Tag: Los Angeles Angels Page 4 of 8

TWIWBL 40.1: Series XXXII Notes – Bill James Division

On June 2, 2023

#Detroit Wolverines

Bob Bailey hit the 10 Day DL with a hamstring issue, prompting the Wolverines to reach all the way down to AA to recall Olmedo Sáenz, mostly for his ability to play both infield corner spots.

#Los Angeles Angels

Wally Moon was recalled from a rehab assignment, with Spud Johnson heading back to the minors.

Harry Howell tossed a 5-hit shutout as the Angels beat Miami 5-0. After the 140 pitch, 9 strikeout performance, Howell’s record improves to 5-6 on the season. Bobby Grich was injured in the game, sending him to the DL for at least 2-3 weeks. 22 year old Wally Backman has been tearing up both AA and AAA, and now gets his chance with the big league club.

José Reyes and Steve Garvey had 3 hits each and Mike Trout drove in 4, leading the Angels to an 8-2 win over Miami. Pud Galvin improved to 5-7, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run over 7 innings.

#New York Gothams

Johan Camargo was promoted to the WBL with Mark Loretta being sent down in an exchange of bench pieces for the Gothams.

Christy Mathewson continued his run of form, becoming the first 15 game winner in the league as he and 3 relievers combined to shutout Indianapolis despite allowing 10 hits. Pete Runnels had 3 hits and Wes Westrum hit a key homerun to give the Gothams the win.

The pitching continued to dominate as Pete Donohue improved to 6-2 with a 3-hit blanking of the ABC’s, walking 2 and fanning 8. Light-hitting Brandon Crawford had 3 hits and Will Clark, George Van Haltren, and Johnny Callison drove in 2 rusn each in the 7-0 victory.

#Wandering House of David

Jack Taylor continues to roll, allowing only 1 run and 5 hits over 7 innings en route to his 14th victory of the season. Taylor lowered his ERA to a league-leading 2.99, and Bruce Sutter picked up his 19th save with a perfect 9th. George Stone hit his 25th homerun in the 8th, giving the House of David the 2-1 victory over Portland. Sutter was hurt in his outing, but looks likely to only be out for a few days.

Pete Browning and Frank Chance had 3 hits each and Ryne Sandberg hit his 20th homerun of the year, leading the House of David to a 6-2 win over Portland. CF Jim Edmonds had 3 kills on the day, throwing out a runner at each base (other than first).

TWIWBL 38.1: Series XXX Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On April 21, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Whitey Wilshere‘s return from a rehab stint means Jason Schmidt‘s stay with Detroit is very fleeting.

#Los Angeles Angels

Sid Fernandez had some good innings, but his tendency to add some truly horrid ones left him with a 13.50 ERA, and a trip back to AAA. His replacement is Ron Romanick–who sports an ERA of 15.12 himself in 2 games in the bigs–was called up for the start.

Romanick dropped his ERA by almost 5 runs, but still headed back to AAA with Tom Seaver being recalled for another shot at the WBL.

#Memphis Red Sox

Bill Doak‘s success in the bullpen has moved him into the starting rotation as Memphis struggles to find something to salvage the season: they know what they have in Tim Wakefield, they might as well find out more about what Doak can do.

After losing the lead in the 7th, Memphis used clutch hits from Claude Ritchey and Ted Williams for a walk-off victory over Baltimore. Sammy Sosa–who may finally be justifying his repeated chances at the WBL for 2 separate teams–went deep for the Red Sox, as did the slumping Francisco Lindor.

#Wandering House of David

Eddie Rommel was returned to AAA with Tom Niedenfuer‘s rehab assignment ending.

Jack Taylor just keeps rolling, tossing a 4-hit shutout against Homestead that improved his record to 12-8 and lowered his ERA to a shade under 3.00.

Ryne Sandberg‘s streak of consecutive games scoring a run ended at 15 in a 10-2 loss to Homestead.

Pete Browning–who seems poised to take over the league lead in batting if he can stay healthy–had 3 hits and 5 RBIs in the House of David’s 13-4 victory. Browning had 2 homeruns and a triple and Dan Ford added 3 hits as well in the victory. Bunny Downs injured his hamstring running the bases and was placed on the DL after the game with Skeeter Barnes called up to take his place.

