Fresh off a path of destruction throughout points north in California, our gallant heroes trod the field of battle in search of their 8th consecutive victory this evening. And they were successful.
Sir Taylor Ward stepped to the plate swinging a bat full of magic and put the Angels on the board early.
Ok, I can’t keep this going. I’m far out of my depth on the fantasy stuff.
Ward cashed in another RBI in the bottom of the 4th on a sacrifice fly. Then Logan O’Hoppe drove in Moncada on a double to push the Angels lead to 3-0.
All hell broke loose in the bottom of the 6th. How about an RBI on catcher’s interference and another run scored on a hit batter in the same inning? Yeah, it happened. Add in a sacrifice fly and 3 runs scored without needing a hit to drive in the runner.
A 6-0 lead after 6 innings against the struggling Fish seemed like a solid win, possibly a shutout. But Ron Washington went to Shaun Anderson to pitch the 7th. Shaun did what Shaun does and immediately gave up a solo shot to local boy Eric Wagaman.
He then proceeded to pitch batting practice for a while, ultimately leaving in the 8th with 2 on and 2 out. Anderson had already allowed a second run and Neris finally allowed an inherited runner to score. Actually, Neris let both inherited runners score which made the game a tight 6-4.
Jorge Soler came to the plate with the bases empty, so he was capable of getting a hit. And he hit a ball a long, long way to give the Angels a 7-4 cushion heading to the bottom of the 9th.
Fortunately the Angels have Kenley Jansen to close out games. After allowing a leadoff single, Jansen recorded two outs then issued a walk. That put runners on the corners and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
The mood from the 6-0 lead to this moment had changed dramatically but Jansen still just needed one good pitch to seal the deal. Looking fatigued and missing high in the strike zone, that was no guarantee. He found it and got a pop up to end the game.
Light that Baby Up! 8 in a row, baby!
