The Los Angeles Angels were buried early and never found a way back in San Francisco, falling 9-2 to the Giants and dropping their second straight game against them.
Ryan Johnson took the brunt of it. The Angels starter was knocked around for five runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth, putting Los Angeles in a 9-0 hole before the game was even out of reach.
By the time the dust settled, Johnson’s line was a rough one: eight earned runs on eight hits in 3-1/3 innings. Brent Suter came in after that and allowed the final run.
The Giants did most of their damage with the kind of quick, crushing bursts that end a game in a hurry. Jung Hoo Lee opened the third-inning surge with a three-run homer, and Rafael Devers and Casey Schmitt each added RBI singles. Then the fourth inning brought another three-run blast, this one from Devers, along with an RBI single from Luis Arraez.
Devers was the headline bat all afternoon. He finished with three hits, four TBIs and two runs scored, and his homer was his 22nd of the season.
Robbie Ray made sure the lead never felt threatened. Working with that cushion, he threw six shutout innings, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five.
The Angels finally got something going against Tristan Beck in the seventh, when a Mike Trout double-play ball brought home a run after Beck lost the plate for a bit. In the ninth, Keaton also lost the plate, and Los Angeles picked up its second run on a bases-loaded walk.
There were a couple of odd pitching notes late. Catcher Tyler Heineman worked a scoreless eighth, and Kirby Yates also tossed a scoreless inning as he continues to prepare for life elsewhere as a prominent trade target.
The win gave the Giants the series, and the Angels now sit with the worst record in baseball as the only team with a winning percentage below .400. Jose Soriano is set to start tomorrow for Los Angeles, while the Giants will counter with Carson Whisenhunt as they go for the sweep.
In Other News...
Angels Fans Wont Like Where This Zach Neto Trade Talk Is Going
Zach Neto keeps looking like the kind of young, controllable infielder who would draw attention if the Angels ever decided to listen, and that alone is enough to make this a conversation worth monitoring. The Red Sox have been floated as a possible fit, with the appeal centered on Netos offensive upside and the fact that he is under team control through 2029, which makes him far more than a one-year rental.
The catch for Angels fans is that the chatter is not just about interest, but about how expensive a deal would have to be to even get Boston to the table. The speculative return has already started to include high-end prospects such as Marcelo Mayer, along with other young talent, while the odds of a deal are still being described as relatively slim. For now, there is no official offer or agreement, but the mere fact that Neto is being discussed this way says plenty about how valuable he has become. [Read more 🡒]
Former Red Sox Catcher Suddenly Lands In A Spot Boston Fans Will Notice
Matt Thaiss has found a new landing spot after his release from a non-roster deal with the Red Sox, and it is one that will be familiar to anyone who followed his early career with the Angels. Houston signed the catcher to a minor league contract and sent him to Triple-A Sugar Land, giving the former first-round pick another chance to work his way back into a big league conversation after spending most of his seven major league seasons in Anaheim.
For the Astros, the move is about depth as much as anything else. Their catching group has not provided much offense, so Thaiss gives them another experienced option to stash in the system in case injuries create a need behind the plate. For Angels fans, it is another reminder of how long Thaiss has been around, and how often a players next stop can say as much about the market as it does about the player himself. [Read more 🡒]
Another Angels Pitching Gamble Is Turning Into A Disaster
With nine days left before the trade deadline, the Angels are once again staring at the kind of roster crossroads that tends to define a lost season. Sitting near the bottom of the standings, they look more like sellers than buyers, and the pitching decisions they made last winter are now part of the reason why. The club committed $20.6 million to a batch of free-agent arms with bounce-back appeal, hoping at least one or two would stabilize the staff.
Kirby Yates has been the best of that group, but the rest have not given the Angels much to hold onto. Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano both ran into trouble and were designated for assignment, and Alek Manoah has become the most troubling case of all. After a rough stint in the majors, his latest stop has only deepened the concern around what comes next for a pitcher the Angels were counting on to be part of the answer. [Read more 🡒]