TWIWBL 37.1: Series XXIX Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On April 4, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Kevin Hart will be out about 4 weeks, meaning a trip to the DL is in order. Mickey Lolich was recalled–again.

Oscar Gamble went deep twice, giving him 25 on the season, and drove in 4, leading Detroit to a 6-4 win over Brooklyn. Ty Cobb added 3 hits, including his 18th dinger of the season, and 7 decent innings from Hank Aguirre (now 5-9) set the stage for Mike Henneman‘s league-leading 32nd save of the season.

#Los Angeles Angels

2 homeruns and 5 RBIs from Don Buford led Los Angeles to an 11-4 thrashing of Chicago. Doug Rader had 3 hits and upped his league leading RBI total to 109 with 4. Jason Vargas–knocked around in his first few appearances–picked up the win with 4.1 innings of 2-hit ball.

Gerrit Cole finally got his 13th win of the year as the Angels shellacked the American Giants, 12-3. Carlos Delgado had a grand slam and a ground rule double for 6 RBIs and Ron Hassey added 3 hits as Cole improved to 13-6.

#Memphis Red Sox

Norwood Gibson, ineffective all year, was sent to AAA with Nixey Callahan (also, you know, ineffective all year) brought back up for the start.

Sammy Sosa‘s talent has been undeniable–the ball just explodes off the 24 year old’s bat. But he hasn’t put much together, and while he’s hitting more with Memphis than he did with the House of David, he’s still not doing much. So perhaps his 3 hit game with a double and a homerun in an 8-6 win over the Gothams is the start of something for Sosa.

#New York Gothams

Christy Mathewson became the WBL’s first 13 game winner, allowing 1 unearned run over 6+ innings in a 10-1 victory over Memphis.

#Wandering House of David

Bob Rush was masterful, tossing a complete game, 3-hit shutout in a 9-0 win over Ottawa. Pete Browning had 4 hits including 3 doubles, and Dan Ford and Richie Hebner added 3 hits each.

Elrod Hendricks went deep twice, giving him 31 on the year, but it wasn’t enough as the House of David lost 8-5 to Ottawa.

TWIWBL 36.1: Series XXVIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On March 16, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

The Wolverines welcome Charlie Root and Chad Bradford to their staff, but perhaps the return of Tony Phillips is even more important for Detroit’s push down the stretch. Mickey Lolich and Si Johnson were sent to AAA, although both pitched decently. Robby Thompson was sent down on Phillips’ return.

Mike Henneman was the first in the league to notch 30 saves, reaching the milestone in a 7-6 victory over Houston. Sparky Adams and Ed Bailey each had 2 doubles in the contest.

An injury to Buddy Napier forced Detroit to put the effective reliever on the DL for 10 days, recalling Jason Schmidt.

#Los Angeles Angels

Pud Galvin and Harry Howell moved into the Angels’ rotation.

#Memphis Red Sox

Jim Paglioroni‘s departure cleared the way for young Kurt Suzuki‘s promotion to Memphis, where he’ll platoon with Billy Bryan behind the plate. Nixey Callahan was returned to AAA to make room for Turk Farrell‘s return from a rehab assignment.

#New York Gothams

Vean Gregg and Steve Howe lengthen the Gothams’ bullpen, and Rube Waddell replaces Don Sutton in the rotation. But the real changes have occurred offensively. 38 year old Joe Adcock is pounding the ball, and will become the full-time DH. Pete Runnels and Will Clark step right into the lineup. Overall, New York is worse off defensively, but may generate more consistent offense. A lot depends on whether Adcock and fan favorite Wes Westrum can continue their levels of production. George Van Haltren will lose playing time coming to the Gothams to serve as a reserve OFer, but he is now in the midst of a pennant race instead of languishing in Ottawa, so there’s that.

Christy Mathewson, helped by a perfect 1.2 IP of relief from Mike Norris, improved to 12-6 on the season in an 8-4 victory over their crosstown rivals. Norris picked up his 4th save, and Jimmy Sheckard, Johnny Callison, and Willie Mays each went deep for the Gothams.

#Wandering House of David

Tweak, tweak, tweak.

Bunny Downs can’t hit any worse than Craig Reynolds and Jung Ho Kang have, and by adding him to the roster, the House of David could also promote veteran Joe Harris as a bat off the bench.

