Sandy was back out there. This time against a much weaker offense. That helped his confidence a ton, as he went 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out 7 and walking 2.
What also helped was the Angels bats giving him a good cushion. And it wasn’t just 1 guy either, as both runs and RBI were distributed pretty evenly, with even Jo Adell getting in on the action.
And with most of the bullpen available, it was a refreshingly easy win. However, Rengifo had to leave with lightheadedness and Nolan came in, which meant this was a game he was in, and with less time, he had little wiggle room to keep his on base streak alive.
Highlighted Recap
Angels scored early with Ward having his 5th straight game with an RBI.
Then Drury drove in Trout soon after.
When Drury was up again in the 3rd, he got 2 more to score, thanks to an error though.
Marlins crawled back though with a run in their bottom of the 3rd.
Make that 2.
Logan was able to get that lead back up to 3 in the 5th.
Then Jo Adell got in on the action with a sac fly right after.
That was all that the Angels pitching needed. But they scored more anyway.
Neto doubled with the bases loaded in the 7th.
Nolan then hit a long Sac fly. That isn’t getting on base. Uh oh.
He will need another chance to extend the streak. Luckily, Ward helped by hitting a Home Run.
And thanks to that, Nolan had a chance, to get HBP. THE STREAK LIVES!
And to top it all off, Guillermo Zuñiga got his first MLB save thanks to 3 innings of work.
Upcoming
Angels will play at home on Friday for Opening Day, Anaheim edition. They come home with a 4-2 record and in first place in the AL West. Oh it is vs Boston. So, be prepared for typical Bawston fans ruining everything.
I love every part of this quote from Wash (on Sandoval)
“He was outstanding. He came out, he pounded the strike zone, he used all of his pitches, and he was very, very efficient early in the game. And then they started making him work a little bit, but he didn’t lose his desire. And that was very important.”
That bit about desire is perfect It’s a also a classy way of making an important critique re: Sandoval.
Link: https://www.mlb.com/angels/news/sandoval-rebounds-as-angels-sweep-marlins
“I felt a lot better about that [start],” Sandoval said. “Put the ball in the zone and good things happen. … Fastball was in the zone more often than not, so usually that’s a good sign.”
Sounds like a guy who admits he struggles with command.
Sounds a lot like “just throw strikes”
Shohei hit his first moonshot as a Dodger.
His homers just sound different.
And he always smells of sandlewood
You betcha!
With week one almost in the books, Here’s an update on the Ren Suckfest Leader Board:
Anthony Rendon 0 for 19 1 R 5 Ks 1 BB (.050 OPS)
Hunter Renfroe 1 for 19 0 R 6 Ks 0 BB (.106 OPS)
This could be an incredible match to the death or the DFA which ever comes first.
Renfroe over Adell will never not upset me
soft
I didn’t expect to root against Ohtani but here I am, doing that. I’m enjoying the OPS numbers for the top 6 Dodgers…well, I mean I’d like them all lower, but I mean relative to each other.
Betts 1.776 (!)
Freeman 1.081
Hernandez .971
Smith .938
Muncy .800
Ohtani .613
Betts defies logic. Dude can RAKE.
Shohei will get hot but it sort of underscores how insane that contract is that his first week there he’s kind of invisible as all baseball players are for stretches.
I love the guy but still feel like him on that team is gluttonous. They don’t even need him, hes just another infinity stone.
Agree, WS favorite w/o him now that they cleaned up their pitching. His impact will not be felt as it would on other teams. Like Kevin Durant signing on with the Warriors.
He can be their Pujols – LAA Version
I’m with you. I secretly wish that he second-guesses leaving our Halos if he can’t replicate his numbers with the Doyers.
Well Mr. Ohtani just cranked his 1st 💣 for the other LA team lol
Who?
Mike Jones
Ok. How the hell are we on top of the west?
Early in the season? Kismet? Unforeseen circumstances? Whichever, I’m just going to enjoy it.
I miss Noe Ramirez…
no-way.
😆 Interwebz won. I now wonder where he is today? I worked with a guy by the same name.
Driving home from work, decided to flip on 830AM and heard ol’ Rodger Lodge talking about the story when Trey Turner received a standing O by the Philly Faithful while he was in the midst of a horrible swoon and how that help turn his season around. Well, he is starting a grassroots movement to get the fans to give Anthony Rendon a standing ovation Friday night to help propel him out of his 0-19 slump. Rodger is counting on you all.
🤣
Do we give him a plastic participation trophy too after the game? Then for dessert orange slices and a caprisun?
Seriously? I don’t know if he truly loves the Halos that much or is just kissing ass to keep a job.
Roger was serious. Fungo was NOT serious in his support of the Lodger.
I’m comparing how I feel with this day off coming to how I felt after the first game and then the day off. I like this better.
Arte called Perry into his office today, held up $66MM, and said “See!”
… “Now we can blow it on a huge pizza party at my place! We’ll even invite Blum.”
Sammy hasn’t posted an article since the 0-2 start. He’s befuddled without anything negative since Easter but I’m convinced he’ll shit on the franchise on opening day in Anaheim
He made big deal about the Angels not starting the spring training renovations now that spring is over insinuating the Cheap Arte would never start them. . Well no word from Sam the Hat but Jeff the Fletch reported this 2 days ago (I apologize if some one has else already posted this):
So this was put into action a minimum of 10 months ago.
He’s a not a beat reporter. We should be getting daily articles on the Angels from him. Idk if it’s his decision or his editor’s at The Athletic, but he does a poor job covering the team.
Long-form stories are good, but we need daily updates on what’s happening. Fletcher is essential and gets the job imo.
