 9th player in major league history to pick up 1000 hits in both the American League and the National League. His single in the 6th didn’t score any runs or amount to anything but perhaps the historic nature of it helped propel the team to victory.

Other than his hit, Kole Calhoun hit a 2 run homer in the 3rd and Justin Upton hit a 2 run home run that made the difference in the game in the 6th. David Fletcher also chipped in with a couple of hits and on the whole, the offense looked pretty good leaving only 2 men on base.

With the home runs and the fighting to overcome the early game deficit, I’d usually feel like I should give my Player of the Game to one of the offensive stars of the game. Instead I’m gonna hand it to the bullpen who surprised me with their solid pitching. Hopefully they’re learning and will keep pulling off tricks like this going forward.

Sports – Angels – A Nice Comeback

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Well, that game certainly did not go as planned. After a nice 4 game winning streak the Angels got smacked by the Athletics on Saturday 7–0. They were held to 5 hits and went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and it was a far cry from the comeback they staged on Friday.

Skaggs Should Stayed on the DL

Coming back from the DL and his worst start of the season I expected Tyler Skaggs to be a little rusty but not this bad. It looked like he should stayed on the DL for a bit longer, but then nearly all the Angels pitchers are on the DL so who’d pitch…oh, a catcher! Yup, after the poor performance of Skaggs, giving up 7 runs in 3 1/3 innings, and watching the tired bullpen fight through 4 2/3 of shutout ball, Mike Scioscia called on Francisco Arcia to finish off the game in the 9th. And he pitched well.

It was the 1st time since Chili Davis threw off the mound back in 1993 that a non-pitcher (Shohei is a pitcher) threw for the Angels. With this opportunity to show his stuff, Francisco put together a one hit shutout inning. And I’m thinking perhaps he should start instead of Deck McGauire from now on.

In all seriousness, it’s a sad point in the season when a team has to bring out position players to pitch. For the Angels it meant the game was over, but it also meant that they’ve been using up their relievers all season. With so many injuries to the pitching staff, I’m surprised it took this long to finally trot out a fielder to pitch. I’ll have to look up the statistics but I can reasonably say that I believe the Angels have to be in the top 3 in pitcher appearances. They’ve only got one complete game and most of their starters tend to go 5 or 6 innings, or on a good day they might get through 7 innings.

With the offense completely shut down and Skaggs destroying his ERA again (he was throwing a 2.62 ERA through the first 19 starts this season, now he’s at 3.78 after giving up 17 runs in his past 6 2/3 innings), I’m thinking I’ll give my Player of the Game to the bullpen again. These guys – Hansel Robles, Williams Jerez, Noe Ramirez, and now Francisco Arcia really did their job in this game and they certainly deserve the award after all the games they’ve been forced into and runners they’ve had to hold.

Sports – Angels – Catcher Pitching to Catcher

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This was a mess of a game. It started when the Angels put a reliever on the mound to start the game. They basically went into the game knowing it was gonna be one for the bullpen to win. The problem was that the bullpen has been so overworked that to ask them to start and finish a game well was asking for too much. So something had to give and it was Taylor Cole who gave up 3 runs in 1 1/3 innings to start things off. Jim Johnson didn’t do any better a few innings later, giving up 4 runs in an inning. In the end, the bullpen spotted the Athletics 8 runs for the offense to try to overcome without thier star…Mike Trout.

One Run Short

Well, they tried. The offense stepped up and drove in 7 runs but couldn’t get the 8th and 9th. The biggest star was Francisco Arcia who just pitched on Saturday. He smacked 2 hits including his 3rd home run of the year. Sadly though, even though the team picked up 11 hits, they were only 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position. The result was an 8-7 loss that dropped the Angels back under .500 while propelling the Athletics to 2 1/2 behind Houston for 1st place in the AL West.

So while the division has become exciting my team isn’t involved except as a spoiler. It’s sad that injuries have decimated my team to the extent that they’re not getting to enjoy the fun of summer but then as they say, there’s always next year.

Arcia gets my Player of the Game and if he keeps going like this, he’s gonna be giving Ohtani a run for his money.

Sports – Angels – The Comeback Falls Short

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The Angels haven’t done so well in extra innings this year (4–7 now) but the managed to put things together last night against the Padres. And while Andrew Heaney pitched well, he let San Diego come back to tie up the game in the 8th inning which set up the 10th inning heroics.

Pitching More than 3 Innings

Actually, Heaney was a godsend for a team that’s pretty much run it’s bullpen into the ground the past few games. Andrew put together 7 1/3 innings of solid pitching giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and I think Scioscia might have let him go out in the 8th as wishful thinking. Instead he gave up the game tying run.

Not all was lost though since the offense showed up in the 10th. With Kole Calhoun, David Fletcher, and Upton turning up the heat in extra innings, the team scored 4 times and it was plenty to overcome the Padres. Justin Upton had the crowning blow – a 2 run shot to left center field that gave the team a 4 run lead. The Pads tried to come back but ended up only getting one to leave the game at 6–3.

