Trout keys Angels’ win
Trout’s two-run single and Goodwin’s bases-loaded walk key a four-run seventh.
Center fielder’s two-run single sparks comeback victory over Chicago White Sox.
Mike Trout swung through a 94-mph fastball to end a six-pitch strikeout in the third inning and a 93mph fastball to end another six-pitch whiff in the fifth inning Saturday night.
The Angels center fielder known for his patience took a more aggressive approach in his next at-bat, smacking a first-pitch fastball to left field for a two-run single, the key hit in a four-run seventh that pushed the Angels to a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Chicago White Sox in Angel Stadium.
“I couldn’t tell you if that was planned,” Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. “Every once in a while Mike does go out of his comfort at the plate. He doesn’t swing at a lot of first pitches or 3-0 pitches, but if he thinks he can take advantage of something, he will come out of that comfort zone at times.”
Trailing 5-2 in the seventh, Luis Rengifo walked and pinch-hitter Shohei Ohtani poked an end-of-thebat, one-out single to center off left-hander Jace Fry.
David Fletcher walked against right-hander Evan Marshall to load the bases. Trout ambushed Marshall on his single to cut the deficit to 5-4. Justin Upton’s hard grounder went off the glove of third baseman Ryan Goins for an error that allowed Fletcher to score for a 5-5 tie and put runners on second and third.
Kole Calhoun was intentionally walked to load the bases. Albert Pujols struck out, but Brian Goodwin walked to force in Trout for a 6-5 lead.
Cam Bedrosian struck out the side in the eighth, and Hansel Robles retired the side in order in the ninth for his 18th save, marking only the fourth time in 62 games this season the Angels have won when trailing after six innings. Goodwin (second inning) and Upton (third) hit solo homers.
Angels left-hander Jose Suarez sandwiched three shutout innings around a four-run third in which he was tipping his pitches, a problem that plagued the 21year-old rookie in his three previous starts, when he gave up 14 earned runs and 21 hits, including five homers, in 121⁄3 innings to Detroit, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Suarez replaced opener Noe Ramirez with one out in the second and retired four straight batters, two by strikeout, but a two-out walk to Tim Anderson led to trouble in the third.
Jose Abreu singled and James McCann ripped a 2and-2 changeup to left for a two-run double. Eloy Jimenez lined a 1-2 curve over the center-field wall for a two-run homer and a 5-1 Chicago lead.
“We found he was tipping again early, but we were able to address it,” Ausmus said. “It’s a situation where a pitcher has a delivery ingrained in his head and it’s hard to shake bad habits. He was able to do it the last two or three innings. It seemed like the hitters were a lot less sure what was coming their way.”
Suarez struck out Welington Castillo to end the third and gave up singles in scoreless fourth and fifth. He struck out Abreu and McCann in the fifth before being replaced by Taylor Cole in the sixth.
Suarez said he believes he was tipping pitches by the way he positioned his glove in the stretch.
“It’s tough to fix those things when you’re in the game,” Ausmus said. “The adrenaline is going and you’re focusing on the pitch, and in executing, you forget about what you might have been doing to tip. Luckily, we picked up on it, we made a change and it seemed to be effective.”
Ohtani throws curves in session
Shohei Ohtani took another big step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery Saturday, mixing 10 to 12 curveballs into a 40-pitch bullpen session in which his fastball touched 85 mph. It was the first time in his rehabilitation that the righthander has thrown breaking pitches off a mound.
“It went really well,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “Pre-surgery, the curve hurt me the most of all my pitches. But after surgery, after throwing it today, it actually felt more comfortable than the fastball. So that’s a really good sign.”
Asked for an explanation, Ohtani shrugged his shoulders. “Good surgeon?” he said. Ohtani was not in the lineup Saturday. The designated hitter has been watching video and working in the cage trying to adjust a swing that has produced a .760 onbase-plus-slugging percentage and one homer in 32 games since the All-Star break. Ohtani had a .924 OPS and 14 homers in 53 games before the break.
“I feel comfortable; I feel good plate at the plate,” Ohtani said.
No plans to call up outf ielder Adell
The Angels would like top outfield prospect Jo Adell, who was promoted to triple-A Salt Lake on Aug. 1, to get some winter league atbats because he missed the first two months of the season because of ankle and hamstring injuries. But as of now, they do not plan to call up Adell, 20, when rosters expand on Sept. 1.
The farm system produced three-homer games on two consecutive nights this past week, with 19-yearold infield prospect Jeremiah Jackson, a secondround pick in 2018, going deep three times for rookieleague Orem (Utah) on Thursday and outfielder Michael Hermosillo hitting three homers for Salt Lake on Friday.
Short hops
Shortstop Andrelton Simmons took batting practice for the first time since suffering a left ankle sprain Aug. 3 but appears more than a week away from returning. … Ausmus said Felix Pena’s surgery to repair a torn right knee ligament went well Friday, but the manager admitted: “I’ve never had a report tell me it didn’t go well, so I take it with a grain of salt.”