Despite an early struggle, the Angels got on the board in the fourth thanks to a towering solo home run to center from Jo Adell, his 426-foot shot trimming Houston’s lead to 2-1 after the Astros opened with back-to-back home runs in the first.
Yusei Kikuchi bounced back impressively after the shaky start, racking up seven strikeouts over five innings and keeping the Angels within striking distance.
Despite some early struggles at the plate, the Angels began showing life in the bottom of the sixth. Jo Adell worked a walk and d’Arnaud followed with a single to center. Trout was hit by a pitch to load the bases with just one out, setting up a golden opportunity for the Halos to flip the script.
Just like that, Taylor Ward delivered in the seventh, launching a 411-foot solo shot to center to tie the game at 2-2 and inject new life into the Halo’s dugout.
The Angels loaded the bases in the sixth but couldn’t finish it. They missed a key chance to take the lead and Houston threatened in the ninth with the bases loaded, too. But, things ending up being knotted and headed to extra innings.
The Angels battled back from an early two-run hole, tying the game on homers from Jo Adell and Taylor Ward. But a costly wild pitch in the 10th allowed Houston to plate the go-ahead run. The Halos went down quietly in their half, dropping a tough one in extras at home. 3-2 Astros.
He did it. Best college pitcher in the nation.
Still throwing 95 on pitch 129.
He was “no sweat” cool even 130 pitches in. Impressive.
His last FB was still 95.
Do the Nats take him #1?
I think he’s firmly in the mix – one of the 2-3 likeliest picks.
in the last month, he clearly has separated himself from the other college pitchers.
If coastal Carolina scores 10 tomorrow this will look even more impressive
I’d pull Kade here, but they’re really pushing the envelope.
4 BBs is a career high for him.
It’s his last game for LSU. No reason to save him
I just don’t love it. He’s a 20 yo no doubt first rounder less than three years removed from TJ.
If he’s a 23 yr old senior, I’m fine with it
LSU doesn’t seem to care
A very good game that would have made me a nervous wreck if it were Oregon State vs LSU
1-0 game from the starters is definitely the sort of Game 1 you want to see in the championship.
I disagree with that HBP overturning
Not the first controversial HBP in the MCWS this year.
Wondering if Neto getting plunked last night will end his bromance with the opposition in the field. Dude is just thick with his conversations and laughter with the team you’re getting paid to beat.
Kade Anderson about to take the mound for LSU. Definitely will keep an eye on this game
Definitely pulling for Chanticleers to take down the title
Not super impressed tbh. Seth Hernandez’s stuff is better lol.
I like Arnold better
Watched both in 6+ starts this season, and I’m definitely Team Anderson. His control is a bit off today, but that’s not a constant by any means. There’s a significant wind element today.
As they’ve just pointed out, his fb is wild today but the curve is working.
And “fastball is wild” is a rarity for him – the fact that he’s still dominating despite the walks is a testament to how developed his secondaries are. Not something you can say about Doyle, for instance.
Just like the last time we saw Arnold, Anderson had pulled it together after throwing a lot of pitches early
Haha, Kade on an “off day”. Seven shutout innings on 102 pitches, despite battling control early and late.
Both Arnold and Anderson “touch 97” per MLB. So close. Irrespective of $ bonus issues/hangups:
1) Hernandez
2) Willits
3) Holliday
4) Arnold
5) Anderson
6) Arquette
Would be awesome to have a blue-chip 3B prospect in the fold for once.
If you just want a FB, it’s Doyle all day. The velocity ceiling isn’t determinative for me. I’m on Anderson because the four pitch mix is the most developed, and his change and curve are the best of the college group, imo, and most likely to translate to MLB. Physically, Arnold seems more maxed out, but Anderson has more strength and projection coming.
I think Arnold is a good prospect, and likely a mid-rotation arm who moves fast, but I think the floor and ceiling both is a touch lower than Anderson.
1. Anderson
2. Hernandez
3. Arquette
4. Witherspoon
5. Arnold
6. Holliday
If the Angels were picking mid-first round, I’d go off board and reach for Quentin Young. Risk or no, I like his upside that much.
I stand corrected 🫣😂
After 3 one-hit innings in the championship series vs a team with 26 straight wins?
Complete game shutout impress you at all?
For Saturday’s game:
Brandon Walter – I could not find information on him facing the Angels.
In his brief 12-game career, the 28-y/o has 4.20 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched
Soriano has faced the Astros one time (2023), with a 2.45 ERA in 3-2/3 innings, and did not get a decision.
Soriano had a tough time against Christian Walker (who went 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and Dublon (1-2)
This looks like a game the Angels could win.
Then again, the Angels got him 4 runs in the 1st inning at Boston 2 weeks ago, and he promptly gave up 5 runs, on his way to giving up 7 runs on 3-2/3 innings.
To be fair, Soriano rebounded with 2 great starts (vs. A’s and Yankees – giving up 1 run in 14 innings).
Go Angels!