The Angels made it back to the .500 mark and hopefully they’ll stay on the right side of it this time, but who knows with the walking wounded.

Although Kole Calhoun went 3 for 4 and Upton went 2 for 5 with the home run, I want to give my Player of the Game to Anderew Heaney since we really needed his arm. With so many starters on the DL it was good to see someone go out there for more than a couple innings.

Sports – Angels – Winning in the 10th

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Taylor Ward had a nice start to his MLB career on Tuesday as he went 2 for 3 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI. It was also nice to see the Angels win again. Back over the .500 mark and once again, I hope it’s for good.

Only Needed 9 this time

The Angels only needed 9 innings this time to pull off a victory in San Diego. Justin Upton powered the offense again by belting his 26th home run of the season in the 5th inning and going 3 for 5 o the night. He wasn’t the only one hitting well though. Taylor Ward who was just called up to play 3rd base had a great start as I mentioned above. Tied in with Fletcher’s 2 for 5 night and Eric Young Jr.’s triple and the batters were feeling pretty good in the game.

On the mound, Jaime Barria threw 5 innings of 1 run ball and held the Padres in check. His 7 strike out performance allowed him to pick up his 8th win, the most among Angel’s starters. He’s now 3-0 in his last 4 starts and is looking pretty good.

But even though Upton had a great night and pushed his hitting streak to 7 games, I have to give Ward my Player of the Game. Any time someone can get called up and perform so well in their first game as a major leaguer, I have to applaud them.

In other news, at the top of the AL West Houston continued their nosedive and after losing 5 in a row stand only a single game ahead of Oakland for first place in the division. Gee, they kinda have trouble when they have injuries too.

Sports – Angels – A Nice Start to a Career

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With a solid outing by Felix Peña the Angels win their 3rd in a row. Sure, it was against the Padres who aren’t the strongest team in baseball, but it’s still a string of victories.

A Sweep of the Padres

Felix threw 6 innings of one run ball, only giving up an unearned run. He struck out 7 and only allowed 2 hits and his solid pitching set the offense up for success.
Offensively, David Fletcher, Andrelton Simmons, and René Rivera each picked up a couple of hits and powered the team to a 3–2 victory. Rivera had the biggest hit with a home run in the 9th inning. The home run coming on the day he came off the disabled list nabs him my Player of the Game.

Sports – Angels – 3 In A Row

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While the Angels got off to a great start in Texas on Thursday, it was not enough to support the depleted pitching staff. With Taylor Cole making his 2nd start and lasting just one inning, the Angels Achilles heel showed up again. Cole gave up 3 runs in that one inning and while the bulllen helped hold the Rangers for 4 innings, the team just can’t keep rolling out relievers non-stop.

8 Pitchers Used

How many nights do the Angels have to throw out so many pitchers? Sure, the team did pretty well against the Padres but then the rotation spot rolls around where there’s no starter to pitch. Rookies, Tommy John surgery recipients, and relievers are all the Angels have…and the strategy has failed miserably. What was planned on being a 6 moan rotation turned into a huge mess with all the injuries. Oh well…the season is not salvageable but it’s still sad.

On the offensive side of things, Kole Calhoun went 3 for 4 with a home run and picked up my Player of the Game. But even his nice performance, 11 hits, and a 5 for 12 showing with runners in scoring position was not enough to overcome the Rangers on Thursday.

Sports – Angels – Texas – Game 1 – 5 Run 1st Is Not Enough

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I wanted to try something new with my baseball posts by looking at the Western teams. In my opinion, the AL and NL West seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to coverage since so many media organizations are based on the East Coast. That part of the reason I really despise the Re Sox and Yankees, and even the when the Mets are having a horrible season they get more media coverage than any of the West Coast teams. Even when the World Series was between the AL West and the NL West last year.

My idea is to bypass the fact that my entire Angels team has been injured all year and to take a look at the entirety of the AL and NL West and what’s going on in the two divisions.

AL West

There has been a huge swing of power in the AL West in the last few weeks as the Athletics Have come outta nowhere to challenge the World Series Champion Astros for supremacy. Not too long ago 10 games separated the teams…today it’s a single game. And not only did they climb dramatically but they won yesterday in grand style, with a walk off home run in the 10th. A 4-3 victory that sets up a showdown today to see if Oakland can climb all the way into 1st place.

The other game in the AL West could not compare though the Rangers took out the Angels 6–4 as Anaheim tries to figure out a solution to their pitching injuries.

Then there’s the interleague game that featured the Mariners and Dodgers. 5 dingers and 11 total runs drove the Dodgers to an 11–1 victory that they hope will break them outta their recent struggles. Manny Machado smacked 2 of the homers and drove in 3 in an effort to get the team back into the race for the NL West.

