ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Johnny Giavotella left the Los Angeles Angels
five weeks ago while they were plunging to the fringe of the AL playoff
race. When he returned on Friday night, the scrappy second baseman
added two big hits to the Angels' latest win in an impressive surge back
up the standings.
Albert Pujols and C.J. Cron hit two-run homers, and the Angels moved within a half-game of playoff position with an 8-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Mike Trout went 3 for 5 with an RBI double as the Angels (79-74) won their third straight and nearly closed the gap on the Houston Astros (80-74), who lost to Texas, for the second AL wild card spot. Los Angeles also moved past the Minnesota Twins (78-75), who lost at Detroit.
"Guys can tell we're right in the thick of things," said Giavotella, who missed 31 games with a nerve palsy that gave him double vision. "You can tell every pitch is important. This is something I love to be a part of."
Giavotella tripled and drove in two runs for the late-charging Angels, who dropped far off the playoff pace while going 10-19 in August. They're 14-8 in September, with six wins in eight games.
"It's right where you want to be, definitely," said Pujols, who hit his 557th career homer. "But we haven't earned anything. We're just playing baseball, and we still have a few games left. We just need to win series and do whatever it takes to come out with the `W' every night, and then we'll see what happens at the end."
After winning their series in Houston and Minnesota during a 10-game road trip, the Angels opened their final homestand of the season with a rare offensive barrage including 14 hits. Pujols homered during the Angels' four-run first inning, and Cron added his 15th shot in the seventh.
They provided plenty of help for Garrett Richards (15-11), who struck out eight in seven innings of five-hit ball.
"I thought we had real good at-bats against him and got his pitch count up," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said of Richards. "We battled and had him in trouble all night, but we couldn't get the big hit to put us over the hump."
Nelson Cruz hit his 43rd homer and Logan Morrison drove in two runs for the Mariners, who have lost three straight for the first time since Aug. 19-22. Vidal Nuno (1-4) gave up four runs on his first 14 pitches, and he was chased in the fifth after yielding nine hits and five runs.
Cruz connected against Richards in the first inning, tying Baltimore's Chris Davis for the major league lead in homers.
But the Angels evened it on Nuno's first seven pitches, and they took a 4-1 lead after seven more.
Erick Aybar hit a leadoff double and scored when Trout's jammed popup landed in right for a bloop double.
"They're fighting for a wild card spot, and they hit the ball good in the first inning," Nuno said. "I was throwing that changeup a little bit too often. Trout got that bloop, then I was trying to go in on Pujols and missed my spot, and it was a 3-1 ballgame."
Giavotella drove in runs in the fourth and sixth innings, punctuating his sixth-inning triple with a belly-flop slide into third.
READY IF ASKED
Richards says he will start on three days' rest next weekend if the Angels' 162nd game of the season is going to determine their playoff fate. He is slated to start the final game of this homestand Wednesday against Oakland.
ALBERT'S BLAST
Pujols connected for his 37th homer, his biggest total in the $240 million slugger's four seasons with the Angels. Although he can barely run due to a sore foot, Pujols has two homers in his last three games after hitting just one in his previous 25 games.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mariners: McClendon isn't sure whether left-hander James Paxton will pitch again this season, thanks to his torn fingernail.
Angels: Giavotella only regained his normal vision a week ago. "I was pretty much cross-eyed the first week after the incident," he said. "It's nice to be able to see again."
UP NEXT
Mariners: Felix Hernandez (18-9, 3.54 ERA) needs a victory to keep alive his shot at his first 20-win season.
Angels: Rookie Andrew Heaney (6-3, 3.30 ERA) pitched seven scoreless innings while winning in Seattle in July.
Albert Pujols and C.J. Cron hit two-run homers, and the Angels moved within a half-game of playoff position with an 8-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Mike Trout went 3 for 5 with an RBI double as the Angels (79-74) won their third straight and nearly closed the gap on the Houston Astros (80-74), who lost to Texas, for the second AL wild card spot. Los Angeles also moved past the Minnesota Twins (78-75), who lost at Detroit.
"Guys can tell we're right in the thick of things," said Giavotella, who missed 31 games with a nerve palsy that gave him double vision. "You can tell every pitch is important. This is something I love to be a part of."
Giavotella tripled and drove in two runs for the late-charging Angels, who dropped far off the playoff pace while going 10-19 in August. They're 14-8 in September, with six wins in eight games.
"It's right where you want to be, definitely," said Pujols, who hit his 557th career homer. "But we haven't earned anything. We're just playing baseball, and we still have a few games left. We just need to win series and do whatever it takes to come out with the `W' every night, and then we'll see what happens at the end."
