Angels Return To Form, Drop A 7-3 Decision To Yankees

The Los Angeles Angels got back to the business of losing last night, as they fell to the New York Yankees, 7-3, with starter Grayson Rodriguez putting the Halos in a big hole early that proved insurmountable. 

Rodriguez has been the definition of up-and-down for the Halos, and the Yankees played home run derby off him in the firt as Spencer Jones hit a two-run homer and Jazz Chisolm Jr. following that with a solo shot. 

That put the Yanks up 3-0, and they added another run in the third off Rodriguez on a double-play ball from Luis Garcia Jr. after a pair of singles from Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger. 

The Angels got one back in the same inning off Yankee starter Gerritt Cole as Zach Neto singled and stole second, then came home on an RBI single from red-hot Wade Meckler, who’s now hitting over .300. The Halos came back to within a run in the sixth via a two-run triple from Christian Moore to close to 4-3. 

But the redoubtable Angels bullpen did what it usually does in the eighth and ninth, which is give up runs. Samy Natera Jr. made an unsuccessful return from the IL by giving up an RBI single to Trent Grisham, and a sac fly from Paul Goldschmidt upped New York’s lead to 6-3. Sammy Peralta followed up in the ninth by giving up an RBI single to Spencer Jones to produce the final score. 

Cole got the win as he went 5-1/3 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits and a walk to go with five strikeouts. Rodriguez, meanwhile, had a problematic line that featured four earned runs on seven hits and two walks with seven K’s. His ERA went back up to 6.03 as his uneven effort to come back from injuries continued. 

The loss was the Angels’ eighth in their last nine games, but the big news was off the field, with Stan Kroenke purchasing a controlling share in the Angels for $4 billion. 

The move won’t do much on the field for the Halos for the rest of this month, but at least the Angels will be able to move on from the dreadful last decade under the thumb of owner Arte Moreno. 

The Angels will send Reid Detmers to the mound tonight in the rubber game against Cam Schlittler in what should be a fun pitching matchup.