NL West

After winning 2 in a row, the Diamondbacks continued their dominance of the Padres by taking the 2nd game of the 4 game series 9-4. Paul Goldschmidt went 2 for 2 with an HR and 2 RBIs in the effort and while Robbie Ray had trouble getting past the 5th inning their bullpen held on for the win.

San Francisco had to be driven into the 11th inning before they gave in to the Reds. Andrew McCutchen gave his all, going 3 for 5 with the Giants’ only RBI in the losing effort as his team fell further behind first place Arizona.

In the last game in the West, Colorado took on Atlanta in Georgia and Kyle Freeland drove the Rockies to an 11–5 victory. Incredibly, he’s one of the few Colorodo starters to carry an ERA under 3 this far into a season.

Players of the Day

Since I’ve covered 10 teams I figured I have a pitcher and better of the day…

Kyle Freeland gets the pitching honors with his 6 innings of 1 run, 3 hit ball. He struck out 9 and drove his record to 11–7 with an ERA of 2.96.

On the offensive side of things, shortstop Manny Machado grabs my Player of the Day with his 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. He’s batting .307 on the year and smacked 28 home runs to help the 3rd place Dodgers.

We’ll see if this format holds up over the next few days…

Sports – MLB – Something New

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Ok, while I am trying something new with my baseball posts by looking at both of the Western Divisions in MLB, I gotta spend a bit of extra focus on the Oakland Athletics. I have always been an Anaheim/California Angels fan (as far as I’m concerned, the Los Angeles Angels were a thing of the 60s and well before my time), and I have despised the Oakland Athletics. They always seem to have been a thorn in the Angels side. But I have to admit that I am really impressed with what they’ve done in the past month+ of baseball. They’ve actually managed to make me root for them to win and that’s a huge accomplishment. With their win yesterday over Houston, the Athletics have gone from 10 games back on July 10th to tied with the World Champions for first place in the AL West. This is an accomplishment I was hoping my Angels would have done after the All-Star Break, but they just had too many injuries. I’m not sure how they’ve done it, but they have a chance today of taking over sole possession of 1st place from the Astros in a head-to-head matchup in a battle of aces – Justin Verlander (11–8, 2.52 ERA) vs. Sean Manaea (11–8, 3.44 ERA) – and it’ll certainly be a game to watch.

AL West

Angels 11, Rangers 7
Astros 1, Athletics 7
Mariners 5, Dodgers 4

The AL West featured 3 games again Saturday as 4 of the teams faced off against each other.

My Angels played a wild one that saw them break a 6–6 tie in the 7th with a breakout 5 run inning. Taylor Ward hit the first home run of his career while Shohei Ohtani knocked out a 3 run shot for his 13th of the year. The 5 runs proved more than enough to give the beleaguered bullpen a chance to pick up the win. While the Angels took the game, the Rangers fought well after going down 6–2. They had a 4-run inning of their own that nearly knocked Andrew Heaney out of the game, but he settled down and shutdown Texas in the 5th.

As I mentioned above, the Athletics beat up on the Astros in Oakland with a 7–1 showing. 8 doubles powered the offense and Trevor Cahill threw 7 innings of one-hit shut out ball against a Houston team that looks lost. They have fallen in 7 of their past 10 games and I don’t recall them struggling this much in the past 2 years. Will they be able to bounce back in the series finale or will they turn over first place to the Athletics?

The interleague game of the day occurred between Seattle and Los Angeles. The Dodgers have been struggling lately, and just like Houston, they’re 3–7 in their last 10 games. They’ve fallen outta first place and are actually sitting in 3rd place, 2 behind Arizona, and Saturday’s 10 inning loss didn’t do much for their morale. They actually gave up the win with a walk-off balk! Yup, a BALK! With the bases loaded in the 10th, Dylan Floro balked in the winning run in a game the Dodgers fought hard to tie up, even breaking a string of 29 consecutive saves by Edwin Diaz with a Max Muncy HR. It was a crazy ending to a good game.

NL West

Colorado 5, Atlanta 3
San Francisco 1, Cincinnati 7
Arizona 6, San Diego 7
Mariners 5, Dodgers 4

In Atlanta, it certainly looked like the Braves were cruising to an easy shutout victory. They were up 3–0 heading into the 9th and nailed the first 2 outs of the inning on infield grounders. Then the Rockies woke up and rewrote the scorebook. They smacked 2 doubles and 2 singles off the Braves bullpen to score 3 and tie up the game in the 9th and then added 2 more runs in the 10th to complete the comeback. While Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves continued to be hot, he couldn’t overcome the team-wide performance of the Rockies.

In Cincinnati, it was a different tale. San Francisco was held to no hits for 6 innings and then were pretty anemic once they started hitting the ball. they went 0–8 with runners in scoring position and left 8 runners on base.

