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It was the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and Mike Trout at the plate. After a day of Quintana and the Angels dominating early, the Red Sox had climbed to a 5-4 lead thanks to a 4 run 5th inning. Even though the game was close, the Angels didn’t seem to have much fight left in them. So yes, things were pretty bleak when Trout stepped up to the plate.
Mike Trout gets the rally started
Mike Trout blooped a single into the Bermuda Triangle in shallow right field. That meant that Shohei Ohtani was given the chance to bat. So the Angels were one out away from losing their 5th straight game. Ohtani had other ideas however. He homered right down the Peski Pole to give the Angels a one run lead. That home run also put him back into first place, along with three others, in the home run race.
Mike Mayers then came in and allowed two runners but was able to hold onto the lead against the hot Red Sox lineup. The Angels moved to 17-22 and finally got out go last place in the AL West. They currently sit 5 games back from a Wild Card spot in the American League. They are going to need to make some significant changes to the roster if they plan to compete for a playoff spot.
Tough week ahead for the Angels
One step in the right direction was the Angels acquiring Hunter Strickland from the Rays. If they continue being active in the market then they can be serious contenders. The road won’t get easier for them though. The Angels will face the Indians (21-17) and the Athletics (25-17) this upcoming week. Their only bright side will come in their double-header against the last-place Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
With this end to their road trip, the Angels finished 2-4 having faced the Astros and Red Sox. They just avoided being swept by the Red Sox. Our weekend predictions were almost 100% correct. We predicted that the Angels would win one game which is what they did but we predicted they would win game 2 instead of game 3.
