*Photo from CBS Sports*
Patrick Sandoval was oh so close to throwing a rare feat in baseball, although something that has become more common this season. I think he'll still take the win. Sandoval nearly threw a no hitter, Jose Iglesias hit an RBI double, and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Minnesota Twins 2-1 on Saturday night.
Asked about almost getting the no hitter, Sandoval said "I've never really envisioned it, it's not something I've dreamt of. It was pretty surreal. You can hear the crowd getting louder and louder every inning later in the game. I thought I handled it pretty well. Honestly, I thought I'd freak it out."
Despite missing the no hitter, Sandoval still turned in the best pitching performance of his career to date. He worked 8 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, with the no hit bid being broken up with one out in the 9th inning on a double by Brent Rooker of the Twins. Raisel Iglesias came on to get the final out, but gave up an RBI double before doing so. It was Rooker who scored, so the run was charged to Sandoval. But, he did rack up 13 strikeouts as well.
Sandoval said "I felt really good out there and just crisp and in sync with my delivery, and I think that was the key as the game went on. I didn't try too hard or try to do too much. As for knowing what was going on, I looked up at the scoreboard after each inning. I knew what was happening. And as the game went on, everyone in the dugout just got further and further away."
In terms of scoring, the Angels offense did all their damage in the first inning. Starting it off was Justin Upton, who reached on a fielders choice and error, which scored Shohei Ohtani and gave the Angels a 1-0 lead. Upton then came around to score on an RBI double from Iglesias, to up the lead to 2-0 after one inning.
The Twins offense, on the other hand, was baffled by Sandoval all night long, getting just one hit off him and one off Iglesias, both of which came in the 9th inning. Josh Donaldson hit an RBI double in the 9th, that scored Rooker and got the Twins on the board, cutting the deficit to 2-1. They could not score any more.
Jose Berrios turned in a dominant start for the Twins, but was outdueled by Sandoval, taking the loss to fall to 7-5 on the season. Berrios allowed two runs on 3 hits, getting 4 strikeouts in 7 innings pitched, which, due to the trade rumors, may be his last start with the Twins. In relief of Berrios was Caleb Thielbar and Jorge Alcala, who didn't allow any runs to cross.
Berrios said "It's fun when you face the guy we were facing tonight. He's dealing really good. He's throwing the ball really well over the plate. But at the same time, I did my thing. I kept battling. I kept pitching the way we can do it, but at the end of the night, we went out with a loss."
The Angels and Twins wrap up their series this afternoon. Jamie Barria has been called up and will get the start for the Angels, going against Bailey Ober.
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