On a steamy day that proved too daunting for Angels starting pitcher Tyler Skaggs Authentic Rasmus Dahlin Jersey , 38-year-old Albert Pujols coolly delivered the game’s pivotal hit.
Pujols’ RBI double highlighted a five-run eighth inning, and Los Angeles beat the Orioles 6-2 Saturday to extend Baltimore’s latest losing streak to seven games.
Gametime temperature was 93, and the humidity was unforgiving. Sweating profusely, Skaggs asked out after using 79 pitches to get through five innings.
”It’s definitely one of the hottest games I’ve thrown in a long time,” Skaggs said. ”I was just tired. I told (manager Mike Scioscia) I rarely come out and say this, but I’m exhausted.”
Skaggs added: ”I probably could have gone another inning, but there was no point. My team picked me up.”
Playing their 3,000th game under Scioscia, the Angels trailed 2-1 before using three hits, three walks and a hit batter to take control against the free-falling Orioles.
After Mychal Givens (0-6) issued a pair of one-out walks, Pujols tied it with his 632nd career double , a drive that handcuffed right fielder Danny Valencia. The hit tied David Ortiz for 10th place on the all-time list – and tied the game.
An intentional walk followed, and the go-ahead run scored when Chris Young hit into a force play at third base. Tanner Scott hit Martin Maldonado with a pitch to force in a run, and David Fletcher capped the uprising with a two-run single.
”It was good clutch-hitting that inning,” Scioscia said. ”I think the biggest hit there was Albert.”
The Angels lost six straight before coming to Baltimore, and now they appear to have their mojo back.
”Whenever you can grind out runs late in the game to come back and win, it’s exciting,” Fletcher said. ”It’s definitely something to give us confidence.”
Justin Anderson (2-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings to earn the win.
The Orioles’ shoddy play in the eighth inning explains why Baltimore owns the worst record in the majors. Baltimore has five losing streaks of at least six games Andrei Svechnikov Jersey , is 0-15 against the AL West and has lost 17 of 18 at home.
Afterward, manager Buck Showalter was straining to find the positive aspect of another dreadful defeat.
”When you only score two runs – again – you’re going to have to pitch real well, which we really did for seven innings,” he said. ”So, I’ll take that out of it.”
Baltimore’s Andrew Cashner threw 105 pitches. He gave up one run in six innings and left with the lead, but now has gone six straight starts without a victory.
”To say I’m not frustrated, I’d be lying, but for me, wins and losses are out of my control,” the right-hander said.
MILESTONE
Scioscia is the sixth manager in major league history to manage 3,000 games with one team.
”You don’t think about it,” Scioscia said about his longevity. ”It’s 3,000, one game at a time.”
TAKE A SEAT
Struggling Orioles 2B Jonathan Schoop (.197) was given the day off, and will likely be rested Sunday before Monday’s off day. Showalter said he wanted the 2017 All-Star to ”reset.”
TRAINING ROOM
Angels: RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani, who has a Grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow, batted in a simulated game Saturday and did not experience any setbacks, Scioscia said. The team hopes Ohtani can avoid Tommy John surgery. . LHP John Lamb has a torn ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo surgery in Los Angeles. . RHP Jake Jewell will be out at least six months after undergoing right ankle surgery Friday. . RHP Garrett Richards (hamstring) allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings in a rehab start Friday with High-A Inland Empire. ”He lost some of his command as the outing went on Authentic Adam Boqvist Jersey , but physically he felt great,” Scioscia said.
Orioles: RHP Darren O’Day opted for surgery to repair a left hamstring strain, ending his season. … RHP Chris Tillman (back) was scheduled to make his third rehab start, this time with Triple-A Norfolk, on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Angels: RHP Deck McGuire (0-0, 6.08 ERA) makes his third major league start in the series finale Sunday.
Orioles: RHP Kevin Gausman (3-6, 4.20 ERA) lost his last four decisions and has not completed seven innings in any of his last eight starts.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Two pitchers looking to create a first positive memory of Sunday’s opponent go head-to-head when the Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics complete a three-game series.
The A’s have won the first two games of the series, getting outstanding performances from starters Paul Blackburn and Edwin Jackson in 3-1 and 7-2 victories.
Oakland, which has won six in a row, allowed five total runs in its last four games.
Right-hander Frankie Montas (4-1, 3.68 ERA) will attempt to continue that run, but will do so in the wake of three consecutive shaky efforts, during which he has allowed 12 earned runs and 24 hits in 15 innings.
The 25-year-old has never started a game against the Indians, but faced them three times in relief, going 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 4 2/3 innings.
One of those bullpen outings against Cleveland came last May, when he gave up two runs in an 8-4 loss.
Montas will have big shoes to fill after the outings by Blackburn and Jackson, who held the Indians to a total of two runs in 13 innings.
With the recent emergence of Blackburn and Jackson and news that Trevor Cahill appears on schedule to return to the starting rotation after the All-Star break Authentic Martin Kaut Jersey , Montas might only have a few opportunities to turn things around before losing his job.
A’s manager Bob Melvin gushed over the performance of Jackson on Saturday in his second straight sharp outing after having been signed off the scrap heap.
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,” Melvin said. “That he was available to us was a surprise.”
Having seen the veteran firsthand, the Indians might be wondering why they weren’t the ones who gave the 99-game winner a shot.
Especially with news Saturday that Danny Salazar, a 14- and 11-game winner for the Indians in recent years, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Monday, putting his season in question.
Right-hander Mike Clevenger (6-3, 3.03), who got a greater opportunity last year while Salazar had health issues and responded with a 12-win season, will attempt to salvage one win in Oakland for the Indians on Sunday.
He has pitched well in his last four starts, allowing six earned runs, but he has never beaten the A’s in his career, going 0-1 with a 7.04 ERA in two games (one start).
The A’s last saw the 27-year-old in a relief role in August 2016 and cuffed him around for four hits and three runs in one inning of a 9-1 victory.
Clevenger will have to hope for more offensive support than the Indians provided Trevor Bauer and Adam Plutko in the first two games of the series. Both pitched well enough to win, allowing five runs and 11 hits in 12 1/3 innings.
The A’s have used the long ball to get the upper hand against the Indians in the first two games. Jed Lowrie, Josh Phegley, Dustin Fowler and Matt Olson all hit homers, accounting for six of Oakland’s 10 runs.