DUO DIALED IN
Cobb, Ohtani are at their best as they lead Angels to a triumph over the Royals
The last time Joe Maddon managed Alex Cobb, he was one of the best pitchers in the majors.
Of course, much has happened since then, including Cobb going to the Baltimore Orioles and struggling enough that much of the baseball world had forgotten him.
But for five innings in the Angels’ 10-3 victory over the Royals on Monday night in Kansas City, Cobb reminded everyone — including his manager — what he used to do.
“That’s like a time warp,” Maddon said.
“That’s what he looked like several years ago. It’s really impressive to watch.”
Cobb struck out 10 for the first time since 2014, when Maddon was his manager.
“When things are rolling and you’re able to do what you want with each pitch, it takes you back to some of your prime days,” Cobb said. “That’s what I’ve been working to get back to, to feel that way, to have a good rhythm in the game and be able to go to whatever pitch I want.”
They key for him was his splitter, which he threw 52 times out of his 97 pitches.
“When that split is dialed in, like it was tonight, that sets everything else up,” Maddon said.
Cobb said he had some moments this spring when he was felt his splitter was this good, but “in a game, that’s the best it’s been in a while.”
Cobb retired 12 of 14 hitters on 65 pitches through five innings, and he didn’t allow a run, but the sixth somewhat tainted his outing.
Three straight Royals hitters reached to break up his shutout. Cobb was pulled with just one run on the board, but two more runs were charged to him when Jorge Soler singled against Steve Cishek.
That cut the lead to 4-3, but then Shohei Ohtani got the cushion back in the top of the seventh with a two-run double off the base of the right-field fence. The ball left the bat at 119 mph, making it the hardest hit ball in the majors this season.
“I have my lower body there, it’s strong,” Ohtani said through his interpreter. “That’s the biggest difference from last year. If it was last year I wouldn’t have been able to pull that ball that hard.”
Ohtani also had a bloop double, driving in another run, in the ninth. Ohtani leads the Angels with 11 RBIs this season, to go along with a .333 average and 1.109 OPS.
“He’s covering a lot of different pitches,” Maddon said. “He’s covering the high fastball. He’s covering away now. He’s not chasing like he had been earlier. So it’s just a matter of time.
He’s going to get on a nice little streak and they’re just going to start to popping, because the swing has that kind of force behind it.”
Mike Trout followed in the ninth with a two-run homer, his fourth homer of the year, to give the Angels a comfortable lead.
The night wasn’t without negatives, though.
Max Stassi was removed in the seventh inning with left thumb irritation, after he was hit by a foul tip in the first inning.
Stassi said X-rays after the game were negative, and he’ll undergo an MRI today.
“I’m already feeling better,” Stassi said, “so I’m pretty optimistic about it.”