Suarez Shows Up Q, Angels win 4-2

Q was back on the mound and it went as well as it always did. 3 innings, 2 runs allowed, way too many pitches. Thankfully, Jose Suarez came in and pitched 3 solid innings, making a case to be the starter instead. With 4 runs by the offense, the relievers had to be nearly perfect, and they were.

Recap

Quick Q Outing

Ohtani reached on an error due to his speed which is all the offense could muster in the first. Q allowed 2 baserunners and pitched a long inning but escaped without giving up a run.

Walsh rewarded Q for his performance by hitting one out for the first run of the game. Suzuki hit a single, then Ward, Wong bunted them over, and Fletcher drove them in. 3-0 Angels. Gosselin singled Fletcher home, 4-0 Angels!

Q gave up a 2 out double but had a shutdown 2nd inning, still 4-0 Angels.

The Angels went quietly in the 3rd. Q was not good, however. After an error, he walked 3 straight to walk in a run, and a sac fly brought in another. 4-2 Angels.

After that meltdown, the Angels needed to score in the 4th, but couldn’t even after 2 calls overturned in their favor.

Suarez Steps Up

Suarez came in for Q in the 4th, Maddon making the choice for 18 outs from his bullpen over more Q today. He made everyone feel at ease with a 1-2-3 inning.

Unfortunately, the offense did not score in the 5th, as the A’s pitching improved since that 2nd inning. Suarez did his job though, keeping the score at 4-2.

The 6th went the same way, with the offense failing to even get a runner on base. In the bottom half, Suarez was dealing, putting down the A’s in order for the 3rd straight inning.

Fletcher got a 1 out double in the 7th and Rojas pinch hit for Gosselin. He popped up. But Ohtani walked which made it 2 on for Rendon. he also flew out. Still 4-2 Angels. Suarez didn’t get the call in the bottom half and walked the leadoff batter. Maddon pulled him right after.

Suarez went 3 + innings 1 walk, no hits, 4 strikeouts. an excellent job out of the pen. Q should be nervous.

Bullpen or Blowpen?

Cishek came in, to the annoyance of Angels fans. However, this time, he got 3 straight outs, keeping the 4-2 lead.

In the 8th, the Angels faced Cam Bedrosian, who was typical Subsoil. Lagares had a single, and Walsh walked on 4 pitches. Then the pitching coach came out and told him he wasn’t an Angel anymore, so Bedrosian became Bedrock and got 3 straight outs. Still 4-2 Angels.

Mike Mayers came in for the 8th inning. After 2 quick outs, he allowed a double down the line. That was too much for Maddon and Closer Iglesias came in for the 4 out save. He got the first out with a strikeout, sneding the offense back out there to give more of a cushion.

The cushion did not increase, however, and it remained a 4-2 game going into the bottom of the 9th. It would have been nice to have a bigger lead as the leadoff batter hit a single. A groundball got 1 out, although they couldn’t turn 2. He struck out the next batter for out 2. A flyout for the final out and the Angels win, splitting the series vs the A’s!

Upcoming

The Angels are now 24-29 on the season and will go across the bay to face SF. With the Giants being on fire, it will be tough, especially with no DH for Ohtani.