Great Defense Saves Angels, 4-3 Win at Marlins

Happy Birthday, Mike! Now Get To Work

Mike Trout turned 35 years old Wednesday. He celebrated the way he had on 5 previous MLB birthday games – by hitting a baseball a very long way. Trout now has 6 birthday home runs!

Angels Pitching

George Klassen came into this start with a history of walking batters – it’s been the defining problem of his young MLB career, enough to earn his a trip back to the minors after his two April starts. Through three innings today he looked shaky, had good defense

and escaped a 3rd inning jam when the Marlins had runners on the corners with no outs before he got Lopez to hit a grounder to Grissom at third base, who quickly threw out Ruiz at home. Klassen then got Conine and Edwards out to end the inning. Good execution on defense, borrowed time for Klassen.

The fourth inning was where it nearly all came apart. Caissie walked. Jiménez struck out. Marsee dropped down a bunt single. Mack grounded out, moving both runners up. Two outs, runners at second and third. Klassen walked Ruiz to load the bases. Pitching coaching Mike Maddux came out to settle things down. It worked, for a pitch. After a first pitch strike, Klassen threw 4 straights balls to Stowers, letting in the tying run, 1-1. Three walks and a bunt single, bases still loaded, Klassen was in trouble. To his credit, he bounced back immediately. Lopez saw a sharp pitch sequence and hit a weak grounder right back to the mound. Klassen covered his position and got out of the inning without further damage. Four innings, four hits, four walks, one earned run, 83 pitches. The Marlins left 7 men on base against Klassen. He survived more than he dominated.

Saucedo was excellent in the 5th — Caissie struck out looking, Edwards grounded out, Conine struck out swinging. Clean and efficient. He came back for the 6th and was almost just as clean and efficeint. Jiménez flied out, Marsee singled, Mack grounded out. Saucedo out, Shaun Anderson in to pitch. Ruiz walked. 2 runners on base. Then Stowers singled softly to center — Marsee scored from second base, 2-1 Marlins. Anderson got Lopez to groundout to end the inning.

Then Weiman — Blake Weiman, making his MLB debut in the bottom of the 7th — came in and held the Marlins scoreless. Ramírez singled, Edwards lined out, Hernández popped out, Jiménez singled Ramírez to second, Sanoja grounded out to the pitcher. Two hits allowed, zero runs, and Weiman walked off the mound with a clean debut on his ledger. Not a bad way to start a career, got the hold.

Ben Joyce was next in the 8th and he was one of the best pitchers on the field all day. Four up, three down — Mack struck out looking, Ruiz grounded out (Marlins challenged, upheld), Stowers singled but Lopez grounded into a fielder’s choice to end it. Joyce has looked right since returning from the IL. His closer future is real, but for today he got the hold.

Jose Fermin came into the 9th inning looking to get his first save. Ramirez hit a perfect soft grounder up the third base line to get on base. Not a great start. Schanuel made a good play at first base to get Edwards out. Hernandez flied out to Siri in LF. Jimenez singled to center, scoring Ramirez from second base. 4-3 Angels. Heineman came out to the mound to talk with Fermin and the infielders. Sanoja hit a double, just over Guzman’s glove at third base, to LF and Siri threw out Jimenez at home! What a defensive replacement and tag out at home by Heineman. Fermin gets his first MLB save, Angels get the win!

Angels Offense

After Trout’s birthday bash in the top of the 1st, the story through six innings was the Angels consistently getting men on base and doing nothing with them. Two on in the 2nd inning – nothing. Runner LOB in the 3rd and 4th innings. The 5th had Trout walk after a successful challenge and Heineman single — nothing. The 6th had Ballesteros reach after a Marlins’ challenge was overturned on a double play — again nothing, Grissom struck out to end it. Angels challenged that call and lost.

Then the 7th fixed everything in one inning — three runs on one hit and an error, capped by Schanuel’s home run. The birthday boy got lucky with Ekness not being able to field his pitching position. That error scored Lowe, who walked earlier in the inning, and allowed Schanuel to bat with Trout on base and two out.

4-2 Angels top of the 7th.

The Trout Footnote

First inning, one out. Phillips threw an 86 mph splitter for strike one. Then a 96 mph four-seamer right down the heart of the plate and Trout hit it 400 feet to right center. His 19th homer, his 6th on his birthday. So nice I’ll post it twice. He’s from Millville, New Jersey. He plays like every ballpark belongs to him. Today was no different.

The Bottom Line

Angels weren’t good with RISP and left runners on base. Mike Trout hit a home run and hustled up the line to beat out the throw in the 7th (Ekness error between his legs), which allowed Nolan Schanuel to bat and hit the game winning 2 run home run. Taking advantage when it counted.

Angels pitchers did enough to get out of innings with runners on base. The Angels defense really came through when it mattered most.

Happy Birthday Mike Trout. Welcome to the Show Blake Weiman. Keep it up Ben Joyce. Congrats Jose Fermin on your first MLB save.