Monthly Archives: April 2017

Royals Sweep Angels

April 16, 2017

The Royals completed a 3-game sweep of the Angels on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 victory at Kauffman Stadium. Alcides Escobar hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 9th inning for the dramatic walk off victory.

Both teams received excellent starting pitching in this contest. The Royals got 8 shutout innings from Ian Kennedy, who yielded just 2 hits in 8 innings of work. Kelvin Herrera pitched the 9th inning for Kansas City to earn the victory.

Tyler Skaggs also pitched well for the Angels. He pitched 7 shutout innings, giving up only 4 hits, while striking out 9 before departing. Jose Alvarez pitched a scoreless 8th inning, but Blake Parker ran into trouble in the 9th.

Parker gave up a leadoff single to Salvador Perez, and then allowed pinch runner Raul Mondesi to steal second. Mondesi then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Mike Moustakas came to the plate as a pinch hitter and walked, and that was all for Parker. Cam Bedrosian came in after that.

After Bedrosian got Paulo Orlando to foul out, Escobar followed with the game-winning hit. Parker was charged with the earned run, and ultimately the loss.

“Just tried to make the perfect pitch,” said Parker. It was a tough weekend for the Angels but they have to be encouraged by the effort Skaggs gave.

“The first two innings, I was feeling for it,” Skaggs said. “But you need to keep attacking hitters. Today, I attacked the hitters, and I kept them off balance.”

The Angels are now off to Houston for a four-game set against the Astros beginning on Monday night. It will be Jesse Chavez going for the Halos in game 1, with Joe Musgrove on the hill for the Astros.

Clippers Fall To Jazz At Buzzer

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April 15, 2017

Joe Johnson hit a game-winning runner that bounced into the hoop to give the Utah Jazz a 97-95 victory over the Clippers in Game 1 of their 1st round series at Staples Center on Saturday night. Utah has a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.

“I just wanted to get as close as I could to the basket, and it was a good thing it went down,” Johnson said.

Johnson scored 21 points on the night off the bench to lead the Jazz. The Clippers were led by Blake Griffin, who scored 26 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. Chris Paul had 25 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds.

Paul banked in a floater with 13 seconds left in the 4th quarter to tie the game at 95-95. The Jazz didn’t call a timeout, and went the other way with a chance to win the game. The left Johnson isolated against Jamal Crawford, who drove the lane for the game-winner.

“We’ve got to be better,” Paul said. “They played harder, they were more physical.”

The Jazz lost starting center Rudy Gobert just 18 seconds into the game, when he bumped knees with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Gobert left the game after being helped into the locker room. The good news for the Jazz is that an MRI exam showed no structural damage to the knee, and Gobert was diagnosed with a hyperextension.

Utah outscored the Clippers 16-10 to open the third, before Crawford’s jumper put the Clips ahead 70-69. Gordon Hayward, who finished the game with 19 points, scored 6 straight points to give the Jazz a 74-70 lead heading into the 4th quarter.

In the first half neither team led by more than 6 points. The Jazz went on a 14-2 run in the 2nd quarter to take their own 6-point lead. However, the Clips answered with a 14-8 spurt of their own.

The real difference in the game was the benches. The Clippers got just 20 points from their bench, and only 8 from Jamal Crawford. The Jazz on the other hand, received 46 points from their reserves.

Now the Clips will have to fight to regain home court advantage. “We fought until the end of the year to get it, and now we’ve given it right back,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.

Game 2 will be on Tuesday night at Staples Center, where the Clips will try to even the series before heading to Utah.

Ducks Get Win On Fluke Goal

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April 15, 2017

Ryan Getzlaf scored the game-winning goal on a bizarre bounce off a Calgary Flames defenseman, and the The Ducks defeated the Flames 3-2 on Saturday night at the Honda Center. The win gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead in their best of seven first round playoff series.

Getzlaf’s tie-breaking power play goal came with 4:46 left in the 3rd period, when his centering pass deflected off of Lance Bouma’s skate, arched high in the air, and past Brian Elliott. It was the Duck captain’s 2nd goal of the series.

Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell scored 1st period goals for the Ducks and John Gibson made 35 saves for Anaheim. It was the Ducks 29th consecutive victory in Anaheim against Calgary. It is the longest such streak in NHL history.

The Flames received goals from Mikael Backlund short-handed, and Sean Monahan on the power play.

Anaheim had a 2-0 lead in the 1st period, but the Flames would fight back to tie the game. Getzlaf acknowledged the rally Calgary put together before he scored the winner.

“They came out in the second period with the attitude that they were going to push us and play. They did a great job,” Getzlaf said.

The series now heads back to Calgary for games 3 and 4. Game 3 is on Monday night. Jakob Silfverberg says you have to expect that lucky bounces, like the one Anaheim got in the 3rd period, will just be a part of what’s ahead.

“That’s playoff hockey for you,” he said. “That’s usually what it comes down to. You can have lucky bounces but you’ve got to make sure you’re on the right side of those lucky bounces, and so far we’ve been on the right side on it.”

Moustakas Beats Halos Late

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April 15, 2017

Mike Moustakas hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th inning to propel the Royals to a 3-2 victory over the Angels on Saturday night at Kauffman Stadium.

It was the 5th home run of the season for Moustakas, which came off of Angel reliever Jose Alvarez, who took the loss.

The Halos fought back to tie the score at 2-2 in the 7th inning. Ben Revere singled with two outs against Joakim Soria, which scored Cameron Maybin.

The Royals led 2-1 after after Brandon Moss took Matt Shoemaker deep to right field for a solo shot in the 4th inning.

Both teams exchanged runs in the 1st inning. Albert Pujols had an RBI groundout for the Halos, and Eric Hosmer had a run-scoring single.

Soria got the win for the Royals, while Kelvin Herrera pitched the 9th to earn his 2nd save of the season for KC.

Matt Shoemaker went 5 1/3rd innings for the Angels. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, while striking out 7.

The Halos will try to salvage a win out of the three-game set on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. The Angels will go with Tyler Skaggs, and the Royals will counter with Ian Kennedy.

Puig Leads Dodgers Over Arizona

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April 15, 2017

Yasiel Puig hit a 3-run homer and drove in 4 runs, as the Dodgers beat the D’Backs 8-4 on Saturday night at the Ravine.

The Dodgers offensive outbreak was much needed on this night. They overcame a poor start from Kenta Maeda, and 3 defensive errors to win their 2nd straight game.

Austin Barnes also went deep for LA. Alex Wood pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings to get the win for the boys in blue, and Kenley Jansen recorded a four-out save. It was his 3rd save of the season. Patrick Corbin took the loss for Arizona.

Maeda lasted just four innings, giving up four runs on four hits and striking out five batters. He departed after throwing 71 pitches.

The Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning on an RBI single from Corey Seager, and a sac fly from Puig. However, the D’Backs took a 3-2 lead after a 3-run bomb from Nick Ahmed off Madea in the 2nd inning.

Barnes homer tied it at 3-3 in the 2nd inning. Ahmed made it 4-3 in the 4th inning with an RBI single, and Maeda’s night was over shortly after that.

Seager’s sac fly in the bottom half of the inning tied the game at 4-4, and then Kike Hernandez scored in the 5th on a throwing error to make it 5-4. The game stayed that way until the 8th inning when Puig delivered the big blow.

The Dodgers honored Jackie Robinson before the game, unveiling a statue outside of Dodger Stadium. Every player on the field was wearing the number 42 to honor Robinson.

Logan Forsythe left the game for the Dodgers in the 4th inning. He didn’t seem too concerned about the injury though, saying “It didn’t pop or grab so my level of concern is not high.”

The Dodgers will try to make it three straight on Sunday at the Ravine. Rich Hill will be back on the mound for LA, and he’ll go up against Taijuan Walker.

Kershaw Bests Greinke

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April 14, 2017

Clayton Kershaw got the better of former teammate Zack Greinke, and Andrew Toles hit a 2-run shot as the Dodgers beat the D’Backs 7-1 at the Ravine on Friday night.

Kershaw pitched 8 1/3rd innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 8. The Dodger’ ace improved to 2-1 on the season.

