Wednesday April 19: Angels End Anguish, Darvish Defeated, Mariners Near No-No'd

The standings remain tightly packed, to be expected in April. Essentially, everyone is beating up on every one else, as all five teams have primarily played in the division. The Astros remain the only team over .500. The Angels ended their six-game losing streak with another solid starting pitching performance and, you know, hitting the ball. The Athletics continue to look sneaky dangerous with great pitching performances from their young staff. The Mariners avoided getting no-hit by a combination of three Miami Marlins pitchers, but they waited until the 9th inning to end the only drama in a 5-0 loss. Recaps and links below.

Angels 5, Astros 2

Ricky Nolasco went six solid innings for the Angels, and the bullpen pitched three scoreless to wrap up the first Angels win in a week. The bats came alive, with homers from Andrelton Simmons and Albert Pujols (a three-run monster off starter Joe Musgrove that went over the ConocoPhillips sign and put the Angels ahead for good). They also got a RBI double from some guy named Trout. But they face the top of the Astros rotation the next two games, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers.

The box.

Athletics 4, Rangers 2

Andrew Triggs hasn't given up an earned run in three starts. Come on! He outdueled Yu Darvish last night, going six innings and striking out five. He didn't walk anyone, either. Meanwhile, Darvish sailed through the first five innings, but got a little roughed up in the 6th, giving up a home run to Adam Rosales that tied the game. The rubber match in the series is this afternoon, with Martin Perez up against Jesse Hahn.

The box.

Marlins 5, Mariners 0

The Mariners had their recent surge stopped, getting just one hit against the Marlins staff. They had no hits against Wei-Yin Chen through seven innings, but manager Don Mattingly pulled him at 100 pitches. Brad Zeigler pitched a scoreless 8th, but Kyle Barraclough gave up a hit in the 9th to Mitch Haniger. So no no-no. The rubber match is this afternoon, with King Felix taking the mound against Edison Volquez.

The box.

Good Reads

Angels fans rejoice over everything finally coming together, no miracle needed.

Shortstop Carlos Correa contradicts his agent about the potential for a long-term deal with the Astros. Let the negotiating games begin.

How many times will we have to use the phrase "sneaky dangerous" about the A's if Jesse Hahn gets it going?  It looks like Adam Rosales, the offensive hero Tuesday, will be playing at short for awhile.

Read about the Mariners loss and also learn about black holes. Forbes breaks down how the Mariners are making some cash from sponsorship.

Was pulling Darvish last night super weird? Also, here's an excellent description of how Darvish fell apart in the Rangers' loss.



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