Cobb steps up for Angels in 4-1 win
Right-hander goes 72⁄3 innings in club’s fifth win in six games after Canning gets demoted.
It was a silent night for Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who walked three times — twice intentionally — and hit a weak grounder and lazy f ly ball in Saturday night’s 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles before 28,160 in Angel Stadium.
There also weren’t many loud noises emanating from the bats of the Orioles, which was soothing to the ears of Angels manager Joe Maddon.
Right-hander Alex Cobb gave up one run and four hits, two of them infield singles, in 72⁄3 innings, striking out six and walking one, a 112-pitch effort that led the Angels to their fifth win in six games.
It was the first time an Angels starter completed six innings since June 23, when Shohei Ohtani threw six innings against San Francisco, and the first time an Angels starter threw a pitch in the eighth inning since Dylan Bundy last Sept. 10.
Cobb, mixing a 93-mph, sinking fastball with an 88mph, split-fingered fastball and 84-mph knuckle-curve, provided a much-needed quality start for a rotation that gave up 33 earned runs in 22 innings of seven previous games for a 13.50 earned-run average. He improved to 6-3 and lowered his ERA from 5.09 to 4.60.
The Angels scored twice in the first on Jared Walsh’s RBI infield single and Phil Gosselin’s fielder’s choice grounder, once in the second on Juan Lagares’ RBI double and once in the fifth when Walsh doubled and scored on Gosselin’s single.
Ohtani was intentionally walked with a runner on third and two outs in the second and sixth, the second walk eliciting angry boos, an indication that opponents are growing wary of challenging baseball’s hottest hitter.
Ohtani entered with a .333 average, 1.549 on-base-plusslugging percentage, 13 homers and 21 RBIs in his previous 15 games. He homered twice Friday, pushing his major league-leading total to 30.
It was only the fourth and fifth intentional walks of the season for Ohtani, but there could be more in his near future until three-time American League most valuable player Mike Trout returns from a calf strain after the AllStar break, or No. 3 hitter Anthony Rendon starts raking.
Another option would be to move the left-handed-hitting Walsh, who is batting .284 with 20 homers and 60 RBIs, into the third spot, at least against right-handers.
Canning demoted
A decision the Angels pondered for a week or two was solidified with Griffin Canning’s latest rocky start — the struggling right-hander was demoted to triple-A Salt Lake to work on his fastball command, a demotion that appeared to stun the 25-year-old who has been a rotation mainstay since early 2019.
“When you’re in that position as a player, once you hear the words ‘we’re gonna send you out,’ you probably don’t hear another thing,” Maddon said. “That’s just the way it works.
“We’ll get him in the rotation up there, and he’ll be able to process everything we’ve talked about. He’s missed up and around the zone. In order to get to these other really good pitches he has, his fastball command has to improve.”
Canning is 5-4 with a 5.60 ERA in 14 games, striking out 62 and walking 28 in 622⁄3 innings. He was hammered for six runs and six hits in 22⁄3 innings of Friday night’s 8-7 win. He has completed six innings in three of 13 starts.
“The message is that everyone has to earn the right to be here,” Maddon said. “Go down there and get better. Find your fastball command. He’s been very inconsistent here. He’ll be the first one to tell you that. He’ll be back, and a better version of him will return.”