The Dodgers jumped on Greinke early in the game, getting a pair of run-scoring singles from Adrian Gonzales and Logan Forsythe in the 3rd inning.

An RBI double from Justin Turner in the 4th, followed by a sac fly from Yasiel Puig in the 5th made it 5-0. That was all for Greinke.

Greinke pitched 5 innings, giving up 5 runs on 10 hits. He walked 3 and struck out 4, and suffered his first loss of the season.

Toles homer in the 8th was the final blow the Dodgers delivered. Pedro Baez recorded the final two outs of the game for LA in the 9th inning.

Game 2 of the four game set will be on Saturday night at the Ravine. It will be Kenta Maeda on the mound for LA against Patrick Corbin.

The Dodgers got some good news on Friday as well. Rich Hill will be coming off the DL on Sunday to make a start against Arizona. Hill had been suffering from a blister on his left middle finger.

Royals Rock The Angels

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April 14, 2017

The Royals hammered the Angels on Friday night in KC by a score of 7-1. It was another brutal night of pitching for the Angels.

J.C. Ramirez lasted 5 innings and threw only 75 pitches. He took the loss after giving up 5 runs on 4 hits.

Danny Duffy allowed three hits over seven innings and Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer for the Royals.

The Angels jumped out to a 1-0 lead after a Mike Trout RBI single. However, the Royals would counter with 7 unanswered runs.

Salvador Perez hit a solo shot in the 6th inning for KC.

The Angels and Royals will get back at it on Saturday in game 2 of the series.

Matt Shoemaker will get the ball for the Halos and look to get on track after two rough starts. The Royals will go with Nate Karns.

Getzlaf Lead Ducks In Game 1

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April 13, 2017

Jakob Silfverberg snapped a 2-2 tie in the 2nd period with a power play goal, and the Ducks defeated the Flames 3-2 on Thursday night at the Honda Center. The victory gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead in their best of 7 first round playoff series.

The Ducks trailed 2-1 in the 2nd period after Sam Bennett gave the Flames the lead when he redirected a spectacular backhand a spin-o-rama pass from Kris Versteeg. However, Rickard Rakell knocked in a rebound off a shot from Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks caught the Flames in the midst of a line change, which allowed Getzlaf to break in alone for a shot against Brian Elliott, which Rakell followed to tie the game at the 17:47 mark of the 2nd. Just under 4 minutes later, Silfverberg beat Elliott with a wrist shot from the left circle to give the Ducks the lead for good.

John Gibson made 30 saves for Anaheim, while Getzlaf had a goal, assist, and 4 hits. The Ducks killed a 5-on-3 disadvantage for 1:17 in the the game’s final minutes. Gibson also denied Johnny Gaudreau in front of the net with 18 seconds left to play.

“I don’t think it was my best [game] tonight, but I got better as the game went on,” Gibson said. “The guys helped me out in front.”

Both teams exchanged power play goals in the 1st period. Getzlaf scored 51 seconds into the game on a one-timer that deflected off of a Flames player in front of the net. The Flames tied it up 8 minutes later on a goal by Sean Monahan, who redirected a pass from Kris Versteeg past Gibson.

Elliott stopped 38 shots in the loss. Calgary is winless in Anaheim since April 25, 2006, when the Flames won a playoff game in a series won by the Ducks.

Getzlaf also threw an enormous hit on Flames’ captain Mark Giordano late in the 3rd period. The hit served as payback for the knee-on-knee hit that Giordano delivered to Ducks’ defenseman Cam Fowler last week. That hit left Fowler with an injured knee, which will require 2-6 weeks of healing before he can return.

“We’re going to have to earn everything. That’s a great hockey team over there,” Getzlaf said. “We’re going to have to continue to get better in certain areas, but we found a way to win tonight.”

Ducks’ forward Nick Ritchie completed his 2 game suspension on Thursday, for punching Chicago’s Michael Rozsival last week. He will be eligible to return in game 2.

Game 2 will be Saturday night at the Honda Center. The Ducks will look to make it 29 straight home wins against Calgary.

Dodger Offense Still Quiet In Chicago

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April 13, 2017

The Dodgers still could not get their offense going on Thursday in Chicago, losing to the Cubs 4-0. Chicago took two out of three from LA in the early season series.

