Angels Lose on Cactus Ohtani Day, 8-5

Shohei Ohtani made his Cactus League debut on the mound today. He went 2 and a third innings pitched with 5 strikeouts and 1 ER against the Royals.

It was a loss for the team as a whole. Besides Rendon, and no Ohtani as a hitter, it was pretty much the Opening Day Lineup for 2022. They only scored 2 runs between the starters, with most of the hitters having a bad time.

Recap

1st

Ohtani struck out his first batter. He allowed a single to the next batter, who then stole a base. That was fine, however, as he struck out the next batter and got a flyout to end the inning.

Brandon Marsh walked to lead off the bottom of the first. Mike Trout struck out. But two wild throws by the Royals got Marsh to 3rd with only one out. Walsh hit it right to the pitcher, but Marsh was able to score of the bad throw home. Walsh did not, however, beat the throw by the catcher to 2B as he tried to get there and failed. Upton walked, but Stassi grounded out to end the inning. 1-0 Angels after 1.

2nd

Ohtani was out for another inning and he got a quick flyout to the first batter, and a strikeout to the second before plunking the third one in the head. It wasn’t purposeful, just ball slipped out of his hand. Another strikeout ended the inning.

Fletcher, Wade, and  Stefanic all went down in order. Still 1-0 Angels after 2.

3rd

A third inning for Shohei Ohtani. After a strikeout, a triple barely past Marsh put the tying run at third with only one out. A single tied the game up. That was it for Ohtani, and he left in a 1-1 tie with a runner on first with 1 out.

Eric Torres came in, and got out of the jam with a flyout and strikeout.

Cabbage singled to start the bottom of the 3rd. Marsh struck out, but Trout singled to put runners on the corners. Walsh struck out and Upton grounded out to end the threat, however. Still tied at 1 after 3.

4th

Subs started coming in as Romine took over catcher. Zack Weiss was now on the mound and things did not go smoothly. Hits and a misplayed ball by Walsh loaded the bases, yet a GIDP saved it from being a disaster.

Wade singled after Romine and Fletcher got out, and Stefanic really showed he wants to be on the 26 man roster by getting another hit, driving in Wade to give the Angels a 2-1 lead.

5th

It was Brian Moran’s turn and he had a rough inning. A 1 out single and blast gave the Royals the lead. 3-2 Royals. He almost gave up another as he allowed 2 more singles after that before getting the third out.

Marsh, Trout, and Walsh went down in order to a groundout, groundout, and strikeout in the 5th. Still 3-2 Royals.

6th

This is when the team gave up and remembered it was Spring Training as Marsh, Trout, and Walsh got replaced. Luis Ledo also took the mound, which was the more important change as he gave up a 3 runs including a 2 run home run. 6-2 Royals.

Upton walked, and Sierra pinch ran. After a Romine flyout, Fletcher executed a hit and run, putting runners on the corners. Wade flew out, but Fletcher stole second to put 2 in scoring position for Stefanic. He walked to load the bases but Braxton Martinez grounded out to end the inning. Still 6-2 Royals.

7th

Elvis Peguero came in to pitch the 7th. He had a shutdown 1-2-3 inning to keep it a 4 run deficit.

That was rewarded as Dillon Thomas doubled and Taylor Ward singled to get a run back. 6-3 Royals. Unfortunately, despite a Rojas single, they didn’t score another in the inning.

8th

Zach Linginfelter took over on the mound. It did not go well, as after a single, a misplay at first and a double in the gap allowed two more runs to score. 8-3 Royals.

The Angels went down in order, Velazquez, Mayfield, and Stefanic with a groundout, groundout, and strikeout. Still 8-3 Royals after 8.

9th

Nathan Burns came in to end the slaughter. It did take a while, allowing multiple baserunners, but he kept the deficit at 5. 8-3 Royals heading into the last frame.

Braxton Martinez doubled, Thomas walked, Ward flew out, and Rojas doubled to make it 8-5. Sierra grounded out, but Mulrine got a HBP to put the tying run at the plate. Velazquez walked to load the bases for Mayfield. It was a buttercup, groundout game over.

The Angels lose 8-5 and are 2-2 on the Spring.