So much for that breakout on offense. It’s almost as though a bunch of singles just beyond the reach of diving infielders aren’t indicative of a team turning things around with the bat. The Angels were held to just three hits Tuesday evening, and now have just two extra-base hits through the first two games of the series—both belonging to Andrelton Simmons.
Until the rest of the team—namely, Mike Trout and C.J. Cron—actually starts driving the ball, I think it’s safe to shelve the talk about the offense breaking out. The Angels aren’t going to trail the league in slugging forever, but so long as they do tip-your-cap starts from guys like Mat freakin’ Latos might be the norm.
Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1io7WHmZ3kJOxfg3Bz4IHrlCsmRCHWkbH2-RvuBfJjIQ/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /]Yet again, any and all offense came from the bottom half of the lineup. Simmons, Cron, and Carlos Perez were the only Angels with hits. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols both walked in the first, as they did Monday, but then disappeared for the rest of the game, as they also did Monday. Simmons’ hit streak is now up to 12 games, which is a career best.
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1io7WHmZ3kJOxfg3Bz4IHrlCsmRCHWkbH2-RvuBfJjIQ/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /]Todd Frazier and Jose Abreu both got piped batting-practice fastballs from Matt Shoemaker, which they easily deposited into the seats. Melky Cabrera singled and tripled, the latter (two RBI) hit pushing the game out of reach in the eighth.
Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1io7WHmZ3kJOxfg3Bz4IHrlCsmRCHWkbH2-RvuBfJjIQ/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /]Besides the two meaty fastballs he served up to the White Sox’ best hitters, Matt Shoemaker pitched well for the second straight start. He walked only one batter over 6⅓ and beguiled his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. He retired seven of the last eight batters he faced, ending his night with a swinging strikeout of Avasail Garcia.
Mat Latos didn’t *look* all that impressive Monday, but he still somehow kept Angels batters on their heels for 6⅓. He was wild early, needing 47 pitches to get through the first two innings, but then threw only 52 more over the next 4+ frames. He managed just four swinging strikes on the night.
Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1io7WHmZ3kJOxfg3Bz4IHrlCsmRCHWkbH2-RvuBfJjIQ/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /]Jose Alvarez did well in his first inning of work, retiring the No. 9 hitter and a lefty bat, but then Mike Scioscia kept him in for a second frame to face a bunch of powerful right-handed batters because… ¯_(ツ)_/¯. It went about as well as could be expected.
Matt Albers and Nate Jones picked up where Latos left off, retiring the Halos without much trouble.
Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1io7WHmZ3kJOxfg3Bz4IHrlCsmRCHWkbH2-RvuBfJjIQ/pubchart” query=”oid=41272350&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”315″ /]Shoemaker kept it close for a while, but nothing would’ve been close enough for the lifeless offense.
Angel Antagonist
Since his three-hit game in Oakland, Mike Trout is 3-for-18 with six strikeouts and no RBI. If he’s not hitting, the Angels are just going to keep losing.
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