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 But Raul Ibanez, who sees a lot of at-bats as a DH, was more than
effective as a pinch-hitter. He lined a bases-loaded double to
left-center field with two outs in the eighth inning against
reliever Tyler Clippard to break a 1-1 tie as the Angels beat the
Washington Nationals 4-2 on Monday night.
The Angels tied the score 1-1 in the eighth as shortstop Erick Aybar
singled to right to score first baseman Albert Pujols, who led off
the inning by reaching on an error by Washington shortstop Ian
Desmond on a ball up the middle.
How tough was the chance on the ball hit by Pujols?
"I'm a big-league shortstop. Not that tough," Desmond said.
Pujols took third on an infield single by second baseman Howie
Kendrick and scored on the third hit of the game by Aybar. After a
walk to Angels catcher Chris Iannetta, hitting .190, Ibanez lined
the winner as the Angels scored four unearned runs in the rally.
"He has been around the block," Scioscia said of Ibanez, still
hitting just .161. "He has the experience. He knows how to swing the
bat well. It was a huge hit for us."
Clippard, who relies on an 81 mph changeup, thought he made a good
pitch to Ibanez.
"Yeah, it was a good changeup," Clippard said. "First one, you know,
was pretty much in the same spot. Swung through it. He's a guy that
traditionally hunts fastballs, and I knew that. I felt like I made a
good pitch there."
Aybar also came through for the Angels, lifting his average to .209
after a slow start.
"We need both of those guys, obviously," Scioscia said. "Erick was
struggling. He worked early today. Erik hit the ball hard all night.
He had some big hits for us."
Desmond hit a solo homer to lead off the ninth to cut the lead to
4-2 against reliever Ernesto Frieri, who got the final three outs
for the save as he struck out center fielder Denard Span for the
last out.
The Nationals had just three hits and Desmond made two errors in the
game to give Washington 22 this season.
Washington starter Tanner Roark did not give up a run and allowed
seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Angels starter Garrett Richards went six innings and allowed just
one hit and one run but walked four batters, hit another and threw a
wild pitch. Scioscia said Richards had trouble gripping the ball.
Angels center fielder Mike Trout was 2-for-5 with a strikeout and
Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper was 0-for-3 with a walk.
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The winning pitcher was Fernando Salas (1-0), who pitched a
scoreless seventh for the Angels. Joe Smith pitched a scoreless
eighth for the Angels.
The Nationals took advantage of a spell of wildness by Richards in
the fourth to take a 1-0 lead.
Richards walked Span and Harper and then hit right fielder Jayson
Werth with a pitch to load the bases with no outs. First baseman
Adam LaRoche reached on a fielder's choice as Span scored to make it
1-0.
Roark, in his first start at home this season, escaped a
bases-loaded jam in the second as he fanned Richards for the final
out. Roark allowed five hits but no runs in the first five innings.
The game marked the first time that Trout and Harper had faced each
other in a regular-season game.
Both were Rookies of the Year in 2012 and both are two-time
All-Stars. Trout and Harper were teammates in the Arizona Fall
League with Scottsdale in 2011. The two players talked for several
minutes near the batting cage more than four hours before the first
pitch on Monday.
NOTES: The scheduled pitchers for Tuesday are Angels LHP Tyler
Skaggs (1-0, 3.43 ER) against Nationals RHP Taylor Jordan (0-2,
5.94). ... Rick Eckstein, who travels with the Angels as the player
information coach, was the hitting coach for the Nationals from 2009
until he was fired in July 2013. ... The Angels began the day
leading the American League in total bases (294) and home runs (29).
... Washington led the majors in strikeouts (189) by a pitching
staff in games through Sunday. ... The Angels called up LHP Nick
Maronde from Triple-A Salt Lake after RHP Josh Wall was sent down to
Salt Lake on Sunday. Maronde pitched in 10 games for the Angels last
year and began this season as the No. 13 prospect in the system,
according to MLB.com.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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