Angels 5 Diamondbacks 2
To say that Zac Gallen came into the day absolutely carrying the Diamondbacks starting rotation is probably an understatement. Tied for first in fWAR in the National League at 3.3 and second only to Kevin Gausman in the entire MLB, this would probably go without saying. Nevertheless, when you consider that Merrill Kelly (who we did not see this series) is the only other starter they have sporting an ERA remotely considered passable, it really puts into perspective just how important he has been. Of course, we all know Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson who have been mediocre on a good day put us out to pasture. It was inevitable, then, that the 1-2-3 in the lineup would rock the potential Cy Young candidate.
Mickey Moniak was the big bat today as he crushed a 3-run bomb off the righty that effectively put the game away.
Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani also came through with solo shots of their own for their 18th and 31st respectively.
Not to be overlooked was Reid Detmers, who continues to outpitch ace after ace after ace since getting rocked back at the very beginning of June. Canning’s little implosion earlier in the series aside, I think I’d still slot him in above Detmers as the number 2, but to have a number 3 look this stellar is pretty promising. And I do mean stellar, as the southpaw would strike out 9 in 6 innings pitched with just one mere mistake pitch in the second that didn’t give up the lead for very long at all.
I kind of wish we could always play pitchers that are elite. We might see our offensive production get back into high gear. It should excite every single one of us how tough the schedule is going to be from here on out. We’re going to see a lot of bombs as long as teams stop using bullpen days against us.
Obligatory Ohtani homer video:
Didn’t watch the game today. I told my wife when she asked that I needed to see a few wins strung together before I could postpone other life activities and give the Angels my time. Glad we won and let’s be honest, I’ll probably be back tomorrow, lol.
In the meantime I’m reading Jeff Fletcher’s book about Ohtani. Like the reviews say there’s not a lot of new information, more just a recapitulation with sprinkled commentary and quotes from folks. Nevertheless I’m enjoying it. Truthfully though, it’s amazing how much I’ve forgotten with how much was going on when he was deciding where to sign initially in the MLB and then all of his injuries and ups and downs.
One of the parts that got me to chuckle a bit was during the initial stages of the Ohtani sweepstakes when his agent asked interest clubs to (paraphrasing) (1) evaluate Ohtani’s talent, (2) to explain it’s player development philosophies and medical training and facilities, (3) to describe it’s minor league and spring training facilities, (4) detail resources for his cultural assimilation into the city, (5) describe a vision for how Ohtani could integrate into the team, and finally (6) to tell Ohtani why they were a desirable place to play.
I have no idea what the Angels wrote back, and obviously it was sufficient, but I had some fun guessing.
(1) Gud
(2) We follow a simple flow chart: IF booboo THEN TJ ELSE pass
(3) Please do not google this
(4) There’s a Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa!
(5) Depends on the manager, you’ll have at least 3.
(6) I need you (I need you) more than anyone, darlin’
You know that I have from the start
So build me up buttercup, don’t break my heart
You all are funny. One win and you’re talking about playoffs. How about winning a series….curb your enthusiasm!
Where were all of you yesterday?
Told you, facing the Ace, Halos win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aqLwHP4y6Q
Dont look now but here comes Jordyn Adams. in his last 7 games at the great salt Lake hes slashing .424/.441/.667 with 7 stolen bases ( 0 CS) and only 4 k’s
while down at Madison Alabama , fellow 23 year old and 2018 draftee, Jeremiah Jackson who is being converted into a utility player is also on quite an impressive streak:
https://twitter.com/Jared_Tims/status/1675562734531006464
Grizzly Adams could’ve took him.
Hopefully these guys will not be traded for some rental at the trading deadline
Long day today at the church as we had a 4th of July Carnival Celebration and I manned the Ring Toss-a ton of fun 😆 , so missed the game darn it it, but was for a good cause-the food bank. In returning to La Casa I find great news! WE WON! And another Troutani Day, more great news, and Mick hit one out, yaHoo! I am so happy for all, and for Rick after yesterday’s bad day.
Still we need more than 1 out of 3 series, so bring on the Padres-our Stars are up to the challenge to take on their Stars so, 2 out of 3 doable. Please no Barria as a starter, make them face our main rotation guys.
Let’s go Angels
Sounds like you had a fun filled full day, sir. You should take partial credit for Angels win today because most of us felt your gentle paternal presence throughout the game.
As we look towards Padres series, the announced projected starters are:
Barria/TBD
Ohtani/TBD
Sandoval/TBD
Because of some unexpected illness that has befallen on Yu Darvish, they have had to use many bullpen days past two weeks. I predict Snell/Musgrove/Lugo, but I would not be shocked to see Darvish pitch against Sho on Independence Day. They have never faced each other as pitchers, so that will be a huge MUST SEE TV in Japan. I would not be surprised that Japanese Prime Minister call nationwide holiday so all Japanese nationals have a chance to enjoy the game.
Not sure how many of you saw, but the Dodgers lost two of three to the Royals, including two straight losses! (and thus lost the series)… Makes me feel just a tad less bad about losing that series to the Rockies .. 😂
Good point. Of course, how does it make you feel about the Angels getting swept by the Dodgers?
