Giants Clinch Series beating the Angels
The Giants’ bats threw Joey Bart a welcome party
San Francisco Giants’ Wilmer Flores hits a two-run single against the Los Angeles Angels during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2020.08.20 – The San Francisco Giants clinch the series by showing lots of runs from bats that have made Oracle Park home, exploding for ten runs in route to a 10-5 win over the LA Angels.
The Giants’ barrels threw Joey Bart a welcome party, showing that he is the reinforcement to a red-hot lineup that helped the club capture its third consecutive win and another series-clinching on Thursday.
Wilmer Flores homered and drove in four runs for the second straight day and Mike Yastrzemski had a two-run double to lead San Francisco.
Crawford hit his milestone homer and Austin Slater added a pair of hits and scored twice as the Giants won their third straight.
2020.08.20 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
2020.08.20 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
Flores hit a two-run homer off Angels starter José Suarez on a 3-2 pitch, his second in two days with a full count. Flores walked and scored in the second, had a two-run single in the third and singled again in the fifth.
Over his last seven games, Flores is hitting .414 ( 12 for 29) with three homers and nine RBIs.
Kevin Gausman (1-1) struck out eight and allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings to win.
Crawford hit his milestone home run off Julio Teheran in the fourth.
Anthony Rendon had three hits and two RBIs for the Angels. He extended his hitting streak to 10 games but the Angels fell to 8-18, the worst start in franchise history.
Suarez (0-1) allowed five runs, five hits and retired only four batters. The left-hander, who was called up from the alternate training site before the game, has not won in 13 consecutive starts dating to last season.
BART’S DEBUT
Bart, the No. 2 overall pick in 2018, went 1 for 4 in his major league debut. Batting sixth, Bart was hit by a pitch, struck out with the bases loaded and popped out before doubling for his first hit. He also grounded out in the ninth.
Bart was the Giants’ first-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech and signed for a bonus of more than $7 million.
“The goal is to get Joey in the lineup as much as possible to get as much experience behind the plate and in the batter’s box as possible,” Kapler said.
The Giants optioned catcher Tyler Heineman to their Sacramento alternate site to clear room for Bart’s debut. Starting catcher Buster Posey opted out of the coronavirus-shortened season as he takes care of adopted newborn twin girls.
ANGELS MOVES
Right-hander Jaime Barria was optioned to the alternate training site to make room for Suarez.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: Max Stassi started at catcher but left in the second inning after getting hit in the right knee by a foul ball. X-rays were negative. The Angels were already short-handed at catcher. Jason Castro came out of Wednesday’s game after missing five games because of neck stiffness.
Giants: OF Austin Slater remained the designated hitter as he works back from a strained right elbow that has limited him from playing the outfield. He may need a couple of more days hitting only.
UP NEXT
Angels: LHP Andrew Heaney (1-1, 4.74) gets another start against Oakland on Friday after taking a no-decision against the A’s on opening day. Heaney hasn’t beat Oakland since 2017.
Giants: RHP Logan Webb (1-2, 3.54) starts against the Diamondbacks on Friday.
RELATED: See below 2020.08.19 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angeles)
Read more at: San Francisco Giants Media Services / More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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Giants with Back-to-Back wins over Angeles
Cueto looks crisp in Giants’ 7-2 win over Angels
San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto, center, reaches to tag out Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (17) during the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. At left rear is first baseman Wilmer Flores. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2020.08.19 – Johnny Cueto struck out eight and pitched into the sixth inning, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2 on Wednesday night at Oracle Park.
Cueto, who missed most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, allowed four hits and took a shutout into the sixth before tiring. He got AL home run leader Mike Trout to strikeout looking but gave up an RBI single to Anthony Rendon before coming out after 5 2/3 innings.
Cueto (2-0) also made a pair of solid defensive plays to help keep Shohei Ohtani hitless. Cueto chased down Ohtani after fielding a soft comebacker in the second, then grabbed another slow roller near first base and made the tag just before Ohtani reached the bag. After a short replay, the call stood.
