Seattle Mariners starting pitcher James Paxton throws against the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016, in Seattle. “Just an incredible catch, and I’ve seen him do that against us numerous times”. It drove home the go-ahead run with Kyle Seager tagging up from third base after Nelson Cruz tied it up earlier in the inning with an RBI single. He did not break any bones and has officially been diagnosed with a left-elbow contusion, to be reevaluated today.
Advertisement
Regardless of his decision, he’s obviously going to need better results to get another opportunity to reignite his once dominant career at the big league level. Robinson Cano’s RBI double in the first and Martin’s sacrifice fly were the only runs not scored off a long ball.
In the hours after hitting his first home run of the season and second of his career – last Wednesday night in a defeat against the Red Sox – Shawn O’Malley joked that if that ball hadn’t gone out over the wall at Safeco Field, he would have had to rethink his offseason workout plan. “If we can’t stop the struggles, we at least have to get guys to come in, in certain situations, and match up”, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Trout timed his leap at the center-field wall perfectly, snagging what was destined to be a grand slam off Martin’s bat in the bottom of the fourth inning. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.
Trout, celebrating his 25th birthday, struck out four times for the fourth time in his career. The Angels are 7-4 in the last 11 meetings. “Just not picking it up, not getting my foot down”.
But the game still ended as quite a day for the Mariners – a day for a pair of past greats in Griffey and Ichiro, and a day to remember for a couple current players in Paxton (considering his performance and that X-rays on his elbow came back negative), and Freeman. “I’m hopeful we get him before we go on the road trip”, Servais said, referring to the three-game series at Oakland that begins Friday.
The Angels (49-61) were without leadoff hitter Yunel Escobar, who hurt his knee in the ninth inning of Saturday’s loss to the Mariners. RHP Nick Vincent was activated off the 15-day DL (mid-back strain). Vincent is 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA and one save in 35 games with Seattle. He made one rehab appearance with Class A Short-Season Everett, striking out three in one scoreless inning.
Advertisement
The day Lincecum’s signing became official, General Manager Billy Eppler noted that, and emphasized the Angels did not much care that Lincecum’s ERA in his four most recent seasons was 4.68. They had a chance to sweep the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and gain some momentum before a series against the Detroit Tigers that would be critical to the AL Wild Card race. The chief candidates to join the rotation appear to be triple-A pitching prospect Nate Smith and veteran journeyman Jhoulys Chacin, who made 10 mostly unsuccessful starts before being demoted to the bullpen last month.
