*Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune*
Liam Hendriks was back, the stage was set. The Halos had other plans. Brandon Drury homered, Matt Thaiss added a homer, and the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Chicago White Sox with a 6-4 win on Monday night in Chicago.
After a disappointing sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins, the Angels put that behind them with a win on memorial day on the road. 4 of their runs were scored in the first inning, adding some early insurance that ended up being pivotal. They are now 29-26 and 3rd in the AL West.
Drury got the Angels an early lead in the top of the first, blasting a 3 run home run to left field to make it 3-0. Thaiss was next with a homer of his own, this one being a solo shot to make it a 4-0 game. In the bottom of the first, Eloy Jimenez made it 4-1 thanks to an RBI single. Andrew Vaughn hit a solo home run in the 4th inning to cut the Chicago deficit to 4-2.
Romy Gonzalez continued the rally one inning later, making it a 4-3 game with a solo home run of his own to center field. In the 8th inning, Zach Neto hit a sac fly and Mike Trout added an RBI single to extend the Angels lead to 6-3. Jimenez hit a solo home run in the 9th to make it 6-4, but the Angels held on from there.
Griffin Canning got the start for the Angels, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings, getting credit for the win. Ben Joyce made his MLB debut a year after pitching in college with a scoreless 7th inning. Chris Devenski worked the 8th and Carlos Estevez got the save in the 9th inning.
Joyce said of making his MLB debut that "It felt awesome. I felt very comfortable, a lot more comfortable than I thought I'd feel. Just went out and trusted my stuff and threw strikes, and it worked out. It was an amazing feeling."
Michael Kopech started for the White Sox, allowing 4 runs over just 4 1/3 innings, getting the loss. Gregory Santos worked the next 1 2/3 innings before Keynan Middleton had a scoreless inning. Liam Hendriks worked the 8th and Aaron Bummer pitched the 9th.
The big story was the return of Hendriks in this game. During the offseason, he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and started the season on the injured list as he recovered and went through treatment. Being cancer free, he made his season debut at home to the thunderous chants and support of the crowd in attendance. Thaiss, the first hitter Hendriks faced, took extra time before stepping into the batters box to allow Hendriks his moment.
Kopech said of Hendriks after the game that "What he’s done has motivated everybody. We know who Liam is as a person. And he sets high standards for himself. He treated this the same way, attacked it head on and came back and was able to get back to the mound faster than a lot of people probably would. It’s nothing but good vibes in the clubhouse from there."
The series continues in Chicago on Tuesday night. The Angels start Tyler Anderson as they attempt to win the series, while the White Sox are sending Lucas Giolito to the mound.
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