No matter how much fun it may be to contemplate whether Josh Donaldson or Mike Trout is the current MVP of the American League, the big picture must be the primary focus for both teams. Encarnacion led off with a towering pop-up that was misplayed into a single by both the first and second basemen, keeping Encarnacion’s hit streak alive at 17 games.
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“How do you put a price on the company name being up on the scoreboard?” he said. He walked Mike Trout in the first inning and that was LA’s only baserunner until first baseman C.J. Cron doubled to the opposite field leading off the fifth. The Angels have scored five runs in their last three games and three or less runs in six of their last eight.
The Blue Jays, however, may have made their most savvy move back in November when they dealt Brett Lawrie and three prospects to Oakland to acquire Donaldson, who set career highs with 29 homers and 98 RBIs in 2014. “(Price) gets that edge. He took a ideal game into the eighth inning of his next start against Tampa Bay.
Angels starter Hector Santiago couldn’t find the strike zone in the first inning.
For many, it simply boils down to the player’s performance; how well they hit, field and run the bases. I ran into some problems getting the best offers possible, and I never did, which is why I went to college. I nearly got to believe that the baseball looks like a beach ball to him. “Tonight I went out there and threw my game, mixed in all my pitches, executed some really good changeups, some really good cutters and a couple of curveballs, as well. I just kind of fell apart”. He walked four of his first six batters, including Russell Martin with the bases loaded.
Kevin Pillar hit a sinking liner into left field and Shane Victorino slid and dropped it, allowing two more runs to score.
However, the lefty’s ERA has doubled from 2.33 before the all-star break to 4.59 since. The majority of teams in Major League Baseball can’t afford to do that and attempt to contend. The A’s and their fans would kill for a player like that, which is exactly why the team jumped on versatile utility man Danny Valencia when was designated by the Blue Jays on August 1.
The last thing they want is to allow teams chasing them to pick up any momentum, and Friday’s 9-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels marked an important opening salvo in that regard. He was then given another error on a throw to the plate in the ninth.
All three games in this series were sold out last week, with the crowd of 46,689 chanting, singing and roaring all night.
Toronto had only 11 hits, but took advantage of Santiago’s early wildness – he walked four in the first inning – and some shoddy play by the Angels defense. Dioner Navarro is Estrada’s normal catcher and it will allow Martin to have a day to rest a sore left hamstring that he’s been playing through.
NOTES: Angels 2B Johnny Giavotella left the ballpark before the game because he was feeling sick. 3B David Freese starts a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday in his comeback from a broken finger.
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David Price, in his fourth start since being acquired from Detroit, picked up the win and is now 3-0 with Toronto, (12-4 overall).