Jack Taylor twirled a 3-hit, complete game shutout as the House of David beat Brooklyn 6-0. Elrod Hendricks went deep twice and drove in 5 in support of Taylor, who improved to 11-8 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.15, good for tops in the WBL.

TWIWBL 34.1: Series XXVII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On March 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have been desperate for starting pitching for a while, behind the hard-throwing duo of Gerrit Cole and Nolan Ryan. In a somewhat desperate move, they sent Chuck Finley, Tom Seaver, and Mike Smith to AAA, bringing back up Harry Howell, Sid Fernandez, and Jason Vargas.

Homeruns from Mike Trout and Carlos Delgado powered the Angels to a 12-1 victory over Kansas City in a game which, perhaps more importantly, both Doc Gooden and Fernandez pitched well.

#Memphis Red Sox

Wade Boggs hit a mammoth homerun to lead off the bottom of the 10th giving the Red Sox a 6-5 win over Portland.

#New York Gothams

The Gothams hit 5 homeruns in a 16-7 rout of San Francisco. Joe Adcock started it with a grandslam, and Jimmy Sheckard, Willie Mays, Eugenio Suárez, and Johnny Callison all going deep as well. Mays and Callison had 4 hits each; Adcock and Callions each drove in 4, and Mays scored 4 times as New York pounded out 21 hits in helping Juan Marichal improve to 9-6.

#Wandering House of David

Dan Ford had 4 hits–2 of which were homeruns–and 5 RBI, leading the House of David to a 9-5 victory over surging Birmingham. Ryne Sandberg also had 4 hits, including his 16th homerun of the year, as Bob Rush threw 7 strong innings moving to 9-5 on the year.

TWIWBL 33.1: Series XXVI Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On February 15, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Hal Newhouser improved to 7-3 with a strong start (6.2 IP, 1 run, 8 Ks), and homeruns by Robbie Thompson and Ty Cobb drove the offense as the Wolverines beat Baltimore, 6-1.

#Los Angeles Angels

OF Wally Moon will miss a couple weeks, prompting the Angels to recall Spud Johnson from AAA.

Doug Rader had 4 hits (including a league-record tying 3 doubles) and Steve Garvey, who is hitting nearly .370 since joining the Angels, had 3, but it wasn’t enough as Gerrit Cole struggled and Los Angeles fell to the Grays, 7-5.

Rader drove in his 100th run of the season with a sacrifice fly in a 10-5 loss to Homestead. Rader finished the game with 2 hits, but it wasn’t enough.

#New York Gothams

Carson Smith, a key member of the Gothams’ dominant bullpen, will be out close to a month. With a 1.80 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, Carson will surely be missed. Jeremy Affeldt, almost as good at AAA as Smith was in the WBL, was recalled.

Pinky Higgins had 4 hits and both scored 3 runs and drove in 3 to lead the Gothams to an 11-5 demolition of Philadelphia. Carl Furillo added 3 hits and Brandon Crawford drove in 4 for New York.

TWIWBL 32.1: Series XXV Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On February 2, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Ty Cobb tied the league record with 5 hits, leading the Wolverines to a 6-2 win over the New York Gothams. Detroit was actually pretty wasteful in the game, leaving a whopping 15 runners on base. Ed Bailey and George Davis had 3 hits each, with Bailey also driving in 3.

#New York Gothams

Christy Mathewson moved to 11-6 on the year with 7 strikeouts in just over 6 strong innings as the Gothams beat the Wolverines, 4-2. Carson Smith got New York out of a jam in the 7th, and Brian Wilson picked up his 19th save, despite allowing 2 baserunners in the 9th.

#Memphis Red Sox

A solo shot by Reggie Smith in the bottom of the 8th put the Red Sox on top, 2-1 over Homestead. Stubby Overmire put in his best start since arriving in Memphis, but the victory went to Norwood Gibson, with Jonathan Papelbon picking up the save.

#Los Angeles Angels

Doc Gooden and Mike Smith combined on a 4-hit shutout as the Angels triumphed over Ottawa, 7-0. Gooden improved to 4-7 on the year, striking out 6 in 6 1/3 innings. Bobby Grich and Steve Garvey had 3 hits each for Los Angeles.

