Walks really are as good as hits
They take advantage of three consecutive free passes to rally in the ninth inning.
Three walks in a row and singles by Ohtani and Simmons lead to fourrun rally in ninth.
ANGELS 5 TORONTO 4
TORONTO — The Angels have had trouble hitting of late.
But they had no problem walking Wednesday — walking their way right out of their hitting slump.
After three consecutive walks with one out in the ninth inning, Shohei Ohtani and Andrelton Simmons each produced the sort of hit the Angels have been lacking.
Their consecutive two-run singles capped a four-run rally from a two-run deficit to the Toronto Blue Jays.
This, though, being the Angels, for whom nothing has been achieved recently without ample effort, there was still the bottom of the ninth to navigate before completing a 5-4 victory.
“That’s a big win,” said Simmons, whose team had lost six of seven. “We needed that.”
The win was secured by reliever Blake Parker but saved by right fielder Kole Calhoun, who, for the second time in 10 days, threw the most impactful fastball at the finish.
With no outs and a run in, the Blue Jays appeared ready to tie the score when Teoscar Hernandez hit a fly ball to right field, where Calhoun readied himself.
“There’s nobody else you want that ball going to in the outfield,” Simmons said. “You know he’s going to give you a good throw every time he touches it.”
Breaking from third base was Curtis Granderson, who at 37 isn’t as fast as he once was but who can still run.
Calhoun’s throw arrived on the fly and on target, catcher Martin Maldonado applying the tag a fraction of a second before Granderson touched home.
“That’s a rocket,” manager Mike Scioscia said before asking, “How many right fielders are going to be able to stop a guy like Granderson?”
The moment felt similar to the highlight double play Calhoun started in a 2-1 victory over Houston on May 14. In that one, he caught a taggingup George Springer at second base in the ninth inning.
“That’s the tying run, so I’m going to try to make a good throw,” Calhoun said of his latest assist, his best-in-baseball seventh. “It came out good. Got him at the plate and saved a win for us.”
His exploits were possible only after the Angels’ slumbering offense awakened in the top of the inning, rousted by a reliever who couldn’t find the strike zone.
Tyler Clippard walked Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Albert Pujols in succession to set up Ohtani and Simmons.
The walks were gifts. The hits were clutch. The runs were therapeutic.
The Angels, who were 0-18 when trailing after eight innings, still haven’t had as many as 10 hits in a game since May 11.
“I had many opportunities earlier in the game to drive in runs and I wasn’t able to do it,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I was happy I was able to come through with that hit.”
The comeback helped soothe what had been building as a night of frustration for the Angels, their offensive struggles summed up in a maddening sixth inning.
They put a twist on the baseball saying about never making the first or third out at third base by making the first and third out at third base.
During the inning, they also had four hits and a fifth ball that should have been a hit and scored only once.
Calhoun was the second runner caught at third when he tried to advance from first base on a Trout single to left field, costing the Angels a run because Maldonado, who was running home, hadn’t reached the plate.
“I probably should have shut it down right when Trout hit it because there wasn’t going to be a play at home,” Calhoun said. “I’m glad we come out with a win because that’s a play where I’ve got to stop at second.”