*Photo from CWeb.com*
Yeah, that combination of two of the best players in baseball is a really good one. Mike Trout hit two home runs, Shohei Ohtani dazzled on the mound, and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Seattle Mariners with a 4-1 victory on Thursday night in Seattle.
In the midst of a serious slump that's seen them fall out of the playoff picture and below .500 this season, the Angels picked up a much needed win, just their 3rd in their last 10 games. They gave the Mariners their second straight loss, and it was mostly due to Trout, who provided all the offense.
With his two home runs, Trout continues to mash at T-Mobile Park, the home of the Mariners. In Trout's career, he has hit 49 home runs against the Mariners, and 30 have come in Seattle. That's the second highest total of home runs hit against Seattle, trailing only 52 home runs by Rafael Palmeiro, and his 30 home runs in Seattle are the highest mark by an opposing hitter.
Trout said of his success in Seattle that "I don't know, we play here a lot and I see the ball good, but I couldn't tell you one particular thing. But it's good to get a W. We got in late last night, so to watch Shohei do his thing and the bullpen close the door, it was a good win. Like I’ve said, nothing Ohtani does surprises me any more."
The scoring kicked off for the Angels in the 3rd inning. With Taylor Ward on base, Trout sent a baseball into the air, carrying over the right field fence for a two run home run, making it 2-0 Angels on his 17th homer of the season. In the 7th inning, with Ward on base again, Trout hit his second two run homer of the night, doubling the Angels lead to 4-0 after 7 innings.
In the 8th inning, the Mariners got on the board, and showed some signs of life. With Dylan Moore on base, JP Crawford cleaned out a pitch he saw, ripping an RBI double that scored Moore and cut the deficit to 4-1. The Mariners could not score again, and thus took the loss.
Ohtani was the starter in the series opener for the Angels, and he dazzled in a win. Ohtani went 6 shutout innings while striking out 6 hitters. Aaron Loup pitched a shutout 7th inning, before Ryan Tepera handled the 8th, allowing one run. Raisel Iglesias got the save in the 9th to clinch the win.
Asked about his pitching performance, Ohtani said that "Ideally, I would’ve liked to have to keep my pitch count low, especially early in the game, but for the most part I was comfortable with all my stuff. I wish my fastball command was a little better, but I was still able to get foul balls when I left them over the plate, so in that sense I felt pretty good about it."
For the Mariners, George Kirby started and took the loss, allowing two runs in 6 innings of work. After Kirby departed, Sergio Romo came on and allowed two runs while getting just two outs in the 7th inning. Ryan Borucki came on for 1 1/3 innings, and Matt Festa pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Kirby's start that "I thought George was outstanding. I think he continues to learn and get better every time out there. Using probably 50% fastballs and 50% offspeed, a combination of the slider, curveball and changeup, is probably the most ideal number for him. Some nights it might be more weighted one way or the other. But outstanding job tonight."
Up next, the Angels and Mariners continue their 5 game series on Friday night. Angels interim manager Phil Nevin will send Michael Lorenzen to the mound, while the Mariners start Robbie Ray.
Comments
Post a Comment