After winning their series in Houston and Minnesota during a 10-game road trip, the Angels opened their final homestand of the season with a rare offensive barrage including 14 hits. Pujols homered during the Angels' four-run first inning, and Cron added his 15th shot in the seventh.
They provided plenty of help for Garrett Richards (15-11), who struck out eight in seven innings of five-hit ball.
"I thought we had real good at-bats against him and got his pitch count up," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said of Richards. "We battled and had him in trouble all night, but we couldn't get the big hit to put us over the hump."
Nelson Cruz hit his 43rd homer and Logan Morrison drove in two runs for the Mariners, who have lost three straight for the first time since Aug. 19-22. Vidal Nuno (1-4) gave up four runs on his first 14 pitches, and he was chased in the fifth after yielding nine hits and five runs.
Cruz connected against Richards in the first inning, tying Baltimore's Chris Davis for the major league lead in homers.
But the Angels evened it on Nuno's first seven pitches, and they took a 4-1 lead after seven more.
Erick Aybar hit a leadoff double and scored when Trout's jammed popup landed in right for a bloop double.
"They're fighting for a wild card spot, and they hit the ball good in the first inning," Nuno said. "I was throwing that changeup a little bit too often. Trout got that bloop, then I was trying to go in on Pujols and missed my spot, and it was a 3-1 ballgame."
Giavotella drove in runs in the fourth and sixth innings, punctuating his sixth-inning triple with a belly-flop slide into third.
READY IF ASKED
Richards says he will start on three days' rest next weekend if the Angels' 162nd game of the season is going to determine their playoff fate. He is slated to start the final game of this homestand Wednesday against Oakland.
ALBERT'S BLAST
Pujols connected for his 37th homer, his biggest total in the $240 million slugger's four seasons with the Angels. Although he can barely run due to a sore foot, Pujols has two homers in his last three games after hitting just one in his previous 25 games.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mariners: McClendon isn't sure whether left-hander James Paxton will pitch again this season, thanks to his torn fingernail.
Angels: Giavotella only regained his normal vision a week ago. "I was pretty much cross-eyed the first week after the incident," he said. "It's nice to be able to see again."
UP NEXT
Mariners: Felix Hernandez (18-9, 3.54 ERA) needs a victory to keep alive his shot at his first 20-win season.
Angels: Rookie Andrew Heaney (6-3, 3.30 ERA) pitched seven scoreless innings while winning in Seattle in July.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Seattle - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Garrett Richards pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| Marte grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Seager grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Cruz homered to left center (411 feet). | 1 | 0 |
| Canó grounded out to catcher. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Vidal Nuno pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Aybar doubled to shallow left. | 1 | 0 |
| Calhoun lined out to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Trout doubled to right, Aybar scored. | 1 | 1 |
| Pujols homered to left center (391 feet), Trout scored. | 1 | 3 |
| Cron doubled to deep left center. | 1 | 3 |
| Freese singled to right, Cron scored. | 1 | 4 |
| Victorino struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| Pérez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Freese out at second. | 1 | 4 |
| 4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Garrett Richards pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| S. Smith walked. | 1 | 4 |
| Trumbo walked, S. Smith to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Morrison singled to right, S. Smith scored, Trumbo to third. | 2 | 4 |
| Miller reached on bunt single to catcher, Trumbo scored, Morrison to second, Morrison to third, Miller to second on throwing error by catcher Pérez. | 3 | 4 |
| Baron struck out looking. | 3 | 4 |
| Marte struck out swinging. | 3 | 4 |
| Seager struck out swinging. | 3 | 4 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Vidal Nuno pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Giavotella flied out to right. | 3 | 4 |
| Aybar grounded out to second. | 3 | 4 |
| Calhoun struck out swinging. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Garrett Richards pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| Cruz lined out to second. | 3 | 4 |
| Canó struck out swinging. | 3 | 4 |
| S. Smith struck out looking. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Vidal Nuno pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Trout reached on infield single to shortstop. | 3 | 4 |
| Pujols struck out swinging. | 3 | 4 |
| Cron flied out to center. | 3 | 4 |
| Freese grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Garrett Richards pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| Trumbo grounded out to second. | 3 | 4 |
| Morrison flied out to center. | 3 | 4 |
| Miller reached on infield single to shortstop. | 3 | 4 |
| Baron grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Miller out at second. | 3 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Vidal Nuno pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Victorino doubled to left. | 3 | 4 |
| Pérez grounded out to shortstop, Victorino to third. | 3 | 4 |