Fletcher isn’t that great.
All he does is shill his ohtani book and his access to players is non existent. Does he even travel with the team?
David Vassegh w/ the dodgers is the gold standard… love that guys reporting
Comparing Fletcher to Blum, at least we get daily quotes from Wash and the players + injury updates from Fletch.
Blum pumps out 1 article a week, if that.
If Arte can hold up 66 million in cash he should put a uniform on and start mashing some Dingerz. lol.
I guess getting the lead-off guy on is a good thing.
I guess him leading off the Game with a double is something better.
Red Sox are coming in at 5-2 and appear to be pitching very well thus far.
Very exciting series. Time to test our mettle
Oh yea? Well we have a 4-2 record with Rendon at leadoff for most of those games so Scoreboard Chowdheads.
Ha!
Now let’s take it to the Baaahsten and their incredibly annoying fans.
Appreciate the emphasis on the Schanuel steak JHW, we’ve got something special here.
The hardest stuff to teach is already there. Wash will polish up his defense and the power will come with age.
Exciting kid.
In opposed to our last 3 managers who couldn’t even polish a 💩
I kind of expected a 2-1 series win. Miami obviously isn’t playing good baseball right now but to get the sweep instead of settling for a series win is a good thing.
It’s awesome just for the energy they get to carry into the home opener now.
Ditto for O’Hoppe and Neto.
Even Adell is showing signs of life.
Really interested to see how this bullpen shakes out. Against the O’s and Fish, we have two different grades.
Agree. In past seasons today was the kind of game the Angels would have lost…
Wash is saying all the right things so far:
I wonder if the doom and gloom feeling in the locker room was carrying over from the last couple of years, especially last year.
It certainly didn’t help. I imagine it’s not good for anyone’s morale when practically everyone outside the Angels org have a live countdown clock for when Ohtani finally fulfills his destiny and go to the Dodgers.
Every single injury, every single loss, every ugly play on the field, every K, getting magnified as “see, this is why Ohtani can’t go to the playoffs. He’s playing with a bunch of losers. The baseball world would be much better if he’s with the Dodgers.”
Certainly feels that way. Ohtani became bigger than the team and its never good for morale (in any walk of life) when 1 person grows to be bigger than the sum of all.
We needed him gone, and he needed to leave. Once the emotional aspect weathered away, it’s clear that this split was good for everyone involved.
now ohtani is Just A Guy hitting behind mookie and in front of freeman.
When Sho gets going, and he will, idk how you stop their lineup lol
Vizine in their water bottles.
Well it sure as hell carried over on this site
I wonder if it was bad fan ju ju poisoning the good baseball medicine of the players who generally enjoy playing baseball but never seem to for the herd of sad donkey Angel’s fans.
But Washington put on The Sand Lot, made rootbeer floats for everyone, and told em to relax and have themselves some BASEBALL.
He’s a real manager. Not exactly sure why no other team picked him up in the last several years, but who cares! We lucked out.
I feel very very very strongly that, with good health, this is a 85+ win team.
Phil Nevin wants to talk with you
Nevin can suck my —
Not only was he a shitty manager, the man was duller than a box of nothing. No personality or aura to speak of.
LOL…Just poking fun. I’m onboard with Washington, much better than the last two for certain. If he gets us a championship, better than the last twenty-two.
Oh, I know haha. Nevin just sucked that much. Like, if you are gonna be a shitty manager, at least be charismatic and funny, ala Mohawk Joe.
And he had ZERO feel for the game…
Ahhhh yes. The old measuring a man’s feel. Running your hands up and down the invisible to get a sense of the size of the intangible. Is it Friday night already?
So, you are saying he DID have a feel for the game as manager????
Am I? Or am I just saying you’re full of shit?
Lol. You still didn’t answer the question.
Anyone else hear Careless Whisper?
I don’t know, but that whole post felt vulgar even though he uttered no vulgarities
Gitcho skirts that line well.
You would have loved the grit pump era then. when dozens of old men on Halos Heaven were enjoying being half stiff with rage over the lack of grit and urgency from Sosh and how it oozed out onto the players…. followed by lots of bluster about grit and caring and yelling and shit.
It was like 2 whole seasons of two CTPG Guys in a couple outdoor bathtubs watching the sun go down together… flexing.
“Half stiff with rage” LMFAO
Total CW moment…. mournful sax galore.
😂
Why no other team picked him up? Uhhh, left his team during the season, cocaine and hookers issue? , etc., etc.
But who knew the statute of limitations for these indiscretions was 10 years ?
Listen, we all have vices 😅😂😂
Come on. who doesn’t love hookers and cocaine?
the little things that Wash does is a huge change for this team the gets in its own way. I like what I’m seeing and hope the culture improves. Crazy to think what could’ve happened with a more productive off-season.
Awwww…. you almost made a happy comment. Almost.
While I do think the strong recovery from the the thumping the Orioles gave us the first two games is a good thing, as steelgolf has noted the Marlins are not a good team.
The real test will be when we play the teams in our division; Texas and Seattle etc…
You have to play well against your own division If you hope to do anything..:
They aren’t gonna do anything. Make no mistake – but they might not be historically bad as they seemed to be the first two games of the season.
Servant leadership
Huzzah to Schanuel talking the HBP to keep the streak alive.
He even got a badge of courage for free.
Shuffle Sweep!!
Where Shufflebot?
Early games killing me
Fox and Friends???
Nice game. I may be getting a little bit of a Halo Vibe going. Be still, my fluttering undergarments!
Lay off the chili dogs and beans.
We scored 10. Do we get free wings?