And while there weren’t any late inning heroics for the Giants, the Padres shocked the Diamondbacks with a comeback and a game winning single. On a day dedicated to Trevor Hoffman in San Diego it was fitting that the team made a statement in the 9th inning. While the Padres may be in last place in the NL West they can still show the leaders that they’re not to be taken for granted. After coming back in the 5th with some solid hitting by Eric Hosmer and Cory Spangenberg, the Pads took the lead with a single by Austin Hedges. In the 7th, the Paul Goldschmidt showed why Arizona is currently in first place though as he fought back to help the Diamondback tie up the game. But then in the 9th, when san Diego used to call for Trevor Time and Hells Bells, it was the offense and Christian Villanueva who smacked a line drive to left to score Jon Jay to win the game. Definitely exciting.

Players of the Day

My Player of the Day goes to Shohei Ohtani who smacked a 3-run pinch-hit home run for the Angels in the 7th inning of the Angels’ win. As for pitching, I have to look at Oakland’s Trevor Cahill who picks up his 5th win and dropped his ERA to 3.12 as he out dueled Dallas Keuchel. His 7 innings of 1-hit ball drove the Athletics to their 2nd win in a row over the Astros and put them on the pinnacle of the AL West for the first time like forever.

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – Western Divisions – Reaching the Pinnacle

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Well, those games didn’t go as I wanted them to but at least one was exciting. The Angels game ended up being just a long drawn out rain delayed nightmare as they should really have won. Too bad the rain kept interfering with things and gave Texas a chance to come back and once again, the Angels are back to .500.

The Houston/Oakland game though was pretty exciting. I really thought Oakland was gonna take the game but Verlander settled down after the 3rd and his bullpen held strong. Not that Khris Davis didn’t give his all in the game with a 3 for 4 outing with 2 home runs. The 9–4 victory lets Houston holds on to first place for another day.

Around the Horn

Angels 2 – Rangers 4
Diamondbacks 4 – Padres 3
Giants 4 – Reds 11
Rockies 4 – Braves 2
Astros 9 – Athletics 4
Dodgers 12 – Mariners 1

On the pitching side of things, Verlander picked up win number 200 while Kershaw won number 150 and after giving up only a single run over 7 innings, I give the Dodger my Pitcher of the Day. Márquez had a good game for Colorado going 7 innings as welł, but he gave up 2 runs.

Offensively, Davis takes the day’s crown but the Astros hit 5 home runs to overcome his 2. Justin Turner for the Dodgers went 4 for 5 with a home run and 5 RBIs and Rougned Odor’s 2 for 3 game with a home run and 4 RBIs also merits a mention.

On the whole, the weekend was pretty crazy with so many Western teams battling it out against each other. But it was sure fun to watch.

Closing Out a Weekend of Western Battles

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While the best pitching performance of the night goes to Mike Fiers of Oakland who threw 7 innings of 1-hit, shutout ball and struck out 8, I have to acknowledge the bullpen of the Giants who held the Mets scoreless for 8 innings in their 13 inning victory. Fiers shut down the Rangers and put his team in position to move back into a tie for 1st place in the AL West.

Houston, the other team atop the AL division ran into some problems as a 3 run 8th powered the Mariners to a 7–4 victory. Robinson Cano’s 5th HR of the year helped bring Seattle within 4 games of the crowded top spot in the AL.

Pitcher of the Day – Mike Fiers; Player of the Day – Ramón Laureano; Robinson Cano’s go ahead HR; Met’s error that helped the Giants win; One of Ramón Laureano’s HR.

Oakland Dominated

Along with the best pitching of the night, Oakland had the best offensive performance of the night as rookie Ramón Laureano hit the 1st and 2nd home runs of his career. His 2 for 4, 5 RBI performance helped drive the Athletics’ 9 run offense to victory. His partner in crime, Khris Davis picked up his 37th HR and went 2 for 4 as well, but Ramón gets my Player of the Day.

San Francisco had the only NL West game of the night and they actually scored a couple runs for a change. These days, their offense really needs some help, and the Mets obliged in the 13th with an error that allowed Andrew McCutchen to score. With their 2–1 victory, they move to 2 games under .500 and stop their 4 game skid.

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – West Coast Baseball – Tied At The Top Again

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The way the Oakland Athletics are playing right now, it’s only a matter of time before the take sole possession of first place in the AL West. Everything seems to be falling into place for them as they make this spectacular run to the playoffs. Their offense is firing on all cylinders – Tuesday it was Khris Davis who went 2–4 with 3 RBI and his 38th HR; and their pitching is on fire – yesterday it was Brett Anderson going 7 shutout innings and giving up only 1 hit. They seem to be the team of destiny this season and I hate to say it, they’re fun to watch.

Houston on the other hand seems to be struggling. They overcame 6 double plays by Seattle last night and managed to hold off a late inning comeback to win 3–2. But they had to rely on a reliever who had only pitched 2 games at Triple-A to hold the game close for over 4 innings.