#Wandering House of David

CC Sabathia evened his record at 9-9 with a strong showing to lead the House of David to an 8-3 win over Cleveland. Ryne Sandberg drove in 4 runs in the game.

TWIWBL 31.1: Series XXIV Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On January 18, 2023

In TWIWBL

{ Yes, this is out of order–31.2 got published before 31.1 for those keeping score at home. }

#Detroit Wolverines

Six strong innings from Hal Newhouser led Detroit to a narrow 3-2 win over Chicago. 3 hits from Ty Cobb, including his 12th homerun of the year, helped Newhouser improve to 5-3, with John Hiller earning his 10th hold and Mike Henneman his 24th save.

Whitey Wilshire will miss a couple weeks with a shoulder injury. Mickey Lolich was recalled from AAA to take Wilshire’s place, while 20 year old Al Kaline will get his first taste of the big leagues as the Wolverines sent Greg Brock to AAA.

#Los Angeles Angels

Five RBIs on two doubles and a homerun from Bobby Grich weren’t enough, as the Angels fell to the House of David.

#New York Gothams

Don Sutton, impressive since his acquisition from Brooklyn at the all-star break, replaces the struggling Sad Sam Jones in the Gothams’ rotation.

#Wandering House of David

Jack Taylor evened his record at 8-8 with 7 innings of shutout ball, combining with Scott Downs and Kerry Wood on the 5-hit shutout of Los Angeles. George Stone drove in 3 with 2 hits, including his 22nd homerun of the year and Richie Hebner went deep for the 8th time this season in the 8-0 victory.

Anthony Rizzo continues to impress: 3 hits raised his average to .340 in a 9-7 victory over Los Angeles. Rizzo is now officially the fulltime 1B, with Mark Grace being sent to AAA and Jung Ho Kang being recalled for another stint with the big league club.

Series XXIV Best Games

By mknn

On January 11, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

The theme this time out is surprising bullpen collapses, as a range of usually dependable closers struggled to hold on to victories.

New York Black Yankees @ Homestead Grays, Game 2.

As the game began, the Black Yankees were encouraged by Ron Guidry‘s return to form, allowing only 3 hits–although 2 runs–in 5 innings of work. But Homestead‘s Stan Bahnsen was almost as good, settling down after giving up Mickey Mantle‘s 16th homerun of the year in the first inning. Bahnsen was chased from the game in the 6th, as consecutive singles from Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Eric Davis put the Black Yankees up by 1. An inning later, a sacrifice fly by Don Mattingly made it 4-2, with the Black Yankees looking safe to take their expected victory … but then New York’s weakness showed up big time, as Sparky Lyle imploded in the 8th, giving up 2 run single to Pops Stargell (his 3rd hit of the day) to tie the game. Ralph Citarella pitched OK, but was saddled with the loss when midseason acquisition Gary Lavelle–sporting a gaudy 9.39 ERA since joining New York–gave up the game-winning single to Mike Epstein for a 5-4 win for the Grays.

NYY 4 (Citarella 2-5; Moyer 2 H; Lyle 4 B Sv) @ HOM 5 (Lindblom 2-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYY – Mantle (16).
Box Score

Los Angeles Angels @ Wandering House of David, Game 3

Tom Seaver had been rocked in his first few appearances, but here the 22 year old showed some of his promise, allowing 2 runs in the first and nothing thereafter over 5-plus innings. Doug Rader drove in 2 with a homerun in the 3rd and another with a single in the 5th as the Angels held a 4-2 lead. Solid relief work from Jonny Venters and Pud Galvin took the game to Los Angeles’ closer, Joe Nathan, who got 2 quick outs before a single from Richie Hebner setup a 2 run, game-tying homerun from Jim Edmonds. Hebner would win the game for the House of David in the bottom of the 11th with a solo shot, his 9th of the season. Mike Trout had 3 hits in the Angels’ losing effort.