And, oh yea, someone freaking make contact when we got a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs!!!
Schanny’s stats
0-5 rbis 0
😡 😡
Small sample size. Oh, and 0-3 the day before that.
But Last 15 games: .281/.324/.453
Not bad.
I want Washington’s doctor. Apparently, the way to get over whatever illness he has is to ingest chicken wings.
You apparently are NOT a scientist. You probably don’t even know pizza fixes just about everything. Never heard of Ice Cream Therapy? Didn’t think so.
Kidding aside, I’m actually kind of afraid it’ll come out that Wash is undergoing chemotherapy or something awful.
Seriously I was ok with him smoking but when I saw him eating fried chicken my concern for his health definitely spiked much higher.
5th rd 2019 MLB draft PLUS Tariq Skubal 2024 AL Cy Young winner 9th rd 2018 mlb draft….WTF!!!, Spencer Strider 4th rd 2020 mlb draft Shane Bieber 2020 AL Cy Young winner 4th rd 2016 mlb draft
Yes. You have listed 4 players from 4 drafts. Very good. Well, three players and a head shot. You are the victor WimpLo
So who you picking this month? Don’t tell us three years from now what Arte should have done.
And not the 2nd pick but tell us who you got in the 9th rd.
Exactly. Tell us in advance Nostradamus who will win the Cy Young, MVP, and be an all-star from this draft?
Dude, 29 teams missed on these picks. Just like 24 teams missed on Trout.
Every draft has players that other teams missed on.
Your posts and comments prove nothing beyond the musings of a lunatic. You need a new drug.
If your son/daughter just flunked their final exam and got a F for the class semester, will damm the valedictorian also missed the same question so THAT MAKES IT TOTALLY OK THEN!!!!!!
I DON’T GIVE A F**K IF THE OTHER 29 TEAMS PLUS THE MONTREAL EXPOS GOT IT RAWNG!! DO BETTER THEN!! We just promoted Christian Moore last week after drafting him just last yr. NO OTHER TEAM IN MLB IS DOING THIS…..
what did Samuel Blum say about this?
I love how you say the obvious with such a sense of discovery.
If “no other team in MLB is doing it“, doesn’t it fall under your category of “I DON’T GIVE A F**K IF THE OTHER 29 TEAMS PLUS THE MONTREAL EXPOS GOT IT RAWNG!!”
Cam Smith of the Astros was the 1st 2024 draftee to play in the Show.
Do you even follow baseball or do you just post what Mommy Toots tells you to?
Cameron Smith Astros, Nick Kurtz Athletics, Jac Caglianone Royals. All drafted in the same round as Christian Moore last year. All made their MLB debut BEFORE Christian Moore did this year.
What a twit.
Huh?
Last month this would have been a laughable blowout, not a loss of a winnable game. This team is improving, little by little. Adell has evidently arrived. Huzzah, I say!
Tough loss. Extra innings are going to favor teams who can execute situational hitting. The Angels are getting better but still struggle with scoring other than solo homers.
What if I told you we were 5-0 in extra innings before yesterday ?
Well that was in the back of mind when I wrote it knowing we had won extra inning games recently.
Sucks to lose such a winnable game. Our pitcher went toe to toe with their ace, and our bullpen kept them in check.
Two bases-loaded ABs lost this game for the Angels. O’Hoppe could have taken a walk there and given the Angels a tie, instead of going for the salami he wanted so badly.
Ward could have been more patient and waited for his pitch at 2-0, but he also wanted the salami so badly.
Horrible showing by the offense. Can’t say they didn’t have chances.
Actually there were 4 failed bases loaded at bats. 11 LOBsters and collective team 0 for 8 with RISP’s
And with a little better base running by Fat Boy in the bottom of the 6th we would have scored a non HR aided run as well.
Way too many missed opportunities
Yes, there were four bases-loaded ABs, but I felt those two were the most wasted opportunities. I didn’t count CMo’s AB because while he struck out, he picked his pitches and fought off tough ones. Sometimes, the pitcher is just better.
But Logan’s is just horrible. Like someone said last night, he had horrible pitch recognition for someone who sees 120 pitches a game. Swings at a shoulder high pitch?! Freaking seriously.
And yes, I agree with you on Trout’s bad baserunning. Unless he hits HRs, he’s a liability on base, I’m surprised he wasn’t lifted for a pinch runner in the 10th, but not sure who else was on the bench.
He’s not the ace, that’s still Framber Valdez at 8-4.
BTW do we have a 8 game winner yet, just wondering?
An 8 game winning streak.
’tis a shame. Woulda been nice to beat those *ickheads.
After sleeping on it — sure the loss sucked, but holy is this gonna be fun for quite a while.
Jo is demolishing baseballs. Our 2 middle infielders are absolute pit bulls.
The young core is legit (other than Logan, he might not be good lol 😅)
At this point I think the key we Need to figure out O’Hoppe. Can he fix his hitting and receiving deficiencies or is it time to find someone else to join the young core behind the dish. This dude is still a few years off:
https://x.com/Jared_Tims/status/1936203463194751246
I don’t have the answers. Logan puts up shitty ABs more often than not and strikes out 34% of the time. I think he can improve defensively to become at least average.