Wilmer Flores homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco. Austin Slater also went deep to help the Giants win consecutive games for only the third time this season. Mike Yastrzemski and Evan Longoria added two hits apiece.
Albert Pujols tied Alex Rodriguez for second on the career RBI list with a sixth-inning single for the Angels, who have lost six of seven.
2020.08.19 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
2020.08.19 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
There was no retaliation a day after Trout was buzzed by two ninth-inning fastballs near his head from San Francisco reliever Shaun Anderson. Trout flew out to center field twice and struck out twice.
Before the game, Giants manager Gabe Kapler mulled whether to start Flores or Brandon Belt at first base. The first-year San Francisco skipper hasn’t had much good fortune this season, but this time the move paid off.
Flores homered into the left field stands off a 3-2 pitch from Angels starter Patrick Sandoval (0-3) with two outs in the third. It came after Longoria reached on an infield single that deflected off third baseman Rendon’s glove, then shortstop David Fletcher overran the ball for an error.
Slater added a two-run blast in the fourth.
Sandoval allowed five runs and six hits in four innings. The left-hander has not won in 13 consecutive starts, the longest streak by any Angels pitcher to begin his career.
SMOKE IN THE AIR
Kapler said the team was monitoring the Bay Area smoke and air quality from multiple nearby fires.
“We’re keeping a close eye on things and we’ll always make the best decision for the club,” he said.
Batting practice before the game was optional.
ROSTER MOVE
The Giants recalled LHP Andrew Suarez from the alternate site and optioned OF Steven Duggar down.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Angels: SS Andrelton Simmons, who sprained his left ankle running out an infield single July 27 at Oakland, was set to do more on-field work. “We’re getting closer,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He needs a good day today, and not have any kind of a setback in any way and he should be right on the verge.” Simmons is still dealing with soreness in the ankle. … C Jason Castro returned to the lineup after missing five starts because of neck stiffness.
Giants: Slater led off as designated hitter and is still a few days from playing the outfield as he continues to work back from a strained right elbow. … RHP Sam Coonrod (right lat strain) pitched in Sacramento and reached 100 mph and will likely make at least one more appearance.
UP NEXT
San Francisco RHP Kevin Gausman (0-1, 4.21) makes his fifth straight start Thursday after beginning the season in the bullpen. The Angels have not named a starter.
RELATED: See below 2020.08.18 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angeles)
Read more at: San Francisco Giants Media Services / More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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Sandoval lift Giants to even series with Angels
Yastrzemski, Sandoval HRs lift Giants over Angels 8-2
San Francisco Giants designated hitter Pablo Sandoval, right, celebrates with Evan Longoria after a two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
2020.08.18 – Mike Yastrzemski and Pablo Sandoval homered, and the San Francisco Giants snapped a five-game losing streak with an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.
Yastrzemski hit his first leadoff homer when he drove Dylan Bundy’s fastball into the right-field stands four pitches into the game. It was the right fielder’s team-leading sixth homer, with all but one coming with two strikes.
Yastrzemski also made a diving catch to rob David Fletcher of an RBI single to end the second inning.
Sandoval — who came into the game batting .190 — broke a 1-1 tie in the second with a two-run shot to right-center for his first extra-base hit of the season.
“They’re the type of at-bats we expect from those people. We’re starting to hit that stride where our veteran players are starting to hit better,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said.
2020.08.18 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
2020.08.18 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
Tommy La Stella homered and Anthony Rendon had two hits for the Angels, who have dropped five of six.
La Stella evened the game at 1 with a homer to right-center in the first inning off Trevor Cahill. It was the second baseman’s second HR in two at-bats after he had a two-run walkoff shot in Monday night’s 8-6 victory.
Cahill gave up one run and four hits with four strikeouts. The 32-year-old right-hander spent last season with the Angels. Jarlin Garcia (1-1), the fifth of six San Francisco pitchers, retired the side in the eighth to get the win.
