Barria and Bard walk a tightrope
CLEVELAND — The Angels, who placed starting pitchers Felix Pena and Griffin Canning on the injured list Sunday morning, survived two pitching scares in a 6-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians in Progressive Field.
A blister on the right big toe of starter Jaime Barria flared up in the second inning. Umpires allowed the right-hander to go to the clubhouse so trainers could tape the toe and insert a pad in his shoe to reduce friction, causing a fiveminute delay.
Barria returned but labored through 32⁄3 innings, giving up three runs and five hits, including home runs by Oscar Mercado in the first inning, Francisco Lindor in the third and Jason Kipnis in the fourth. He struck out six batters, walked three and threw 89 pitches.
Barria was replaced by righthander Luke Bard, who flew from Salt Lake City after being recalled from triple A, landed in Cleveland at 6:30 a.m. local time and tried to sneak a quick nap at the team hotel before heading to the park.
After retiring Mercado with two on to end the fourth inning, Bard was hit in the right triceps by a Carlos Santana line drive and pulled from the game. Bard was diagnosed with a bruise. His arm was stiff and swollen, but he appeared to escape serious injury.
“Yeah, I didn’t get any sleep last night — that’ll wake you up, though,” Bard said. “Thank goodness it wasn’t a little lower and on the bone.”
Bard was replaced by JC Ramirez, who gave up a two-out, tworun hit that put the Indians up 5-1 in the fifth inning.
Left fielder Brian Goodwin had doubled and scored on Albert Pujols’ single to pull the Angels to within 2-1 in the fourth.
Right-hander Shane Bieber ,a product of Laguna Hills High and UC Santa Barbara, threw his third complete game this season, giving up two runs and five hits, and striking out eight batters in a 107-pitch effort to improve to 11-4 with a 3.31 earned-run average.
The Indians, who lead the American League wild-card race, are a major league-best 37-15 since June 4.
Possible homecoming
Patrick Sandoval, who will be called up from triple A to start Monday night’s game at Cincinnati, called his major league debut “a dream come true.”
And if the left-hander who grew up an Angels fan and graduated from Mission Viejo High sticks around long enough to pitch in Anaheim next week?
“That would be unreal,” Sandoval said. “It would be unbelievable to pitch in front of my family and friends. There’s nothing more you could ask for right there.”
Sandoval, 22, was acquired from Houston for catcher Martin Maldonado in July 2018. He said he was a “little bit” surprised to be promoted after having a combined 4-7 record and 5.71 ERA in 20 starts for double-A Mobile and Salt Lake.
But with Pena suffering a season-ending knee injury Saturday, Canning injuring his elbow and Andrew Heaney not expected to return from a shoulder injury until later this week, the Angels had few options.
“I don’t get caught up in the [Pacific Coast League] numbers,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “He’s generally pitched well.”
Short hops
Mike Trout’s sixth-inning double to left field was his 250th. The center fielder is the sixth player to have 275 home runs and 250 doubles before turning 28. … Infielder Wilfredo Tovar and first basemanpitcher Jared Walsh were recalled from Salt Lake. Both reached the stadium about an hour before the game, and Walsh struck out in an eighth-inning pinch-hit appearance.