I’ll give him thru 2026 and then reevaluate.
What happened to him though?! He was raking in April-May. Yes he was striking at a high rate, but he was also making enough contact with some power. Did he get figured out? It didn’t seem that way to me. He’s still getting pitched the same way. It seemed like he fell in love with his power bat that he tries to swing for the fences each time.
Yeah. He needs to take the Trout approach and recapture the the joy of a well crushed single.
I’m not saying it’s time to do it at all, but if needed can Logan change positions maybe? Just asking because hitting is likely easier for him to fix…. and easier to maintain if he isn’t catching.
Moore is sporting a 72 OPS+ in his brief stint so far. So nothing tells me he’s “arrived”. But I do indeed like the cut of his jib. He gives me the sense that, even if this first call up is a bit of a struggle, he’s not gonna stop working at his weaknesses. And he’s obviously talented.
I think Logan’s no cooked yet either. Right about now is when we’re seeing the worst version of O’Hoppe. Actually, he, Neto and Nolan are all in a bit of a funk. Now we can see if they manage to break out of those faster than they would last year. That would be a good sign.
CMO definitely passes the eye test.
OPS+ for instance doesn’t take into account he was frontline point when shit started to go down yesterday, nor than pinpoint throw to the plate in Yankee stadium, nor does it even begin to curate tongue wags.
I don’t think he’s going back to MiLB again. He’s here for good.
CMo’s OPS+ after a week could be 72, 0, or 200. It doesn’t affect the way I see him at the moment.
He just looks like he has “it”.
Logan’s baseline and advanced stats are concerning. I love his personality and he seems like a hardworking guy. Concerned, but nowhere close to giving up on him.
A year ago today he was on a bigger stage with hella more pressure and you bet your rocky top the kid from Brooklyn came through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNeYfQItJRE
They hit 3 of our guys and there were no “gifts” in return?
At least Roberts and Shildt protect their players.
I wish Doyle was starting today. 😉
Hard to retaliate without having the lead. Do we want Sori to run the risk of ejection today throwing at them? Probably not
“BART EEF AH REELZ MAN LAHK ME IS DOING IT AH WIW HAF NOTHER MAN HIT MANZ WIT BALL AN DEN GO OUW ON DUH GRASS AND HUG GUYS HARD FOR MINETS CAUSE AH REELZ MAN!”
I pitched. I hit people on purpose. I threw at guys high and tight. I made the plate mine. I defended my guys. I was a good hitter and knew I’d likely take one too in retaliation. Hell, I even charged the mound a couple times and knocked a kid out once instead of playing handslaps with him. I get the whole game. I agree that sometimes you need to put one in someone’s ribs. But yes. Half the time it’s a pointless and stupid idea and I get it if a manager takes in the situation and decides to squash that.
If CtPG Guy needs to feel his sap get hot there are plenty of guys out there right now that’ll give him a square go if he really needs some conflict and catharsis. I think that, if the Angels as a group need it they’ll just go do it, not really sure the manager can really stop them if he wanted to.
I don’t think having the lead makes a bit of difference when the intent is to get the Astros “uncomfortable” in the batter’s box.
This isn’t about “hot sap”. Since the beginning of time, baseball players have policed themselves with the fastball. There’s an “art” to retaliation in baseball.
Suppose the hit batsman is seen as an intentional act. In that case, the retaliation is usually nothing more than a fastball placed squarely between the numbers of a player of comparable skill on the opposing team. Case open, case closed.
The art of retaliation is so ingrained in the minds of players and fans, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where it would be acceptable for a pitcher not to follow this unwritten rule.
To your question, no I don’t want Soriano tossed. I would have expected Jensen, Detmers or Strickland to “make the plate theirs” last night.
Gitch: no need to pontificate in response to this. I understand and respect your opinion, save the jabs for 2002.
💯 percent Senator.. Enright appears to be a hot head, someone has got to clue the pitchers in to own the plate and it’s ok for a knock down pitch
(sigh)….
One missed opportunity after another.
Bases loaded with less than 2 outs, in 6th inning, and as expected, the batter (pinch hitter O’Hoppe) could not make contact. Nor could Rengifo, as he struck out as well.
Bases loaded in 9th inning. And Moore struck out.
Somebody make contact!
The game we beat the Yankees yes we did take a 3-2 lead and won the game, but didn’t we have bases loaded and no one out also following the go-ahead run?
we should have blown that game open, and I kept thinking a playoff team indeed would exploit the situation further.
there’s still a gap
I mean I can kind of see the resemblance but I’m not sure how you could confuse Taylor Ward with Christian Moore.
What are you talking about? That wasn’t Taylor Ward?
We will beat them one day…we will…maybe?
https://youtu.be/kkcbxjWG9Mc?si=WoOBHQpS4VKBn81b