Not the same thing… First off, that was a two game series, so not a real sweep in my book… Second, the Dodgers are not bottom-feeders (despite their inconsistency)… They are still a good team so losing to them is not embarrassing like losing to Colorado…
But I DO really want to get them back next weekend… Problem is, the pitching matchups don’t favor us – we’ll see Kershaw again and the other game is Gonsolin vs Canning.. Canning might be able to keep us in his game, but I can easily see us losing two to them AGAIN.
Kershaw was listed as day to day on my fantasy team. Maybe that will help. If Canning can pitch well, Gonsolin isn’t someone to fear.
That’d be great if Kershaw misses his start, but somehow I feel he’ll be on the mound being his usual dominant self against us.
RISP 1 for 2….
Well at least it’s better than 0 for
10.
Thank god Mickey did his job and gave Reid his much deserved W.
Hope some other bats wake up the next series.
A mediocre home stand ends on a high note. I have zero hope that they’ll use this win as a launching pad to a win streak as they’ve show all season that solid signature wins mean nothing to them. Oh well, loved the homers!
Looking at Ohtanis stats, nearly half his RBI total is from him driving himself in. Base runners are as rare as California condors. Reminds me of Trout in his prime, he’d have 40 HRs and 95 RBI. We really did completely fail Trout and aren’t showing any real signs of righting the ship with our SECOND once in a lifetime player. Bummer.
Baseball is a funny game. The first game and third game had pretty much similar offensive numbers between two teams. The difference in the first game was that Gurriel hit a grand slam, and today’s game is that Moniak hit 3 run home run. We lost to their #4 and #5 pitchers and beat their ace. How do you explain this phenomenon except to say that it is baseball.
It is odd, but great to see we can beat the ace of the staff. We really have wasted Trout’s prime and wasted Ohtani’s peak prime if we miss the playoffs and don’t go far to win it all. Ohtani is lucky that he can sneak out and sign with a new team after this season. I think he can have 2-3 more spectacular seasons with the rest being more mediocre as he ages. Love for Ohtani to sustain this for a decade, but History shows that is unlikely.
As you know, I am Shohei-therefore-Angels fan, but I will cheer fo Angels win as passionately as original ones. I am just grateful that I am live to witness Ohtani’s two way never-been-done (except for Babe Ruth) performance for the past 3 seasons as most of you agree. I would be on cloud 9 if Shohei and Trout do make the playoffs and go further, but even if that did not happen, I would call this season magical. Just as Shohei has been saying, I am going to focus on this season, nothing else.
It won’t be “magical” if they don’t make the playoffs. Maybe for Shohei personally, but not for the team.
IMHO, Shohei does not care about individual accolades, and he has always been a team-first guy, so if he did not contribute to Angel’s reaching the playoffs, he would call this season ‘failure’. I still would call this season “magical’ in that I got to see him do his thing for three years in a row.
BTW, I am glad you prediction of Angels being swept by Dbacks turned out to be wrong, sir.
I am too… However I am not too thrilled with a series loss and 3-4 homestand overall….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-gBksUySFY
The people at the ballpark today got their money’s worth.
Detmers looking like a possible ACE pitcher – again.
Trout Homer, Mickey with a BIG homer and Shohei being Shohei.
Etevez Save. He’s the man and keeps his composure.
Win.
Let’s get on a roll.
I would hasten to add Webb and Soriano. We had awesome bullpen today.
I’d say it is pretty early to declare the season over. Lots of naysayers these past few days around here. Would do you say?
It’s joyless to complain every day. We’re in a playoff race, let’s enjoy the ride if we can.
A lot of times that “complaining” is in response to people excessively celebrating a single win coming off a four game losing streak…
That’s partly why I don’t post much. Like you said, if it isn’t particularly positive (at least not in the absolute present time), it seems best not to keep saying it.
That, and you get jumped on by some people who don’t know how to be polite when disagreeing with an opinion.
Estevez has been quite the pleasant surprise!
6 games out of first. Winning the division would be great but if it doesn’t happen then I’d prefer to get WC3. That would put us against (at this point) sub-.500 Minnesota while WC1 or WC2 would mean playing a team like Houston or the Skanks.
That is, if we’re good enough to get a wild card spot
I would prefer the toughest matchup possible. Take whichever top team to the woodshed and build some real momentum going forward. The pieces are there if we make it that far to do so. Ship off Rengifo and maybe Ward and get Adell some real playing time with hopefully a hot hitting Fletcher and Rendon. I can dream anyway.
As stated by many in the game thread really would be cool to give Jo Adell a look soon. Taylor Ward is ice cold and Renfroe is so streaky. Jo has game changing power and not to mention some youthful exuberance that this club is missing with Neto out. Would have loved to see him get the call over Squid as fletch .. Gifo and Escobar in a pinch can cover SS.
I agree with Jo Adell! I think he might be ready with all the young players up in the show. Moniak, Neto, and OHoppe. The Angels need that young energy from these players to win. Ward is washed up. He had his one good year and will just become a veteran presence. Renfroe is much too streaky.
I don’t agree that Ward is “washed up.” He’s got the talent to succeed at this level and I don’t think he’s close to being done. That said, as far as timing goes I would not be opposed to giving Taylor a rest and seeing what Jo can do up here for a bit …
The Taylor can rest his weary bones with Walshie at the great Salt Lake.
Free Jordon Adell!
Rick, glad you’ve got a win to recap!
It’s about goddamn time!
Japanese newspaper confirmed that that was #8 Troutani homeruns this season.
Pretty good, Mike needs to keep pace
LTBU!!!