In this strange timeline we’re living in, the Angels hosted their home opener on Tuesday, a late July game held in front of no fans at the Big A. The Angels certainly made it a memorable game, however, cruising their way to a 10-2 victory.
Tuesday marked the first time that the Angels rolled out the trio of Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Shohei Ohtani. Rendon, who was dealing with an oblique injury, missed the first four games of the season in Oakland. Rendon clearly didn’t miss a beat, walking twice and crushing his first homer in an Angels uniform.
The Angels once again received a phenomenal performance from David Fletcher, who remains the early hero of this season. Fletcher, who reached base seven times in the last two games in Oakland, carried his ridiculous production back to Anaheim. He singled twice, walked twice, and made a phenomenal defensive play way out in the outfield during a shift.
In addition to the key offensive performers, the club also received superb production from the bottom of the lineup. Albert Pujols, Tommy La Stella, Max Stassi, and Taylor Ward, the 6-9 hitters, combined to reach base eight times. Pujols recorded his first home run of the season and Max Stassi pitched in a three-run home run. As a whole, the lineup combined for 10 hits and eight walks.
The pitching also had a solid night, which started with an electric four-inning start from Patrick Sandoval. The 23-year-old Sandoval, who dealt with COVID-19 during Summer Camp, came out looking awesome on Tuesday night. Sandoval punched out four hitters and generated 11 swinging strikes out of his 62 pitches. Notably, Sandoval utilized his slider much more than last year (17 pitches) and had major success with it.
The bullpen was even more impressive, allowing no runs in their six innings. The combination of Noé Ramirez, Ryan Buchter, Mike Mayers, Jacob Barnes, and Keynan Middleton struck out five hitters, walked one, and allowed four hits. Through-and-through, this was a dominant outing from the Angels all the way across the roster.
Fun game to watch all around. Really happy to see that Ohtani blasted a double too.. If his confidence starts gaining, it will just add more to our already deep lineup.
Celebrate the win!
[insert Manly gif here]
Everybody loved Fletch already, but he does exceed the not-so-low expectations I had on him.
His defense is always spectacular.
Welcome back Rendon and lead the team to feast on Seattle.
I think Fletcher will be our SS “of the future” (or, well, starting next year) once Simba departs as a FA. Dude has more than proven himself
I’m liking the part of the bullpen that isn’t the guys we’re used to.
Rendon likely helps win at least one more game in Oakland.
Man, this David Fletcher guy really is something, huh?
Stassi’s hit was the most impressive of the game to me: up and away, he went with the pitch and drove it the other way with power. Not an easy thing to do and per Fabian, he’s revamped his swing. Night and day at the plate compared to what he was before and worth keeping tabs on moving forward.
Stassi’s HR was a huge surprise. I’m still not terribly optimistic on his offense long-term, but if he can be even a little better than he was, he’s at least a very solid backup. His defense grades incredibly well, so all he has to do is just avoid being the automatic out that he has been previously, haha.
So all he has to do is be Mathis 2.0
Fletch is the Panther.
5.4 – 8.1
Worth 2.7 of the old style victories
LIGHT UP THE HALO!!!!
Just Another Halos Victory!!!
Simba has a bad ankle that it appears didn’t heal properly over the long layoff. Maybe he signs for a lot less to return…..maybe. Get well soon Simba.
Great team effort tonight.
What a great game. Inline gifs do not appear to be working.
Pics and vids have been broken for a while. I had assumed it was intentional
Think this issue is on WP’s side as nothing has changed to impact pics/gifs.
It’s weird having fun watching baseball.
Better yet, all other AL West teams lost, so the Halos pick up a game on everyone.
That makes it even better! Good all around game today.
LIGHT UP THE HALO