|
 Before Monday night, the right-hander accumulated just three
saves, none since 2012.
Yet there he was, with closer Huston Street getting a rest, pitching
in and out of trouble in the ninth inning as the Angels scored a 4-2
victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Los Angeles took over sole possession of first place in the AL West
for the first time since Opening Day 2013.
Jepsen, making his 61st appearance of the season, entered with a 4-1
lead and gave up hits to the first two batters.
Designated hitter David Ortiz, representing the tying run at the
plate, struck Ortiz out on a changeup. Jepsen got left fielder
Yoenis Cespedes on a groundout that scored a run, then retired first
baseman Mike Napoli on a flyout to end the game.
"It's awesome," Jepsen said. "Especially here, the crowd's always
into it here, no matter if they're in first place or they're
struggling. They always play tough. Facing (second baseman Dustin)
Pedroia, Ortiz, those guys never quit -- so any time you get to come
in here and face those guys, the atmosphere is awesome."
Technically, the Angels, 7-2 in their past nine games at Fenway
Park, led the idle Oakland Athletics by a percentage point coming
in. They now hold a half-game lead, their first actual game
advantage since winning last year's opener.
Los Angeles visits Oakland this weekend, then hosts the A's the
following weekend.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia rested Street, who worked each of the
previous three days and four of the past five. Asked if the win was
a testament to the depth of his bullpen, Scioscia said, "You can
definitely point to that."
Five Los Angeles pitchers combined on a nine-hitter.
C.J. Wilson (10-8) tight-roped through 5 1/3 innings to get his
second consecutive win after going five games without a victory. The
left-hander gave up five hits and walked a season-high five before
leaving.
Right-hander Mike Morin got a bases-loaded double play from Pedroia
in the sixth. Right-hander Fernando Salas allowed a single and then
struck out three straight in the seventh. Right-hander Jason Grilli
pitched a perfect eighth before Jepsen entered.
The five pitchers stranded 12 as Boston went 1-for-14 with runners
in scoring position.
Center fielder Mike Trout and designated hitter Albert Pujols
stroked back-to-back RBI hits off hard-luck loser Brandon Workman in
the third inning. Boston reliever Junichi Tazawa was guilty of a
double error with the bases loaded in the eighth, good for two more
runs.
Workman (1-7) dropped his seventh straight decision, six of them in
starts, but he deserved better, yielding six hits and two runs in
seven innings.
"With the exception of a two-out walk in the third and a couple of
base hits to follow, he more than did his job tonight," manager John
Farrell said.
[to top of second column] |
All-purpose player Brock Holt, playing right field, singled home the first
Boston run in the fourth, one of his two hits.
Ortiz, who had two hits and two walks before his strikeout, shot a glare
at Jepsen after fanning.
"He kinda looked out there," Jepsen said. "I took it more as the battle.
I had just as much fun battling you in this situation ... watching him,
you've seen him a ton of times come up in that situation and tie the
game up for these guys. So just the battle in that situation, I thrive
on that as well."
Workman, who relieved in the 19th inning at Anaheim on Aug. 9 and served
up a leadoff homer to Pujols, walked right fielder Kole Calhoun with two
outs in the third. Trout, who snapped an 0-for-18 slump Sunday, drilled
a long double to score Calhoun. Pujols followed with a single to deliver
Trout.
Tazawa booted second baseman Howie Kendrick's comebacker in the eighth,
scrambled and hit a sliding Chris Iannetta with his throw home, the ball
bouncing away to allow the other run to score.
"Unfortunately, what looked like a potential inning-ending double play
turned into a couple of runs for them," Farrell said.
NOTES: Angels LF Josh Hamilton, who asked for a day off Sunday amid a
5-for-38 (18-strikeout) slump, didn't play again Monday, manager Mike
Scioscia making the call. "We want to give him another day to reset,"
Scioscia said. Hamilton will have a long early batting practice session
with hitting coach Don Baylor on Tuesday and then likely will play
Tuesday night. ... The Red Sox sent CF Jackie Bradley Jr. and his
struggling bat to Triple-A Pawtucket and recalled OF/INF Mookie Betts,
who started in center field Monday and went 1-for-3. Bradley's .290
slugging percentage was the lowest in the majors, his .216 average the
lowest among American League center fielders. ... Angels RHP Jered
Weaver and Boston RHP Allen Webster hook up for the second time in under
two weeks in Game 2 of the series Tuesday night. Webster won the first
meeting Aug. 8 in Anaheim. ... The Red Sox are expected to activate C
David Ross from the disabled list Tuesday, while OF Allen Craig began a
four-game rehab with Pawtucket on Monday. Both are out with foot
injuries.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