“To get four quality innings from Trevor was big. He came out throwing better,” Kapler said. “We also got some great work from our bullpen.”
Bundy (3-2) was the Angels’ best starter the first four weeks of the season but struggled with control all day. The right-hander, who came into the game fifth in the AL with a 1.57 ERA, allowed four runs, four hits and four walks with a strikeout in four innings. The leadoff hitter reached in each frame.
“Nothing was working from the very beginning. You saw it. He didn’t have the typical command of everything like he has had,” Angels manager Joe Maddon said. “The fastball was getting hit. He tried to elevate it a couple of times and it got whacked. There was nothing working for him today. … It just wasn’t Dylan’s day.”
Brandon Belt’s RBI single in the third extended San Francisco’s lead to 4-1 before Brandon Crawford added a two-run double to right in the fifth.
Seven of San Francisco’s 10 hits went for extra bases, including RBI doubles by Evan Longoria and Sandoval in the ninth.
Shohei Ohtani drove in Mike Trout on a groundout in the ninth inning for the Angels’ other run.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The Angels took exception to Shaun Anderson throwing two pitches near Trout’s head during the ninth inning. Kapler said he wanted to get Anderson some work in the ninth because he hadn’t pitched in awhile.
“I will be very direct. Scott hasn’t been on the mound in five days. He was a little jumpy. We don’t throw at people,” Kapler said.
Maddon didn’t see anything malicious in the matchup, but did point to Anderson’s inexperience.
“That’s just a young man who’s not ready to be here. That’s all that is,” he said. “That’s why we’ve got to be careful as we move things further along that we don’t bring up guys who aren’t ready to particularly pitch with command because that’s where people can get hurt. That’s got to be watched.”
TWO STRIKES? NO PROBLEM
Yastrzemski has 13 RBIs with two strikes, which is tied with Arizona’s Kole Calhoun for most in the majors. He is also hitting .300 (15 for 50) that deep in the count, with 10 of his hits going for extra bases.
HEAT WAVE
It was 99 degrees at first pitch, making it only the 10th game since Angel Stadium opened in 1966 where it was 99 degrees or above at the start. The record is 108 degrees, which was set on July 6, 2018, against the Dodgers.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: OF Austin Slater was out of the lineup for the third straight game due to a right elbow flexor strain. Kapler said Slater has started some throwing but might be confined to the designated hitter role for the short term.
Angels: C Jason Castro (neck stiffness) has made some progress, but there is no timetable on when he could rejoin the lineup.
UP NEXT
The series shifts to San Francisco for the next two games. Giants RHP Johnny Cueto (1-0, 4.62 ERA) has a 16-7 career mark in interleague play, including 2-0 against the Angels. Los Angeles LHP Patrick Sandoval (0-2, 3.94 ERA) is scheduled to make his 13th major league start and is still looking for his first win.
RELATED: See below 2020.08.17 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angeles)
Read more at: San Francisco Giants Media Services / More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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La Stella’s walk-off homer sends Angels past Giants, 7-6
20Los Angeles Angels second baseman Tommy La Stella, left, tags out San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Crawford on a steal attempt during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)
2020.08.17 – Tommy La Stella hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Los Angeles Angels snapped their four-game losing streak with a 7-6 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Monday night.
Mike Trout hit his 10th homer and Albert Pujols had a tiebreaking two-run double, but the Angels still fell behind in the sixth inning on Mike Yastrzemski’s two-run double for San Francisco.
The Halos didn’t rally until David Fletcher got a one-out single in the ninth and La Stella knocked the ball off the video board above the right field fence for his first career walk-off homer and the Angels’ first comeback victory of the entire season.
La Stella said the last time he ended a game with a homer was “when I was seven, so a little bit of a layoff between the two.”
“I was just reading it and reacting,” he added. “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t swing out of the zone, especially with Mike coming up next.”
