SEATTLE -- Angels manager Mike Scioscia and pitcher C.J. Wilson had differing views of the same performance.
Scioscia went so far as to call what Wilson did a "masterpiece" after the left-hander gave up two hits over eight innings in Los Angeles' 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
Wilson was quick to counter.
"I disagree. For me, that's not a masterpiece," Wilson said. "It was good enough. I'll take it."
Consider it the high standard Wilson has set for himself that retiring the last 17 batters he faced and allowing three total baserunners doesn't fall into the list of his best outings.
But whether he wants to acknowledge it or not, Wilson (1-0) was outstanding. He wriggled out of a second-inning jam and was never threated. He needed only two strikeouts to shut down Seattle.
"That was great to see. We haven't seen that kind of stuff since probably midseason last year," Scioscia said. "I think it points to the fact that he's healthy. You can't really command the ball better than C.J. did."
The Angels got all their offense from David Freese, who hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Freese found just enough power on a chilly night when fly balls were not carrying well.
Albert Pujols doubled with one out, the first hit off Seattle starter James Paxton (0-1), and Freese followed with a shot to right-center that barely cleared the fence.
It was Freese's second career homer off Paxton, and all Wilson needed on a night when he filled up the strike zone.
"I was trying to hit something hard," Freese said. "You're not going to get too many opportunities against a guy like that, and a rotation like this, so we capitalized."
Wilson threw 96 pitches, 63 for strikes. Nelson Cruz and Rickie Weeks each got his first hit with the Mariners, but that was the entirety of Seattle's offense against Wilson.
Wilson returned to congratulations in the dugout after striking out Brad Miller to end the eighth.
Huston Street pitched the ninth for his first save.
"I wasn't too happy with a lot of the at-bats, how they went after I got to two strikes. I felt like I was out there overthrowing, yanking the ball a little bit, but I guess we had defensive guys in the right position today," Wilson said. "There are always adjustments to be made."
Paxton went six innings and struck out five, but got no run support. He retired 10 of his first 11 batters before Pujols' double, and three of the four hits he allowed came in the fourth inning.
The lack of offense left a fan catching a foul ball with his bucket of popcorn in the second inning as the biggest highlight for Seattle fans.
The Mariners had a chance in the second with runners at first and second and one out, but Wilson got Logan Morrison to hit into a fielder's choice and Mike Zunino to fly out to end the threat.
"(Wilson) has four pitches, but if he can spot all of them it's more like eight pitches -- inside, outside with whatever," Morrison said. "He was doing a good job with that tonight."
TROUT UNHOOKED
Mike Trout doubled with two outs in the eighth off Seattle reliever Yoervis Medina. It snapped an 0-for-6 streak with four strikeouts for Trout after he homered in the first inning of the opener.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: Matt Joyce sat in favor of Collin Cowgill in left field, but Scioscia said that wouldn't always be the case when a left-hander is on the mound. Scioscia said individual matchups would determine whether the left-handed-hitting Joyce plays against lefties.
Mariners: Manager Lloyd McClendon went with Cruz in right field and Weeks at designated hitter, delaying Weeks' debut in the outfield for a couple of days. McClendon said he wouldn't hesitate to put Weeks in the outfield, even though he got limited time there during spring training.
UP NEXT
Angels: Right-hander Matt Shoemaker begins his second full season with the Angels after finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2014. Shoemaker was 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 27 games last season.
Mariners: Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma will make his 2015 debut. After pitching behind Felix Hernandez in Seattle's rotation last season, Iwakuma was pushed to No. 3 in order to split up the right-handers.
Scioscia went so far as to call what Wilson did a "masterpiece" after the left-hander gave up two hits over eight innings in Los Angeles' 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
Wilson was quick to counter.
"I disagree. For me, that's not a masterpiece," Wilson said. "It was good enough. I'll take it."
Consider it the high standard Wilson has set for himself that retiring the last 17 batters he faced and allowing three total baserunners doesn't fall into the list of his best outings.
But whether he wants to acknowledge it or not, Wilson (1-0) was outstanding. He wriggled out of a second-inning jam and was never threated. He needed only two strikeouts to shut down Seattle.
"That was great to see. We haven't seen that kind of stuff since probably midseason last year," Scioscia said. "I think it points to the fact that he's healthy. You can't really command the ball better than C.J. did."
The Angels got all their offense from David Freese, who hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Freese found just enough power on a chilly night when fly balls were not carrying well.
Albert Pujols doubled with one out, the first hit off Seattle starter James Paxton (0-1), and Freese followed with a shot to right-center that barely cleared the fence.
It was Freese's second career homer off Paxton, and all Wilson needed on a night when he filled up the strike zone.
"I was trying to hit something hard," Freese said. "You're not going to get too many opportunities against a guy like that, and a rotation like this, so we capitalized."
Wilson threw 96 pitches, 63 for strikes. Nelson Cruz and Rickie Weeks each got his first hit with the Mariners, but that was the entirety of Seattle's offense against Wilson.
Wilson returned to congratulations in the dugout after striking out Brad Miller to end the eighth.
Huston Street pitched the ninth for his first save.
