Field Level Media
Jun 27, 2023
Mike Trout scored from third base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Los Angeles Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night in Anaheim, Calif.
White Sox reliever Aaron Bummer's 83 mph sweeper to Angels hitter Mike Moustakas was low and away and in the dirt and White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal couldn't block it, allowing Trout to score.
Trout, who struck out in his first three at-bats against White Sox starter Dylan Cease, led off the ninth with a walk against White Sox right-handed reliever Reynaldo Lopez. Bummer, a left-hander, replaced Lopez and walked Shohei Ohtani.
Trout and Ohtani pulled off a double steal, but Brandon Drury struck out for the first out of the inning.
Moustakas, making his first start as an Angel after being acquired from the Rockies in a trade on Saturday, was 1-for-3 with a single when he came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.
Angels reliever Carlos Estevez (2-1) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to get the win over Lopez (2-5).
The game was tied 1-1 entering the ninth, each team scoring a run on a solo homer: Luis Robert Jr. homering for Chicago in the first and Ohtani going deep in the fourth for Los Angeles.
Angels starter Reid Detmers retired the first two White Sox hitters of the game before Robert homered for the fourth time in three games.
After the home run by Robert, Detmers retired the next 10 White Sox hitters before Andrew Vaughn led off the fifth inning with a single. Jake Burger followed with a walk, giving Chicago runners on first and second with nobody out.
Detmers, though, responded by striking out the next three hitters to escape.
Meanwhile, Cease kept the Angels off the scoreboard until the fourth when Ohtani hit his major-league-leading 26th homer of the season, smashing a 3-1 slider into the right-center-field seats to tie the game at 1-1.
Cease pitched into the seventh inning, but after giving up an infield single to Drury and a single to Moustakas, he was replaced by Joe Kelly.
Kelly got out of the jam by striking out Taylor Ward and getting Matt Thaiss to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Both Detmers and Cease received a no-decision. Detmers gave up one run on two hits and two walks while striking out 10 in seven innings, and Cease allowed one run on five hits in six-plus innings, striking out 10 and walking none.
--Field Level Media