Angels say Bye to A’s, lose 11-2

Recap

The Angels say bye to the A’s until May, parting with a loss. It was a humiliating one, with bad pitching and worse offense. The only saving grace was the defense, which was excellent today.

Angels are now 10-7-3 on the spring. Next game tomorrow at 1, with Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Few games are left before they count, almost there everyone!

Scoring

Scoring started right away with the A’s getting one in the first thanks to a pair of hits off of Jamie Barria. The Angels failed to respond in their half of the first, leaving 2 LOBSTERS including Fletcher on 3rd with one out.

The A’s added with a solo shot in the top of the 2nd, a line drive with 2 outs. 2-0 A’s. It didn’t stop as after another shutout half inning by the A’s arms, their offense hit another home run off of Barria. 4-0 A’s.

After the Angels failed to score again, the A’s piled on the new pitcher Alex Claudio in the 4th, scoring 2 more thanks to a double, a single, a wild pitch, a groundout, and another wild pitch. 6-0 A’s.

LOBSTERS plagued the Angels again in the bottom of the 5th, wasting an opportunity to score with Mike Trout just missing a three run shot. The A’s then scored more in the 6th to make it hurt more. A lot more. 10-0 A’s.

But the Angels did not get shut out, scoring, finally, in the bottom of the 6th thanks to misplays, walks, and HBP. 10-2 A’s. After getting a rare scoreless inning by the pitching, the Angels blew their chances to score again. Remained 10-2 until the 9th.

9th

So, that ninth inning, Keller came on to pitch and got in trouble right away, walks and hits allowed the A’s to score yet again. But Joe Maddon betrayed his principles he established and used the Spring Mercy rule to end the inning. 11-2 headed into the bottom of the 9th.

The Angels had one last chance to make the game not as lopsided. They did nothing, going down 1-2-3 and losing 11-2.

Performances

Pitchers

Jamie Barria

Barria has not had a good spring at all. It continued to be that way today, giving up a run and 2 hits in the first inning, including a double. He was attacking the zone, with 15/19 being strikes, so he wasn’t nibbling.

His second inning saw him give up a home run with 2 outs, classic Angels pitching. Jamie’s bad day got worse in the 3rd, with a 2 run shot. Maddon saw enough and pulled him after 3. 3 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk. His Spring ERA is now 9.39. Yeesh.

Alex Claudio

Alex came in for the 4th, and quickly gave up his first run of the spring with back to back hits on 3 pitches. A double and a single. Then he threw a wild pitch right afterwards. After a groundout moved the runner, he threw another wild pitch to have the runner score. One inning, 2 runs, 2 hits, and 2 wild pitches.

Junior Guerra

He had a scoreless inning, the first today for the Halos pitchers. A quick 1-2-3 inning on 7 pitches. It was not to last as the A’s immediately hit a home run in his next inning of work. He almost allowed another one but Lagares robbed it.

Just as things were looking to quiet down, they did not, and the hits continued. He left the game, unable to finish the 6th. 1 and 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, ballooning his ERA from 0 to 9.

Dillon Peters

Peters stopped the bleeding, getting the final out of the 6th. Coming out for the 7th, he pitched a quick inning, only allowing a single. 1 and 2/3 innings with 2 hits and a walk, but no runs and a strikeout. ERA down to 3.

Jake Faria

Jake was like a good neighbor, pitching a good inning and keeping the score from getting more out of whack. One inning, one hit, one strikeout, and bringing his ERA to 2.16 on the spring.

Kyle Keller

Keller pitched the final inning for the Halos. He had a non ideal 9th, with a hit and a walk while being wild and nearly hitting a batter. Then after almost getting out of it with a double play that was called safe, he gave up a hit and allowed another run to score.

Batters

Starters

David Fletcher

Fletcher must have heard me talking about him and had himself a great day. A leadoff double, an amazing defensive play, reached on an error, and hit a single. 2-3 on the day, a nice Fletch game.

Jared Walsh

Walsh is in trouble. There are plenty of infielders gunning for his job and it may not be as secure as I thought. I still think he wins it, but there is competition breathing down his neck. He went 0-2 with a walk.

Mike Trout

Trout had an amazing diving catch in the 5th inning. But besides that he only had a walk in an 0-2 day with a strikeout. His OBP is good, but he needs to spend more time in the cage. Mike had not looked quite right.

Anthony Rendon

Rendon looks like early 2020 Rendon, not that impressive, but hey, the walks. He went 0-2 with a walk today and I am not too worried about him getting ready for the season.

Justin Upton

Hot Pocket was frozen today, going 0-3 with a K. Still a great spring, and to be fair, almost no one did good for the Angels today. So getting on base with an error is something.

Albert Pujols

Pujols has had a hot spring and he got a hit today. He is slashing .379/.419/.517. It is a small sample in games that don’t count, but damn it is encouraging.

Jose Iglasies

The fielding Iglesias went 1-3 with a single. His glove had been the more impressive than his bat, but he has slugged .552 this spring. I think most fans are already on board with him.

Kurt Suzuki

Went 0-2 with a HBP. He is doing fine for a catcher this spring, but he needs to focus on these pitchers. Their relationship can do a ton with how good the pitching will be, and the Angels need to squeeze the most out of these guys.

Others

Hot

Juan Lagares

The defensive play by Lagares continues to impress as he robbed a home run today. He has git well this spring too,

Jose Rojas

Rojas continues to impress, making a wonderful defensive play today. He is gunning for that spot on the roster and is putting pressure on Walsh and Rengifo. He went 0-1 today.

Luis Rengifo

Rengifo has been having a spectacular spring, looking to keep his job as the backup infielder on the team with an excellent defensive play. His utility helps, as well as his baserunning, as he advanced on a sac fly and got in under the tag at 3B. He went 0-1 today.

Scott Schebler

Scott is playing way too well to be left off the team. Guy is hitting .381 with 3 bombs this spring. He had a single today and struck out to end the game. With so much competition, his power stands out, I hope he makes it.

Taylor Ward

Blake is doing everything he can to make the team. He is playing so many positions, he is red hot, slashing .353/.478/.588, and his defense has been not terrible. I would have Ward over Fowler easy. He is versatile and can be an emergency catcher. He went 0-1 today.

Not

Dexter Fowler

Fowler keeps getting starts this spring and he keeps disappointing. He is hitting so bad which in spring wouldn’t mean much, but as a new guy with 2 other new guys fighting for 2 OF spots, he is falling behind fast. At least he got a sac fly today, which is something. He is slashing .126/.160/.318 this spring.

Jon Jay

JJ the grounded plane has been rather forgettable. With so many players battling for the OF spots, he has been hitting terribly. His slash at .087/.185/.304 is downright ugly. He went 0-1 today.