MLB
The Blue Jays dropped game 2 to the Angels Wednesday night after taking an early lead. 3 runs is not enough of a lead to be considered safe in baseball. The Angels definitely took advantage of that in last night’s game. Both teams got 9 hits. The Jays struggled to cash in on those hits, stranding 5 runners. The Angels stranded 4.
In game 1 of the series, the Jays took advantage of starting pitcher Garrett Richards and an error. They scored 5 runs in the first. Two of them came on a Russell Martin hit that went off the glove of right fielder Chris Young. Morales then hit his fourth home run of the season. J.A. Happ shut down the Angels’ offense, and the team improved to 19-1 when scoring 5 or more runs.
Bullpen
John Axford continued his trend of not getting batters out when he came into the game. He gave up three consecutive singles and didn’t get an out. He had one earned run. Seunghwan Oh replaced him with 2 on and no out. Oh did not allow another run to score. The defense behind Oh was also impressive, with Granderson getting 2 out at third to save runs. Danny Barnes walked Justin Upton, who then stole second. Pujols grounded out, and that was the end of Barnes’ night. Aaron Loup came in to shut down the Ohtani threat, before handing things over to Tepera. Tepera shut down his 4 batters.
Ninth Inning Sadness
After an impressive outing Tuesday night, Tyler Clippard struggled to set the Angels down on Wednesday. He only pitched a third of an inning, getting Ian Kinsler to fly out to start the 9th. After that, he walked Trout, Upton, and Pujols to load the bases. Shohei Ohtani kept the inning alive by hitting a 2 RBI single to centre. Andrelton Simmons did the same, again plating 2 runs. Jake Petricka finally came in to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. Petricka gave up a single to Zack Cozart before striking out Martín Maldonado and getting Kole Calhoun to ground out.
Both Trout and Ohtani also stole bases in the 9th. Martin has had a rough time throwing out base stealers this season. He has thrown out only 20% of baserunners, compared to Maile’s 44%. Trout’s steal didn’t end up mattering once Clippard walked Pujols. Ohtani can fly, though, and scored easily from second on Simmons’ single. The pitching and inability to throw out base stealers were factors in why the Blue Jays dropped game 2 to the Angels.
Dwight Smith Jr. and Curtis Granderson looked to give the Jays some life in the bottom of the inning. Smith hit a single and Granderson a double. Morales got a pinch-hit single to plate Smith. Hernandez flew out to Kole Calhoun, who threw out Granderson at the plate. The Angels then walked Donaldson intentionally before striking out Smoak.
Today’s game is available only on Facebook. Although the Jays dropped game 2 to the Angels, they can still win the series with a win today. Marco Estrada will take the mound, and hopefully today Maile can help him win the game.
Written by Susannah Schmidt
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