Josh Reddick’s 13th HR, Khris Davis’ 38th HR, Brett Anderson’s 7 shutout innings, David Peralta’s 24th HR, Felix Pena’s 12 strike outs

Not the Same Teams as Last Year

• Angels 4, D-Backs 5
• Giants 3, Mets 6
• Padres 4, Rockies 3
• Rangers 0, Athletics 6
• Cardinals 5, Dodgers 2
• Astros 3, Mariners 2

On the NL side of things, Arizona picked up a game in the standings against everyone except San Diego by beating the Angels. While offensively David Peralta had a great game going 3 for 3 with a HR and 3 RBIs but it took a crazy miscue by the Angels for the Diamondbacks to win. A hit by pitch, a bunt for a base hit, and second bunt that resulted in a throwing error allowed Jon Jay to score in the 9th to break a 4–4 tie and win the game.

The Dodgers continued their slide as they dropped the 9th game outta their last 13. Between them and the Astros, neither team looks like the those that played in the World Series last year.

Player of the Day: Arizona’s left fielder, David Peralta who went 3 for 3 with a home run, 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs, and a walk.
Pitcher of the Day: Oakland’s Brett Anderson who threw 7 innings giving up 1 hit, 0 runs and 6 strike outs.

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Only a Matter of Time

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There were only 4 games today impacting the West but there was a bit of movement in the standings as some teams won and of course some teams lost. Colorado moved up a notch in the Wild card standings by taking down the Padres 4–3. They did it in dramatic fashion as first baseman Ian Desmond smacked a 2-run walk-off homer. Oakland on the other hand fell half a game further behind Houston in the AL with a loss to the Twins.

Khris Davis swings for his 39th HR, Davis prepares to take the HR lead, Ian Desmond hits a walk-off HR, Madison Bumgarner talking about his performance, Jose Pirela knocks in 2 for the Padres, Bumgarner strikes out 8 in victory

Padres 3, Rockies 4
Giants 3, Mets 1
Athletics 4, Twins 6

It was a light schedule Thursday as everyone seemed to be getting ready for the weekend series but there were still a few games involving the West including the Padres and Rockies game. The ending of that one was fun to watch though I was kinda pulling for the Padres, living in San Diego and all. In that game, Jose Pirela went 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs for the Pads but it was Desmond’s day with his game winning home run.

In New York, Madison Bumgarner gave up a run and 5 hits over 8 innings but picked up his 5th win of the season. His one mistake was a home run to Todd Frazier in the 7th. And in Minnesota, Khris Davis smacked his MLB leading 39th HR on the year but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Twins.

Player of the Day: Padres’ Jose Pirela 3 for 5, 2 RBI
Pitcher of the Day: Giants’ Madison Bumgarner – 8 innings, 1 ER, 8 K

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – West Coast Baseball – Few Games, Little Movement

The post Few Games, Little Movement appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

St Louis is on fire and they’re cutting a swath through the NL West leaders as they took the first of 3 against Colorado after sweeping the Dodgers. Oakland though got back into the winning column as well as the Dodgers who beat up on the Padres.

AL West 4-1, NL West 1-4

Astros 9, Angels 3
Padres 1, Dodgers 11
A’s 7, Twins 1
Cardinals 7, Rockies 5
Mariners 6, D-Backs 3
Rangers 7, Giants 6

With the win, Rich Hill is hoping to get the Dodgers back on the right track and his 6 innings of shutout pitching kept the Padres in check.

On the offensive side of things, Marwin Gonzalez of Houston hit a grand slam which paced the Astros to a victory over the Angels and his double pushed him over into my Player of the Day.

Player of the Day: Marwin Gonzalez 2–5, HR, 2B,2 Runs, 4 RBIs
Pitcher of the Day: Rich Hill 6 Innings, 2 Hots, 8 K, 0 ER

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – West Coast Baseball – St Louis Looks Legit

The post St Louis Looks Legit appeared first on Beyond Tannhauser Gate.

There was a bunch of excitement Saturday in the West as 2 games required extra innings and in the NL we saw the race tighten as Colorado and Los Angeles won and the Diamondbacks lost. Power outages, 9th inning home runs, automatic closers blowing saves, and a 50th save picked up are just some of the dramatic events of the day. With Kershaw going for the Dodgers against the Padres you’d think he’d pick up my Pitcher of the Day but even his 8 inning, 2 earned run performance was not enough to beat out a starter in Mile High. German Marques pitched great and while he didn’t get the win, he gets my Pitcher of the Day.