Trevor Gott (1-2) blew his third save opportunity for the Giants, who lost their fifth straight overall after blowing a ninth-inning lead for the third time in their last four games. Gott gave up a ninth-inning homer for the sixth time already this season, and manager Gabe Kapler said he will look for a new closer.
“In the long term, my confidence in Trevor Gott has not changed,” Kapler said. “In the short term, we’ll look for a softer landing spot for him. I think we’re going to need to figure out how to get his confidence back.”
Brandon Belt hit an early two-run homer and Mauricio Dubón had two hits for the Giants, whose bullpen was solid until it wasn’t. San Francisco has lost 12 of 15.
“It’s been a rough few games, but this doesn’t have to define our season,” Belt said. “We’re going through a rut right now, and unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time to stay in this rut, so we’ve got to figure out something quickly.”
2020.08.17 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
2020.08.17 (San Francisco Giants vs. LA Angels) See video
Ty Buttrey (1-0) pitched the ninth for Los Angeles, which won for the first time in 11 games this season in which its opponent scored first.
“We’ve been in this position to win a lot of games,” manager Joe Maddon said. “We have to learn how to win late, and we’re still searching for that.”
Anthony Rendon had an RBI double in another strong offensive night for the Angels, but their pitching stumbled yet again. Starter Griffin Canning gave up six hits and three runs while failing to get out of the fifth inning.
“We haven’t all been clicking at the same time yet, but this is a great team, and these guys are resilient and we’ve been pushing through it,” La Stella said. “Hopefully this is the start of something.”
Tyler Anderson yielded eight hits and five runs over five innings for San Francisco.
La Stella also drove in Los Angeles’ first run with a sacrifice fly in the third. Trout then drilled Anderson’s next pitch into the elevated right field stands.
After Rendon’s ground rule double drove in a run in the fifth, Pujols connected for a 5-3 lead.
Pujols missed his 660th career homer by about 5 feet when the double hit the base of the left field wall. Pujols had been hoping to tie Willie Mays for fifth place in baseball homers history exactly 47 years to the day after Mays hit his final homer.
Instead, Pujols got his 2,085th career RBI to pull right behind Alex Rodriguez (2,086) for second place in baseball history. His 663 doubles are seventh in baseball history behind George Brett (665).
Fletcher extended his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games with a leadoff single in the first inning.
TROUT’S HOMER
The three-time AL MVP has nine homers in 14 games since he returned to the team from the birth of his first child. As he rounded third, Trout smilingly pointed up at the cardboard cutouts in the “Family Section” at Angel Stadium, which has a likeness of his new son, Beckham.
J-UP’S SLUMP
Justin Upton went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts for the Angels, dropping his average to .100. The four-time All-Star, who is making $21 million this season, is in a 1-for-34 slump.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: LHP Drew Smyly, sidelined by a sprained index finger on his pitching hand, didn’t make the quick road trip and continues to throw off flat ground in his recovery. … RHP Sam Coonrod (right lat strain) traveled to Sacramento on Monday to throw live batting practice. … RHP Jeff Samardzija will begin a throwing program Wednesday as he works back from inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
Angels: SS Andrelton Simmons took grounders again as he inches toward a return from a sprained ankle. Manager Joe Maddon isn’t sure when the four-time Gold Glove winner will be ready. He has missed three weeks. … DH Shohei Ohtani had a day off to “clear his head a little bit,” Maddon said. Ohtani is batting. 203 with four homers.
UP NEXT
Dylan Bundy (3-1, 1.57 ERA) looks to continue his spectacular start to the season in the Angels’ homestand finale. San Francisco counters with Trevor Cahill (0-0, 0.00), who led the Angels in innings pitched last year despite getting banished to the bullpen early in his single ineffective season in Anaheim.
AP Baseball Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report.
Related: See 2020.08.16 (San Francisco Giants vs. Oakland A’s)
Read more at: San Francisco Giants Media Services / More AP MLB: www.apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the San Francisco Giants, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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