LAA 4 (Rodríguez 3-1; Nathan 7 B Sv; Galvin 2 H; Venters 13 H) @ HOD 5 (Rommel 2-0) [11 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Rader (14); HOD – Edmonds (3), Hebner (9).
Box Score

New York Gothams @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 4

This one was a great pitching duel with the Gotham‘s Christy Mathewson and Houston‘s Stephen Strasburg matching arms through 6 innings. Before leaving with an injury, Strasburg’s only blemish was a solo homerun by Willie Mays in the 1st inning while Matty sailed along until the bottom of the 5th when Houston picked up 2 runs, one on a Craig Biggio double, the other an RBI groundout from HR Johnson. The Colt 45’s 2-1 lead held until the top of the 9th, when their closer, Billy Wagner, came in the game. Wagner gave up a 2-out double to Eugenio Suárez, scoring Yasiel Puig and tying the game. New York’s Mike Norris–fantastic all season–was asked to stretch beyond his usual single inning, allowing a leadoff triple to Johnson in the bottom of the 10th. After 2 intentional walks to load the bases, Norris gave up a single to George Brett (his 3rd hit of the day), winning the game for Houston. Jimmy Sheckard had 4 hits for New York in the contest.

NYG 2 (Norris 3-2) @ HOU 3 (Ely 1-0; Wagner 5 B Sv; Hoffman 5 H) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYG – Mays (16).
Box Score

Chicago American Giants @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 3

Eddie Collins and Shoeless Joe Jackson each had 3 hits for Chicago, with Jackson hitting his 21st long ball of the year, but it wasn’t enough as Detroit used Oscar Gamble‘s 21st dinger to stay in the game, winning it in the bottom of the 9th on a wild pitch from the usually reliable Hoyt Wilhelm.

CAG 4 (Wilhelm 2-2) @ DET 5 (Hart 3-3; Hiller 1 B Sv)
HRs: CAG – Jackson (21); DET – Gamble (21).
Box Score

TWIWBL 30.1: Series XXIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On December 13, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

3 hits from Ty Cobb, including his 11th homerun of the year, led Detroit to a 4-0 win over Portland. Johnny Marcum and Mike Henneman combined on the 6-hit shutout, with Marcum moving to 8-2 on the year.

Another combined shutout would close out the series as Gene Conley continued his dominance, moving to 10-2 on the year with 7 strong innings. Buddy Napier and John Hiller helped to close out the 7-0 victory. Bill Carrigan had 3 hits and drove in 3 for the Wolverines and Robby Thompson added his 2nd homerun of the year.

#Los Angeles Angels

Anthony Young was sent to AAA, with Mike Smith being recalled for a start.

The Angels trailed 2-0 late, but a Mike Trout homerun in the 8th and George Wright‘s 12th of the year in the top of the 9th sent LA past the House of David 3-2. Pud Galvin got the win in a game that saw another impressive start–6 shutout innings–from Nolan Ryan.

#Memphis Red Sox

Francisco Lindor‘s first career homerun was one to remember: a walkoff blast in the bottom of the 11th, giving Memphis a 6-5 victory over the House of David. Wade Boggs had 3 hits for the Red Sox, including the game-tying single in the bottom of the 9th. Norwood Gibson and Heath Bell combined for 5 innings of scoreless relief, with Bell improving to 7-3 on the year.

#New York Gothams

Pete Donohue moved to 4-0 on the year with just over 7 scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over Houston. Mike Norris picked up his 10th hold and Brian Wilson closed with his 17th save despite giving up a run in the 9th. Buster Posey and Eugenio Suárez had 3 hits each for New York.

#Wandering House of David

The House of David has finally given up on Rollie Fingers for a while, sending the reliever to AAA and recalling Kerry Wood to the WBL for a debut start. In a somewhat surprising move, 27 year old Mark Grace was waived to make room for Wood. Grace, essentially the starting 1B for most of the season, managed only a 236/312/339 slash line. Fred Lynn was sent to AAA, with Jim Edmonds returning to the House of David, presumably because of his ability to also fill in at 1B behind the new starter, Anthony Rizzo.

Early returns were positive: Wood threw a strong 6 innings, with the starter he replaced–Bob Rush–adding a scoreless final 3 for his first save of the year and Rizzo hit his 6th homerun (in 32 ABs) of the season in a 7-2 win for the House of David.

Phil Regan was waived, with Eddie Rommel being recalled for an emergency start, which went fantastically: Rommel allowed 4 hits and no earned runs in 6 innings in a 12 to 2 drubbing of Memphis. Dan Ford and Ron Santo each had 3 hits including a homerun with Santo driving in 4 on the day.