Colorado and Arizona Tied at the Top of the NL West

Astros 8, Angels 3
Padres 4, Dodgers 5
Rangers 3, Giants 5
A’s 6, Twins 2
Mariners 4, Diamondbacks 3
Cardinals 1, Rockies 9

The Mariners put together some dramatics as they tied up the D-Backs in the 9th and then won on a HR in the 10th. Coupled with a scoreless bottom of the inning that gave Edwin Diaz his 50th save, Seattle kept pace with Oakland and Houston in the AL. In Anaheim, Justin Verlander didn’t have his best stuff but he held the Angels to 3 runs over 6 innings to pick up his 13th victory. While Shohei Ohtani smacked a 2 run shot in the 4th it wasn’t even close as Jaime Barria had already given up 4 by the 3rd inning. In Minnesota, Mike Fiers continued his hot streak as he won his 3rd in a row by throwing 5 2/3 innings and giving up only a single run. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy provided all the offense needed as he started off the scoring in the 2nd with a line drive single that scored Chad Pinder and later he smacked a 3 run homer that put the A’s ahead for good.

In the NL, the Dodgers overcame a determined Padres team, who tied the game up in the 9th, and a power outage that seemed to turn off the Padres’ brains. With Matt Kemp on 2nd in the 12th, half the lights went out at Dodger Stadium (I guess the maintenence crew thought the game was supposed to be over in the 9th) but as they came back on, Justin Turner tapped a popup to right field where 3 Padres watched it fall in-between them and then they kinda called it a game. While they simply picked up the ball, Kemp rounded 3rd and easily scored as the mental error of 3 Padres gave the boys in blue a 5–4 win. In Colorado, it took an 8 run outbreak in the 8th but someone finally beat the Cardinals. German Marquez didn’t pick up the win but his 7 inning, shutout performance certainly put the Rockies in position to get the victory. With Matt Holiday’s pinch-hit home run in the 7th and the 8 run 8th, Colorado moved into a tie with Arizona for 1st place in the NL West.

Player of the Day: Rougned Odor, Texas – 3–4, HR, 3 RBI
Pitcher of the Day: German Marquez, Colorado – 7 innings, 0 ER, 3 Hits, 9 K

Sports – West Coast Baseball – The Lights Went Out for the Padres

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Arizona breaks into sole possession of first place in the NL as the A’s continue to chase the hot Astros in the AL. Both leaders won their game and Houston pushed their win streak to 5 games as things seemed to remain fairly stable in the standings Sunday. Colorado was the only team to see a change as they lost ground and now are only 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers. As far as the wildcard goes, it looks like there very well could be a West Coast representative in the AL as both the A’s and Mariners are within striking distance though the Yankees seem to have a lock on the 1st spot. In the NL, 5 teams are within 3 games of the top wildcard spot so things look like they’re gonna get a bit wild. Coupled with the fact that the division leaders are at most 4 games ahead in each division leads me to think there’s gonna be some chaos in the NL heading down the stretch. Finally, in the AL, no one is even close to the Red Sox who are 6 games up on their nearest competition – the Yankees. They look good but I wonder how much competition they’ve had with the 37–94 Orioles in their division. Regardless, things are getting pretty interesting heading towards September.

Astros and Athletics stay Hot and the Dodgers win 3 in a Row

Astros 3, Angels 1
Padres 3, Dodgers 7
A’s 6, Twins 2
Cardinals 12, Rockies 3
Rangers 1, Giants 3
Mariners 2, D-Backs 5

The Astros picked up their 5th in a row and handily swept the Angels in Anaheim. Framber Valdez held the Angels offense in check as he threw 5 innings of 2-hit ball giving up only a single run while Felix Pena allowed 3 over 6 innings for the Angels. Hunter Renfroe and Justin Turner had competing 3 for 5 games on Sunday but while Renfroe’s included a home run and 2 RBIs, Turner hit a couple of doubles and drove in 5 as the Dodgers swept the Padres. In another pair of 3 for 5 outings, the Athletics’ Matt Chapman and Jed Lowrie each contributed to the win as Chapman hit 2 home runs and Lowrie had an HR and a double to power the A’s over the Twins in Minnesota.

In Colorado, St. Louis continued their torrid hot streak crushing the Rockies 12 to 5. Tyler Anderson didn’t even get outta the first inning as he gave up 6 runs on 7 hits in only 2/3 of an inning. That knocked the Rockies outta first place as Arizona beat up on the Mariners behind a solid outing from Zack Greinke. He went 6 2/3 innings giving up only an unearned run and struck out 6. His performance wins him my Pitcher of the Day. In San Francisco, Derek Holland picked up his 7th win of the season bringing him closer to the .500 mark as he bested the Rangers by scattering 3 hits and giving up a run.

Pitcher of the Day: Zack Greinke, Arizona – 6 2/3 innings, 0 ER, 6 K
Player of the Day: Matt Chapman, Oakland – 3 for 5, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 3 Runs

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Starting The Last Week of August

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There were only 3 games in the West on Monday but 2 outta those 3 were scoring-fests. The other actually had a pretty good pitching duel. While Patrick Corbin of the Diamondbacks gave up 2 early runs to the Giants (and those were on one bad pitch to Steven Duggar), they were the only runs scored in the game. His counterpart, Chris Stratton, pitched 8 innings giving up only 5 hits and no runs.

