Angels’ Scioscia steps down Syndergaard finishes strong
Anaheim, Calif. — Mike Scioscia started out smiling in front of the crowded room. It wasn't long, though, before tears glistened in his hazel eyes.
He stepped down as manager of the Los Angeles Angels after 19 seasons on Sunday, ending the longest current tenure in the majors with a come-from-behind victory.
"It's been second to none. It's been incredible," he said of his time in Anaheim.
Scioscia guided the Angels to the franchise's only World Series title in 2002, starting a stretch of six playoff appearances and five AL West titles in eight years. He finished with a 1,650-1,428 record.
His wins are the 18th-most in major league history and the second-most with one team, trailing only Walter Alston's 2,040 with the Dodgers, Scioscia's club during a standout catching career.
Scioscia surpassed the 1,599 wins of Tom
Final statistics Lasorda, his playing manager and mentor, and his .536 winning percentage is the best in franchise history.
The Angels sent him out a winner, rallying to beat the playoff-bound Oakland Athletics 5-4 on Taylor Ward's two-run, ninth-inning homer. They crowded home plate and jumped up and down in celebration.
"For Wardy to hit that walk off is icing on the cake for Mike," Angels star Mike Trout said.
Scioscia was in the final year of his contract and his departure had been expected. He said he talked to his wife, Anne, and had made his decision recently. He turns 60 in November.
Scioscia deflected questions about the specifics of his departure, repeatedly saying he only wanted to talk about the just-finished game in which he had his coaches handle managerial duties while he watched.
The Angels finished 80-82, the first time they've had three straight losing seasons under Scioscia. They haven't won a postseason game since 2009.
New York — Noah Syndergaard and the New York Mets ended this disappointing season the same way they want to start the next one. Powered by dominant pitching. Syndergaard threw his first major league shutout and the Mets wrapped up a frustrating 2018 campaign Sunday with their second consecutive 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins.
"I told the bullpen before the game that they could take the day off. True story," Syndergaard said. "It's a great feeling."
Todd Frazier hit an RBI double for the Mets, who finished fourth in the NL East at 77-85 under rookie manager Mickey Callaway — a seven-win improvement over last year. After beginning the season with playoff aspirations, they jumped out to an 11-1 start before going 5-21 in June as injuries once again took a heavy toll.
New York rebounded a bit to win 33 of its last 55 games, but by then it was way too late.
"I feel like we played some really good baseball," Syndergaard said.
Promising rookie Sandy Alcantara (2-3) struck out a career-high 10 over seven innings in his sixth major league start for the Marlins — three against the Mets.
"I thought he was more aggressive," manager Don Mattingly said. "There's nothing monumental that happened today other than this guy has a chance to be a really good pitcher, and consistency is going to be the key."
After trading Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon during an offseason payroll purge, the Marlins ended up with the worst record in the National League at 63-98 in Derek Jeter's first year as chief executive officer. Miami went scoreless over the final 24 innings.
Syndergaard (13-4) allowed five hits and fanned six in a fast finale that took just 2 hours, 10 minutes. He walked none and threw 101 pitches for his second career complete game. The other one came on Sept. 2 in San Francisco, and the big right-hander completed the season by tossing a career-best 15 straight scoreless innings while pitching with a sinus infection.