Saturday in the Park
My visit to Angel Stadium last weekend demonstrated that you are likely to see a new wrinkle every time you attend a game.
One of the biggest criticisms I hear leveled against America’s pastime is that it’s boring. I’m not here to convert nonbelievers, but I do want to provide a counterpoint to that particular school of thought. On Saturday night, I found myself at Angel Stadium watching Reid Detmers match up against Dylan Bundy and the Minnesota Twins. Nearly four hours later, I ended up obsessively re-watching the most chaotic play of the game on the Talkin’ Baseball Twitter feed.
After Byron Buxton struck out to begin the contest, former Houston Astro Carlos Correa was greeted with a chorus of boos and promptly smacked the ball over the scoreboard in right center field. Meanwhile, the Angels mustered only two hits in five innings against Bundy, with even Shohei Ohtani looking silly by bunting into a ground out in the early going. Correa would make it 2-0 in favor of the Twin Cities with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. In the eighth, Luis Arráez singled for the third time in the game and Gio Urshela drove home Jorge Polanco with a ground out. After seven and a half stanzas, the scoreboard read 3-0 in favor of Minnesota.
Jhoan Durán retired Magneuris Sierra and David Fletcher to begin the bottom of the eighth frame, but he caught too much of the plate to Ohtani. The reigning American League MVP launched one over the center field wall and the home team had a little bit of life. Jesse Chavez shook off a pair of base knocks in the top of the ninth to keep the game 3-1, and Jorge López entered with the objective of finishing off the Anaheim squad.
Things started smoothly for the recently acquired closer as Jared Walsh grounded out to Urshela. Jo Adell followed with an infield single to first, but José Rojas hit a weak pop fly for the second out. The Puerto Rican hurler must have been frustrated to walk catcher Max Stassi and bring the winning run to the plate. It was seemingly fortunate that Sierra is not a threat to hit home runs. However, I remarked that a double could still tie the game, especially with Andrew Velazquez pinch running for Stassi. López got ahead with a 1-2 count, but Sierra had one more chance to put his stamp on the game.
Correa had driven in two of his team’s three runs, but he made an ill-advised dive on Sierra’s line drive toward the left field line. While a catch would have sealed the game for Minnesota, playing it on a bounce might have frozen Velazquez at third base. It probably felt like a do or die play off the bat, and Correa did fire the ball in to nail Sierra at the plate. Nevertheless, the Angels had forced extra innings after being down to their final strike. Even though Anaheim didn’t win the game on that triple, I’ve thought about the play a lot over the last several days.
The Angels are hopelessly out of the playoff picture, but this game ended up being very entertaining. José Quijada pitched a scoreless tenth and Ryan Tepera followed his lead in the eleventh. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli opted to keep Emilio Pagán in the game, and Taylor Ward took full advantage.
Despite a breakout season, Ward has hit just .213 in August. After working a full count, he reaped the rewards of his patience by getting a pitch down the middle and putting a swing on it that left no doubt about the game’s outcome. Phil Nevin’s team may be playing out the string, but this was an important game for the Twins and it simply slipped through their fingers.
The night wasn’t quite over thanks to the scheduled Saturday night fireworks display. I’m surprised that Arte Moreno didn’t leap out of the owner’s box to declare “Are you not entertained?” Despite a forgettable campaign for the squad overall, I’m grateful that the Angels have provided about a dozen low-stress nights for me in 2022. I have been able to drive a short distance, buy inexpensive tickets, park cheaply just outside the stadium grounds, and enter the ballpark without delay. It’s almost enough to make me grateful that, outside of giveaway nights or visits from the Dodgers, attendance hasn’t been all that stellar in Orange County this season.