Of the scoring-fests I was interested in both as one featured my Angels and the other was a showdown at the top of the AL West between the A’s and the Astros.

34 Runs in 3 Games

Rockies 7, Angels 10
Athletics 4, Astros 11
D-Backs 0, Giants 2

I’ll start with the game I actually watched on the edge of my seat – Angels, Rockies. This game saw 4 HRs, 17 runs, and 21 hits, and there were also 10 walks so base runners were plentiful…and this game was in Anaheim, not Colorado. For the Angels, Calhoun went 3 for 4 with a double, Shohei Ohtani smacked a 3-run HR and went 2 for 5, and Mike Trout went 2 for 3 with a solo HR, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs scored – quite an offensive night. It was Eric Young Jr.’s single that put the Angels ahead for good though. His 2 out liner up the middle plated Ohtani and Jefry Marte to put the Angels up 8–7. He later scored on an error. For the Rockies, DJ LeMahieu hit his 12th HR on the year, a grand slam earlier in the 8th that had put the Rockies in the lead. In all, the 8th inning was pretty crazy.

In the big game of the day though, it was all Oakland early then Houston laid down two big innings. The Athletics went up in the 2nd with Marcus Semien’s 11th HR that drove in Khris Davis. The added to that in the top of the 3rd as Matt Chapman, who went 2 for 4, smacked his 21st HR, knocking in Ramon Laureano in the process. Up by 4, Brett Anderson came to the mound in the bottom of the 3rd and had a meltdown. He gave all the runs back and then some as Houston scored 5 runs on 4 singles and 3 doubles. That was all the Astros needed but they didn’t stop there – they added another 6 runs in the 8th on 3 walks, 2 HR, and a single and left the game with an 11–4 victory. Alex Bregman lead the night with a 4 for 5 showing with a double, a HR, 2 runs, and 4 RBI. The win puts the Astros 2 1/2 games up on Oakland in the AL West and increases their win streak to 6 games during this important stretch of late August.

Pitcher of the Day: Chris Stratton, Giants – 8 innings, 5 hits, 6 K, 0 ER
Player of the Day: Alex Bregman, Astros – 4–5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – West Coast Baseball – Light Schedule but Plenty of Runs

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I’m not sure when the practice began but it’s one I am disgusted by in today’s baseball. The ‘bullpen’ game is such an incredibly pathetic tactic that I think simply shows that a multi-million dollar major league baseball team is abdicating their responsibility to attempt to provide a competitive game. I think all fans that are forced to suffer a ‘bullpen’ game should get their money back since the team they showed up to support decided that in all the money they spend during the season, they can’t afford to roster a starting pitcher. It’s not like the team doesn’t have starters throwing in the minors – often even on the same day as a ‘bullpen’ game – no, it’s the team’s decision to give up before they even step onto the field.

In any case, here we are at game 130 or so of the season and multiple teams are using this new practice to varying levels of success and I am saddened that my Angels are one of them. The team planned on having a 6 man rotation at the start of the season to provide support for Shohei Ohtani’s movement from Japan to the MLB but now they’ve barely got 4 starters and they’re using a ‘bullpen day’. It’s not like the team ever chose a closer for the season – no, the bullpen is just a mish-mash of essentially middle relievers. They’re not a bad crew but throwing 7 pitchers, which subtracting the 4 starters and Ohtani, is over 75% of their bullpen just doesn’t seem like a wise move to me. With the way the team uses it’s pitchers this season, there’s a good chance most of those guys are gonna have to pitch the next game, and 4 of them pitched on Monday too. I just don’t get it. And I wonder if all this use is what has lead to the Angels’ injury woes.

Oh well, it’s another tactic that’s been introduced into the league recently and I just don’t like it. With all the millions of dollars spent a team should be able to field a competitive team and one that has a starting pitcher that can throw 3–4 innings at least. Putting a reliever out there just seems like they’re giving up.

All in the West

Rockies 3, Angels 2
Mariners 1, Padres 2
Dodgers 8, Rangers 4
Athletics 4, Astros 3
D-Backs 0, Giants 1

The West was simply playing with itself on Tuesday which lead to some interesting movement in the standings. Colorado moved back into a tie for 1st place in the NL as they beat the Angels’ bullpen game and Arizona lost to the real pitching of San Francisco. The Angels used 7 pitchers and gave up 3 runs while David Fletcher (3–4, R, RBI) and Andrelton Simmons (2–4) were pretty much the only offense. The Rockies on the other hand got a 2-run HR in the 1st from Carlos Gonzalez and picked up another run in the 7th to drive starter Kyle Freeland (6 inn, 6k, ER) to his 12th victory. In San Francisco, it was a battle of two starters with Madison Bumgarner and Clay Buchholtz both shutting the other team down for 7 innings. It took a pinch hit single by Gorkys Hernandez to drive in Steven Duggar in the 9th to determine the positive outcome for the Giants and drop the D-Backs into a tie for 1st place.

