Philadelphia is a great fight town. Rocky was based there for that reason. And much like Rocky, the Angels showed heart and determination but were ultimately beaten by a more talented foe.
On Tuesday the Angels fought back against a really good Phillies team. And against the narrative their season ended via an early knockout in the form of an injury to Mike Trout. They even entered the final frame with a lead. But they came up a bit short.
Nick Castellanos landed the first haymaker, a three run homer in the top of the second. The Angels were on the canvas but got up and kept swinging.
Zach Neto landed the first clean shot for the Halos; a solo home run to cut the deficit to 3-1.
A well placed shot at the beginning of a round…err inning is always a great thing. Two baserunners later, the Angels had Philly starter Spencer Turnbull on the ropes when Luis Rengifo landed a crushing blow.
The lead was extended when Vanessa Hudgens husband (yes, that dorky Tucker dude is married to Vanessa Hudgens) doubled and Mickey Moniak made his old team pay for trading him.
Up 5-3 the Angels just needed to hold on until the final bell. But the Phightin’ Phillies weren’t done. A rally in the 8th against Matt Moore cut the lead to 5-4 with the tying run on second base. Carlos Esteves took over and closed the door.
Esteves was pitching for the second consecutive day. He was good for two outs but with one out in the top of the 9th, Nick Castellanos sent another ball to the seats. All tied up at 5. The next hitter bounced a ground rule double down the left field line. The Angels were teetering all over the place, one more shot from certain loss.
The knockout blow came in the form of a 2 run shot by Josh Rojas in the very next at bat. Down 7-5, it was finally time to pull Esteves. Newly recalled Amir Garret put a couple of runners on but escaped without further damage.
But the damage was done.
They fought. They went the distance. And they took a loss.
Now to hear the greatest theme song in cinematic history and fire up the original Rocky for the millionth time.
Two words. Butter. Cup.
Phukin’-A man. That wasn’t very Phun
Perry – lovin’ the remodeling job you did on the bullpen. Magnificent!
I like the boxing angle. Fun read.
Speaking of fun, at least tonight had fun moments.
Looking forward to seeing these guys get the opportunity to start all season. O’Hoppe, Adell & Neto are flashing enough positives to remain excited about their future. Neto hit a big boy oppo homer.
Hopefully Moniak can crank it up.
I think Schanny needs to be sent down. As someone else mentioned, they’re wasting his service time. Let him grow in Salt Lake.
And Luis Rengifo is probably our most reliable hitter. Somehow he’s only 27.
“Play the kids” means they stay in the lineup regardless. Schanuel is currently overmatched, but in my opinion he needs to make adjustments here. We’re not playing for wins. To paraphrase someone here: unless the player gets us to the playoffs, leave things alone.
As soon as we brought Estevez in for a 4-out save after pitching last night I looked at my wife and said “We just lost the game”
At least I know when to brace for the pain
Estevez is overrated as a closer. BFD that he can heave the ball in the upper 90’s. Hitters send his offerings back at higher speeds. He’s perfect for a non-contending team.
He is definitely not a closer.
At least we were competitive for 8 innings against a good team….better than most nights.
Was hoping we would take this one cuz Wheeler vs Sandoval is reminiscent of the opening day pitching mismatch
Not even midnight, the night before, and Sandy’s already lost.
Wont get out of the 4th against this team.
And the bullpen is spent.
Suarez 3 innings of work tomorrow. With a day game, he’ll be lucky to give up less than 5.
Auto Loss.
I’m betting $50,000,000 of my Eppei Bucks on the Fight’ens tomorrow
Make sure Mr. O approves without actually approving.
This team really does nothing but bring us pain.
To lose like that late after the Trout news just really twists the knife.
It just really sucks to be a fan of this team.
It’s awful rooting for this team. My 7 year old is just getting that fired up love for the game and the squad too so I’m trying to keep
My negativity as hidden as possible from him … and also not try to convince him like most of his buddies to just be a Doyer fan.
Let him become a Dodger fan and share that with his buddies. You won’t find three better role models than Mookie, Freddie, and Shohei.
arte should put this franchise back on Facebook marketplace and see what the bids are now
Estevez for a 4 out save was never going to work. He’s not him in that way. He’s a middle leverage guy on most rosters. Yet here we are treating him as Mariano. Sad but indicative of just how poorly this team is constructed overall.
I’m really shocked our bad closer lost the game for us.
I just told my dad I trusted Estavez right before he came in.
Wayne was talking about him pitching on b2b nights and jinxed the whole thing.
3 for 4 with a 2run HR.
We are wasting…
We are wasting Wash’s motivational meeting scripts.
The bullpen being this awful is an indictment on Perry.
I understand it’s an arduous task being GM under Arte, but I’m totally on-board with ditching Perry. His inability to hit on the margins is impressive.
Estevez ruined a great game. Just like he ruined last season. Disappointing and deflating loss.
Let’s be real, Matt Moore picked a bad time to have a bad game.
If he pitches a clean frame there Esteves has a much easier path to the end.
Moore should have been left in to lose it
Valid point.
Estevez is not a closer, and he should not be allowed any coffee.
Second place is a set of steak knives.
ABC….Always. Be. Capitulating.
😄
The bullpen is about the same as it has been. Stephenson was the big add. He’s gone for 16 months and may never be the same.
The others are just guys and Estevez cannot pitch two days in a row. I’m unsure why Ron went to Garcia in the seventh. That was the move that made it so Estevez had to be used.
Mills Lane was a great referee. Angels aren’t a great team
He was the best. Stopped fights at the perfect time. Not too soon, not too late.
Agreed 💯 and he was a legend. 👍🏻
Game for the Blowpen, I think we need to bring Hicks back to pitch.
back to a 103 loss pace
We are on a good pace, hope it cost Arte money, lot’s of it.
Quickdraw