The Cubs deployed left-hander Brett Anderson against the Dodgers, who stifled his former team, pitching 5 shutout innings. Anderson spent two seasons with the Dodgers, with his 2016 campaign being marred by injuries. He threw 90 pitches, and gave up only 3 hits to pick up his first win of the season. He has an E.R.A of 0.84 in his two starts with Chicago.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead on a solo home run from Anthony Rizzo in the 1st inning, and then made it 2-0 on another solo shot from Addison Russell in the 4th. Those homers came off of Dodger starter Hyun-Jin Ryu, who gave up two run-scoring hits in the 5th to Kyle Schwarber and Rizzo. That made it 4-0, and it was all the offense the Cubs would need.

Ryu took the loss, lasting 4 2/3rd innings, and giving up all 4 runs on 6 hits. He fell to 0-2 on the season, and has an E.R.A. of 5.79 in his two starts.

Although Anderson is another left-handed starter that gave the Dodgers trouble, their offensive issues were not limited to just lefties.

LA only generated 3 hits off of Cubs relievers Carl Edwards Jr., Koji Uehara, and Wade Davis, who are all right-handed pitchers.

During their 3-game set with the defending World Series Champions, the Dodgers were just 1-24 with runners in scoring position. They left 26 runners on base, and they scored just four runs in the three games.

Dodger Manager Dave Robert didn’t seem too concerned. “We look at our club and we know we’re evenly matched,” he said. “I think they know it as well. They won the series. We’ll get them at our place. They know we’re not going anywhere.”

The Cubs also made some great defensive plays on Thursday. Corey Seager was robbed by Albert Almora Jr in the 1st inning, who made a spectacular leaping catch on a fly ball hit to the wall. Two innings later, Seager was robbed again.

Seager came to the plate with two outs and Kike Hernandez at 2nd base in the 3rd inning. The Dodger shortstop hit another drive to the wall but Albert Almora Jr. leaped at the ivy to make another spectacular catch.

The Dodgers are now 5-5 on the young season. They’ll return home tomorrow for the first of a four game set against the Diamondbacks. Game 1 will feature a pair of aces going at it. Clayton Kershaw gets the ball for the Dodgers, while Arizona will counter with his former teammate, Zack Greinke.

Halos Roughed Up By Rangers Again

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April 13, 2017

The Angels had a rough afternoon against the Rangers at the Big A on Thursday, losing 8-3 to the Rangers for the 2nd time in less than 24 hours.

This time the Rangers got 7 shutout innings from ace Yu Darvis, who allowed just 5 hits and struck out 10 batters to pick up his first win of the season. Carlos Gomez and Nomar Mazara hit home runs in the victory for Texas.

The Angels only offense came on a 3-run homer from Danny Espinosa in the 9th inning. It was his 3rd home run of the season.

Ricky Nolasco had a tough day for the Halos. He went 5 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits. He struck out 7, but allowed the two home runs. In three starts, Nolasco is now 0-2 with an ERA of 5.40. As a team, the Angels starting pitchers are sporting an E.R.A. of 6.00.

Despite a tough last two games, the Halos are still 6-4, and tied atop the AL West with the Houston Astros.

The Rangers didn’t waste much time in this one, getting on the board with a leadoff homer from Gomez on the 2nd pitch of the game. An RBI double from Robinson Chirinos, a run-scoring single from Jurickson Profan, and then the two-run shot from Mazara made it 5-0 after 3 innings.

Chirinos drove in two more runs with an RBI double in the 7th inning, and then he would score later in the inning on a single from Shin-Soo Choo. Chirinos finished the game with two hits, two runs, and three RBI.

Daniel Wright pitched the final four innings for the Angels. He gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, and after the game was optioned back to Triple-A Salt Lake. The Angels also learned that Garrett Richards will not return from the disabled list when he is eligible to be removed from it this weekend. There is no timetable scheduled for his return, nor for him to resume throwing.

The Halos will hit the road for the next 7 games, beginning with a 3-game set starting tomorrow night in Kansas City. The Angels will start J.C. Ramirez, while the Royals will counter with Danny Duff.