In other standings movement, the Dodgers picked up a game in the NL as they defeated Texas behind Manny Machado’s 2 hit, 4 RBI night. Coupled with Enrique Hernandez’ 3 for 3 night, the Dodgers didn’t need a long outing from their starter – he only went 4 innings. And in the marque game of the night, Oakland took down Houston with the support of a Matt Olson 3-run home run. With the win, the A’s are a game and a half back of the Astros in the AL.

Finally, in the surprise of the night, Jacob Nix of the Padres threw 8 1/3 innings on only 79 pitches to carry his team to victory. The only blemish on his game was a 9th inning home run by Nelson Cruz but the Pads held on to win.

Pitcher of the Day: Jacob Nix, Padres – 8.1 innings, 1ER
Player of the Day: Enrique Hernandez, Dodgers – 3–3, 2B, 2 Runs, RBI

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – West Coast Baseball – Bullpen Day Sucks!

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If you’ve been paying any attention to baseball this year you’ll have noticed that a bunch of games are close heading into the late innings. I’m not sure if this is because of the quality of pitching or the tendency of managers to keep swapping pitchers or the offenses scoring more, regardless, there are a lot of close games. Beyond that however, it seems there are a lot of teams without a solid closer. All of this has resulted in this season being the season of the walk-off HR. There have been 81 walk-off home runs this season which breaks the record set back in 2004. Houston’s Tyler White’s game winning home run in the 9th of the Athletics’ Jeurys Familia was the record breaking 81st walk-off and anything in the next month of play will simply add more to the record.

The bottom line – don’t leave a game early.

3 Teams within 1 Game in the NL

Seattle 3, San Diego 8
Oakland 4, Houston 5
LA Dodgers 3, Texas 1
Arizona 3, SF 1

Other players may have had better statistical days but White had the most dramatic in the West. Sure, Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich had the best day going 6 for 6 and hitting for the cycle, but he’s in the NL Central. White’s blast gave the Astros a series win against the Athletics and pushed them to 2 1/2 games ahead in the AL West. It looks like Oakland has cooled off a bit even though they’re still playing well.

In San Diego, Joey Lucchesi had a great game going 6 2/3 innings which was the furthest he’s made it in a game ever. He allowed 1 run while striking out 9 and opened the door for the Padres’ offense to beat the Mariners 8–3. Also making a strong case for player of the day was Luis Urias who in just his 2nd game in the majors went 3 for 5 with a run scored (although it could have been better as what looked like a HR – he even ran the bases – was called a foul ball on review). San Diego has high hopes for this young second baseman.

In the NL, The Dodgers and Diamondbacks picked up ground on the idle Rockies. LA won their 5th in a row behind strong pitching from Alex Wood (7 Inn, 5 k, 0 ER) and while they only got 4 hits, they made each of them count as Machado, Bellinger, and Grandal all picked up a hit and an RBI. They beat a Texas team that’s dropped 4 straight and has been limping along lately. The D-Backs turned things around against the Giants finally by breaking out 3 runs against Dereck Rodriguez. They managed to salvage a win and avoid being shut out in the series as Steven Souza Jr. batted leadoff for the first time this season. His HR and RBI double gave Arizona some respect as they leave town.

Player of the Day: Houston Tyler White 2–4, HR, Run, RBI, BB
Pitcher of the Day: Dodgers Alex Wood 7 innings, 5 k, 0 ER, 2 BB

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – West Coast Baseball – Walk-Off Mainia

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Thursday’s games proved difficult for the home teams and all but the Padres lost at home. The Angels took the opener in Houston as Andrew Heaney out-pitched Justin Verlander. Heaney’s first road victory since 2015 moved him to 8–8 on the year as he threw 6 innings of shutout ball.

Another Walk-Off

Angels 5, Astros 2
Mariners 7, Athletics 1
D-backs 3, Dodgers 1
Rockies 2, Padres 3

The Mariners had the highest scoring game of the day as they took down the A’s behind a strong performance from Wade LeBlanc. His 7 innings of shutout ball made him my pitcher of the day and helped Seattle pick up a game in the AL West on both Houston and Oakland.

In the National League, the Dodgers were hard pressed to score off solid pitching from 6 Diamondbacks. Robbie Ray led things with 5 1/3 innings of 1-run ball while he struck out 9. David Peralta’s 3 run home run in the 5th was all the offense Arizona needed to pick up a game on the Dodgers. Finally, in the only game the home team won, the Padres added to the record breaking number of walk-off home runs with Franmil Reyes’ solo jack in the 13th

Pitcher of the Day: Seattle’s Wade LeBlanc – 7 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 4 K
Player of the Day: Los Angeles Angels’ Andrelton Simmons 3–4, double, 3 RBI

Daily Ramble 244.2 | Sports – West Coast Baseball – Home Team Struggles

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