Rodriguez Is Wild, Anderson Throws Marlins Batting Practice, Angels Lose Series
Grayson Rodriguez came into the game with 51 IP, giving up 59 hits, 43 runs, 9 HRs and 22 BBs. Good enough for a 3-4 record with a 7.24 ERA and -1.1 WAR. Shaun Anderson had the worst outing of his 7 year career. Ryan Gusto did enough for the Marlins and the bullpen took it from there.
Angels Offense
Top 1st: the Meck and Trout struck out. Nolan Schanuel, who’s previously hit two home runs against Ryan Gusto, worked a walk. Neto hit a bloop single to CF (ruled a double), Marsee’s diving attempt to catch the ball was short, and Schanuel hustled around from 1st base to score, narrowly missing the tag by Ramirez. 1-0 Halos. Ballesteros grounded out to end the inning.
Top 2nd: Guzman flies out to RF, Lowe struck out, Siri crushed a 3-1 four-seam 93-mph fastball down the middle to CF for a 413′ solo HR. 3-2 Angels. Frazier hit one to Sanoja, who boots it, E-5. Meckler flied out to center.
Top 3rd: Trout safe at 1st base on an error. Schanuel lined out. Neto struck out. Ballesteros lined out.
Top 4th: Guzman flied out. Lowe grounded out. Siri double to CF. Frazier grounded out. Gusto’s day was done: 4 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 60 pitches – 44 for strikes. If you’re only going to pitch 4 innings as a SP, this is the way to do it.
Top 5th: Michael Petersen pitching. Meckler and Trout both struck out to start the inning, for the second time in the game. Schanuel walked. Neto popped out.
Top 6th: Tyler Zuber pitching. Ballesteros singled. Guzman grounded into a fielder’s choice. Lowe struck out. Siri struck out.
Top 7th: Calvin Faucher pitching. Frazier and Meckler singled, Frazier advancing to 3rd base. Trout struck out for the third time, all looking. Not great when your job title is “designated hitter”. Schanuel walked. Neto popped out. Ballesteros grounded out.
Top 8th: Victor Vodnik got Guzman to fly out to CF. Lowe struck out. Siri struck out.
Top 9th: Josh Ekness pitching. Frazier flied out. Meckler walked. Peraza struck out. Schanuel hit an RBI single. 12-3 Marlins. Neto lined out.
Angels offense recap: 1-7 RISP, 10 LOB, 12 Ks. Trout and Lowe did nothing at the plate (both 0-4 with 3 Ks each), Guzman (0-4) at least hit the ball all 4 times. Siri hit the ball well.
Angels Pitching
Grayson Rodriguez got the start. Kyle Stowers, a thorn in the Angels side all series, led off the bottom half of the 1st with a triple. Edwards walked. A wild pitch by Rodriguez let Stowers score. 1-1. Lopez reached on an infield single to 3rd base, Schanuel air mailed the throw back to 3rd base on Edwards who was advancing. He then score to give the Marlins the early lead. 2-1. Conine walked. Hernandez struck out. 25 pitches and the 5th batter of the game to get your first out. Not good. Caissie singled to left, Lopez scored. 3-1 Marlins. Ramirez struck out. Marsee grounded out to end the inning. 34 pitches, 8 batters, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs. Outside of Stowers, the Marlins didn’t hit the ball hard, and scored 2 runs off a wild pitch and errant throw sting.
1st inning was all about ABS and replays, unsuccessful on every attempt.
Bottom 2nd: Rodriguez came out for his second inning of work. Sanoja grounded out. Stowers struck out. Edwards grounded out. 8 pitches, 3 outs. That’s the way to get it done.
Bottom 3rd: Lopez grounded out. Conine struck out. Hernandez stuck out. 13 pitches, 2 Ks using his entire pitching arsenal, Rodriguez looked more consistent and confident.
Bottom 4th: Caissie walked. Ramirez walked. Marsee struck out. Sanoja singled to left, Caissie scored. 4-2 Marlins. Stowers struck out. Edwards struck out. Rodriguez’s day was done. 4 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs, 4 BBs, 8 Ks. 83 pitches – 47 for strikes. The talent is there, 8 Ks speaks for itself, but the wild pitch, walks, and inability to get outs when needed has to be worked on. It wasn’t awful, that was for Shaun Anderson.
Bottom 5th: Shaun Anderson came in to “pitch”. Lopez singled. Conine blasted one 434′, 115-mph exit velo, 2 run HR. 6-2 Marlins. Hernandez grounded out. Caissie singled. Mack (now catching) walked. Marsee bunted the bases loaded. Sanoja singled to CF, Caissie and Mack scored. 8-2 Marlins. Stowers singled to CF, Marsee and Sanoja scored. 10-2 Marlins. Edwards and Lopez struck out. Anderson’s line: 1 IP, 6 hits, 6 runs, 1 walk, 2 K. We needed a Brett Kerry from the night before type RP. We didn’t get that.
Bottom 6th: Blake Weiman got Conine to strike out. Hernandez struck out. Caissie popped out.
Bottom 7th: Rule 5 pick up Ryan Watson came in to the game for the first time as an Angel (3rd team this year). He played 35 games in Boston, 34 of those games when they were losing or winning by 4 or more runs. So a mop up pitcher. Mack singled to LF. Marsee singled to CF. Sanoja hit into a fielder’s choice, but Guzman’s error let everyone reach their base safely. Jimenez hit an RBI groundout. 11-2 Marlins. Edwards flied out. Lopez grounded out.
Bottom 8th: Catcher Tyler Heineman pitching. Conine solo HR to RF 368′ 12-2 Marlins. Hernandez singled. Caissie and Mack grounded into fielder’s choices. Neto missed the double play on the transition to end the inning. Marsee flied out.
Marlins offense recap: 6-16 RISP, 9 LOB, 2 HRs.
The Bottom Line
Grayson Rodriguez shows some promise, as evident by striking out 8 of 20 batters he faced. He was also erratic, especially in the 1st and 4th innings. The Marlins didn’t hit the ball hard off him, but Rodriguez couldn’t come up with the big out when needed.
Shaun Anderson faced 10 batters, 7 got on base and 6 of them scored.
The Angels had runners on base in the first 7 innings. Neto did not have a good homecoming, 1-13 for the series with 5 Ks. His lone hit was a bloop single the CF dove for and missed so Neto advanced to second base. Nolan Schanuel had a good homecoming series, 4-9 with a GW HR Friday night and 3 BBs with an RBI single today.
