ANAHEIM — The Angels won one of those games they always seem to lose.
Jo Adell’s double in the eighth and then some good situational hitting got the game going in the Angels’ 2-1 win over the Padres on Monday night.
The Angels (22-38) are now 9-21 in games decided by one or two runs, and their poor record in close games is largely due to their hitting, defense and bullpen situation relievers.
But in this game, everything worked.
Adell hit a ball over the right field fence. As the ball bounced toward the infield, Adell might have had a shot to reach third base, but he wisely held out at second as there was no out.
Zach Neto then hit a ball to deep center, moving Adell to third. Pinch hitter Luis Guillorme hit another fly to center, driving in Adell.
Closer Carlos Estévez, who has struggled this season, then worked the ninth to make the save. Right-hander Hunter Strickland escaped jams in the seventh and eighth to preserve the tie.
The defense also helped bail out Angels starter Tyler Anderson, who allowed one run on a Manny Machado homer in 6⅔ innings.
The Angels struck out Ha-Seong Kim while trying to turn a double into a triple in the second inning. In the third, Jurickson Profar attempted to score from first on a double and was thrown out at the plate. Both times the baton came from shortstop Zach Neto.
Neto also made a great play with his backhand to nail Kim at first.
Anderson is now through 12 starts in a remarkable bounce-back performance, lowering his ERA from 5.43 last season to 2.37 this season. He has pitched at least six innings in nine starts.
He’s suddenly made this three-year, $39 million deal that much better, not only because he’s shaping up well for the Angels, but also because he’s turned into an attractive trade chip at the trade deadline. next month (July 30).
Because Anderson is still only signed for $13 million for next season, a team that thinks it can get a season and a half of that type of performance would certainly be willing to part with some quality prospects.
However, if over the next couple of months the Angels’ young players show enough growth, general manager Perry Minasian could decide they can compete again as soon as 2025. In that case, they might want to keep Anderson.
In that game, Anderson found himself without a decision because the Angels couldn’t do much in their first look at Padres right-hander Matt Waldron, the only current knuckleball pitcher in the majors.
The Angels saw a total of 31 knuckleballs among Waldron’s 95 pitches. They swung at 11 and made contact at eight, committing five fouls and putting three in play.
One of them produced the Angels’ only game against Waldron.
In the fourth, Luis Rengifo singled and stole second. He scored when Willie Calhoun hit a knuckleball into center field.
More to come on this story.
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