"I wasn't too happy with a lot of the at-bats, how they went after I got to two strikes. I felt like I was out there overthrowing, yanking the ball a little bit, but I guess we had defensive guys in the right position today," Wilson said. "There are always adjustments to be made."
Paxton went six innings and struck out five, but got no run support. He retired 10 of his first 11 batters before Pujols' double, and three of the four hits he allowed came in the fourth inning.
The lack of offense left a fan catching a foul ball with his bucket of popcorn in the second inning as the biggest highlight for Seattle fans.
The Mariners had a chance in the second with runners at first and second and one out, but Wilson got Logan Morrison to hit into a fielder's choice and Mike Zunino to fly out to end the threat.
"(Wilson) has four pitches, but if he can spot all of them it's more like eight pitches -- inside, outside with whatever," Morrison said. "He was doing a good job with that tonight."
TROUT UNHOOKED
Mike Trout doubled with two outs in the eighth off Seattle reliever Yoervis Medina. It snapped an 0-for-6 streak with four strikeouts for Trout after he homered in the first inning of the opener.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Angels: Matt Joyce sat in favor of Collin Cowgill in left field, but Scioscia said that wouldn't always be the case when a left-hander is on the mound. Scioscia said individual matchups would determine whether the left-handed-hitting Joyce plays against lefties.
Mariners: Manager Lloyd McClendon went with Cruz in right field and Weeks at designated hitter, delaying Weeks' debut in the outfield for a couple of days. McClendon said he wouldn't hesitate to put Weeks in the outfield, even though he got limited time there during spring training.
UP NEXT
Angels: Right-hander Matt Shoemaker begins his second full season with the Angels after finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2014. Shoemaker was 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 27 games last season.
Mariners: Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma will make his 2015 debut. After pitching behind Felix Hernandez in Seattle's rotation last season, Iwakuma was pushed to No. 3 in order to split up the right-handers.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Los Angeles - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| James Paxton pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Calhoun lined out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Trout flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Pujols grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Weeks flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson popped out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Canó grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| James Paxton pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Freese struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Cron flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Aybar grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Cruz singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Seager lined out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Ruggiano walked, Cruz to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Morrison grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Ruggiano out at second, Cruz to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Zunino flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| James Paxton pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Iannetta lined out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Cowgill popped out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Giavotella walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Calhoun struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Miller grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Weeks singled to left center. | 0 | 0 |
| Jackson lined out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Canó grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| James Paxton pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Trout flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Pujols doubled to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Freese homered to right center (396 feet), Pujols scored. | 2 | 0 |
| Cron struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| Aybar reached on infield single to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Aybar to second on wild pitch by Paxton. | 2 | 0 |
| Iannetta struck out looking. | 2 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Cruz grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Seager grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Ruggiano struck out looking. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| James Paxton pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Cowgill grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Giavotella grounded out to third. | 2 | 0 |
| Calhoun singled to right. | 2 | 0 |
| Trout struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Morrison grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Zunino fouled out to first. | 2 | 0 |
| Miller grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| James Paxton pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Pujols grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Freese grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Cron flied out to right. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Weeks grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Jackson flied out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| Canó grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Tom Wilhelmsen pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Aybar grounded out to first. | 2 | 0 |
| Iannetta struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| Cowgill struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Cruz flied out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| Seager grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Ruggiano lined out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Yoervis Medina pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Giavotella grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Calhoun grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Trout doubled to deep right center. | 2 | 0 |
| Pujols lined out to left. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| C.J. Wilson pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Morrison grounded out to second. | 2 | 0 |
| Zunino grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 0 |
| Miller struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Yoervis Medina pitching for Seattle | LAA | SEA |
| Freese safe at first on error by pitcher Medina. | 2 | 0 |
| Cron struck out looking. | 2 | 0 |
| Olson relieved Medina. | 2 | 0 |
| Aybar grounded into double play, third to second to first, Freese out at second. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Huston Street pitching for Los Angeles | LAA | SEA |
| Weeks struck out looking. | 2 | 0 |
| Jackson struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| Canó lined out to right. | 2 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles Angels | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Calhoun RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .125 | .125 | .125 |
| Trout CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .250 | .250 | .750 |
| Pujols 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .167 | .375 | .333 |
| Freese 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .125 | .125 | .500 |
| Cron DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | .000 | .143 | .000 |
| Aybar SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .286 | .286 | .286 |
| Iannetta C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | .167 | .167 | .167 |
| Cowgill LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Giavotella 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | .200 | .333 | .200 |
| Totals | 32 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 123 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Pujols (1, Paxton); Trout (1, Medina) HR: Freese (1, 4th inning off Paxton 1 on, 1 Out) RBI: Freese 2 (2) GIDP: Aybar Angels RISP: 1-3 (Iannetta 0-1, Freese 1-1, Pujols 0-1) Team LOB: 4 | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Safeco Field, Seattle, WA |
| Attendance | 26,545 (55.8% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:13 |
| Weather | 59 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 7 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Ron Kulpa, First Base - Brian Knight, Second Base - Vic Carapazza, Third Base - Larry Vanover |
No comments:
Post a Comment