Despite seeing his team lose an American League-high 83 games, Los Angeles Angels manager Kurt Suzuki has gone out of his way to praise his club’s resiliency.
“They never give up,” Suzuki said after the Angels lost their fifth straight game in true gut-punch fashion. Los Angeles dropped a 5-3 decision to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series in Anaheim, Calif.
Pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa hit a grand slam with two outs in the top of the ninth to help rally the Phillies to victory. Sosa’s first career grand slam came one batter after Los Angeles outfielder Wade Meckler made a highlight-reel catch to rob Bryson Stott of a go-ahead three-run homer.
Angels closer Ben Joyce walked J.T. Realmuto to load the bases before giving way to Sammy Peralta. Sosa deposited a 1-1 changeup over the fence in left-center field for Philadelphia’s first go-ahead grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning of a game since Shane Victorino in 2009.
Los Angeles also surrendered a late lead in a 4-3 setback to the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday.
“It’s part of the game,” Meckler told the Orange County Register after Friday night’s latest meltdown. “Baseball is tough. Everybody is good and it’s part of the game.”
The Angels will put Suzuki’s resiliency theory to the test on Saturday when they try to rebound against Philadelphia left-hander Cristopher Sanchez.
Sanchez (16-4, 2.62 ERA), one of the candidates for the National League Cy Young Award, is tied for the major league lead in victories. He hasn’t lost a game since July 6 at Kansas City.
Sanchez, who is 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Los Angeles, also is closing in on a couple of impressive milestones. He needs six more strikeouts to reach 200 for the second straight season, and he needs four more wins to become the Phillies’ first 20-game winner since Hall of Famer Roy Halladay in 2010.
“It would be an honor to be in a position to get to 20 wins,” Sanchez recently told MLB.com. “But my first goal is always to throw as many quality innings as I can for the team and always leave the team in good position to win games whenever I’m out there on the mound.”
Friday’s comeback win moved Philadelphia three games ahead of the San Diego Padres for the second NL wild-card spot and 3 1/2 games in front of Arizona for the final wild-card spot.
Rookie right-hander Ryan Johnson (3-7, 5.75) will make his first career start against Philadelphia.
Johnson carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning in his most recent start at Texas last Saturday before allowing a leadoff single to Cody Freeman. He left after throwing a career-high seven innings, allowing just the one hit and no runs in a 3-0 victory.
“He’s been trending up,” Suzuki said of Johnson. “Stuff’s getting better. He’s getting more consistent. He believes in himself. … When you throw with confidence, you tend to keep getting better and better.”
Johnson has a 1.69 ERA in his last four starts.
–Field Level Media
