SUNDAY ESCAPE
Lorenzen's easy shutout turns into a narrow victory for the Angels
The Angels’ Mike Trout watches his home run during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox.
CHICAGO » A nearly flawless game for the Angels almost turned into a nightmare on Sunday.
Michael Lorenzen took a shutout and a six-run lead into the ninth inning, but the Angels had to hold for dear life in a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Three of the runs were charged to Lorenzen and two to closer Raisel Iglesias before Ryan Tepera ended it by getting Gavin Sheets on a groundout, leaving the bases loaded.
“It’s not always going to run smoothly,” Manager Joe Maddon said. “It was a little tight at the end of the game, but I love the fact that we held on. That speaks volumes for us.”
All of that happened just after Shohei Ohtani was pulled from the game in the top of the ninth because of right groin tightness. Ohtani bounced into a double play in the seventh and did not appear to be running full speed down the line. He reported to trainers that he felt something, and they took him out.
“For safety measures I was taken out of the game by the trainers, but as of now I plan on playing tomorrow,” Ohtani said through his interpreter as he smiled and munched on postgame pizza.
The drama in the ninth cast a shadow over what should have been an unmitigated celebration of Lorenzen.
Lorenzen was two outs from the Angels’ first individual shutout in nearly four years. He ended up pitching 8-1/3 innings, just after throwing six scoreless innings in his previous start. Lorenzen now has a 3.04 ERA in his first four starts with the Angels.
The leader on the offensive side was Mike Trout, who hit his sixth homer of the season in the first inning. He set up another two-run rally with a double in the third, and he also walked
three times.
After missing most of last season with a strained calf, Trout has started this season performing as well as at any time in a career that has included three MVP awards. He’s hitting .344 with a 1.247 OPS.
While no one should be surprised by Trout, few would have expected Lorenzen to do what he’s done. He had been a reliever for most of his career with the Cincinnati Reds.
On Sunday, Lorenzen sliced through the White Sox lineup effectively and efficiently, needing just 91 pitches to get through eight innings.
“I didn’t throw too many stressful pitches,” Lorenzen said. “I was trying to get them to get themselves out on the on the ground and a lot of weak contact. I felt good. I didn’t really reach back, maybe reached back three pitches today.”
He took the mound with a shot to finish the Angels first individual shutout since Andrew Heaney in June 2018, but he allowed a pair of runs on three hits.
“Lorenzen was outstanding, and I really felt strongly about him finishing that thing up,” Maddon said, “and of course it went away.”
Maddon then pulled Lorenzen after his 100th pitch — the first Angels pitcher to reach that threshold this year.
“That last inning kind of motivated me for the next start,” Lorenzen said. “It’s a nice little punch in the face to keep me motivated for my next start.”
Lorenzen had a lead before throwing his first pitch because of Trout’s homer.
In the third, Trout doubled after a leadoff single by Taylor Ward. Ward had two infield singles and a walk, continuing his hot start. Ohtani and Anthony Rendon each made productive outs to drive in Ward and Trout.
In the fourth, the Angels used walks to Jared Walsh and David Fletcher to set up a run. No. 9 hitter Andrew Velazquez doubled off the glove of left fielder A.J. Pollock, driving in a run.
The Angels scored two insurance runs, which proved to be vital, in the top of the ninth. Jack Mayfield, hitting for Ohtani, singled home a run. Jo Adell drove in another with a double.
“You only have to win by one run and we did,” Maddon said with a smile. “You could go through revisionist history as much as you want. It doesn’t matter. Today it was reality. We won the game by one run.”