| Giavotella singled to center, Victorino scored. | 3 | 5 |
| Aybar grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, Giavotella out at second. | 3 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Garrett Richards pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| Marte grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 5 |
| Seager singled to right. | 3 | 5 |
| Cruz walked, Seager to second. | 3 | 5 |
| Canó grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, Cruz out at second. | 3 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Vidal Nuno pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Calhoun struck out swinging. | 3 | 5 |
| Trout singled to left. | 3 | 5 |
| A Zych relieved Nuño. | 3 | 5 |
| Pujols grounded out to second, Trout to second. | 3 | 5 |
| Cron popped out to shortstop. | 3 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Garrett Richards pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| S. Smith struck out swinging. | 3 | 5 |
| Trumbo flied out to right. | 3 | 5 |
| Morrison struck out swinging. | 3 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Tony Zych pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Freese hit by pitch. | 3 | 5 |
| Victorino struck out swinging. | 3 | 5 |
| Pérez struck out swinging. | 3 | 5 |
| Giavotella tripled to deep center, Freese scored. | 3 | 6 |
| Aybar grounded out to second. | 3 | 6 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Garrett Richards pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| Featherston at second base. | 3 | 6 |
| Miller walked. | 3 | 6 |
| O'Malley hit for Baron. | 3 | 6 |
| O'Malley grounded into fielder's choice to first, Miller out at second. | 3 | 6 |
| Marte struck out swinging, O'Malley stole second. | 3 | 6 |
| Seager flied out to left. | 3 | 6 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Logan Kensing pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Hicks catching. | 3 | 6 |
| Kensing relieved A Zych. | 3 | 6 |
| Calhoun flied out to left. | 3 | 6 |
| Trout grounded out to third. | 3 | 6 |
| Pujols singled to right. | 3 | 6 |
| Cron homered to center (431 feet), Pujols scored. | 3 | 8 |
| Freese doubled to right. | 3 | 8 |
| Cowart ran for Freese. | 3 | 8 |
| Guaipe relieved Kensing. | 3 | 8 |
| Murphy hit for Victorino. | 3 | 8 |
| Murphy grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 8 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Fernando Salas pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| Navarro at first base. | 3 | 8 |
| Cowart at third base. | 3 | 8 |
| Cowgill in left field. | 3 | 8 |
| Salas relieved Richards. | 3 | 8 |
| Cruz fouled out to right. | 3 | 8 |
| Canó singled to right. | 3 | 8 |
| S. Smith singled to right, Canó to third. | 3 | 8 |
| Trumbo fouled out to first. | 3 | 8 |
| Álvarez relieved Salas. | 3 | 8 |
| Morrison singled to left, Canó scored, S. Smith to second. | 4 | 8 |
| Gutiérrez hit for Miller. | 4 | 8 |
| Gott relieved Álvarez. | 4 | 8 |
| Gutiérrez hit by pitch, S. Smith to third, Morrison to second. | 4 | 8 |
| Jones hit for Hicks. | 4 | 8 |
| Jones struck out looking. | 4 | 8 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Los Angeles - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Rob Rasmussen pitching for Seattle | SEA | LAA |
| Sucre catching. | 4 | 8 |
| Jones in center field. | 4 | 8 |
| Rasmussen relieved Guaipe. | 4 | 8 |
| Pérez lined out to second. | 4 | 8 |
| Featherston doubled to left center. | 4 | 8 |
| Aybar grounded out to third. | 4 | 8 |
| Calhoun walked. | 4 | 8 |
| Trout struck out looking. | 4 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Mike Morin pitching for Los Angeles | SEA | LAA |
| Morin relieved Gott. | 4 | 8 |
| Marte grounded out to second. | 4 | 8 |
| Seager singled to left. | 4 | 8 |
| Cruz grounded out to pitcher, Seager to second. | 4 | 8 |
| Canó grounded out to third. | 4 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Seattle Mariners | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Marte SS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | .289 | .357 | .396 |
| Seager 3B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .274 | .333 | .459 |
| Cruz DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .308 | .378 | .580 |
| Canó 2B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .281 | .330 | .438 |
| S. Smith LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | .249 | .328 | .444 |
| Trumbo RF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | .258 | .310 | .413 |
| Morrison 1B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .227 | .304 | .391 |
| Miller CF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | .258 | .332 | .402 |
b-Gutiérrez PH
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .312 | .367 | .675 |
Sucre C
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .132 | .179 | .208 |
| Baron C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-O'Malley PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .323 | .476 | .452 |
Hicks C
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .037 | .071 | .037 |
c-Jones PH-CF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .120 | .185 | .160 |
| Totals | 35 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 149 | |||
| a-grounded into fielder's choice to first for S Baron in the 7th b-hit by pitch for B Miller in the 8th c-struck out looking for J Hicks in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING HR: Cruz (43, 1st inning off Richards 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Cruz (90), Morrison 2 (53), Miller (45) 2-out RBI: Cruz, Morrison GIDP: Canó Mariners RISP: 3-11 (Marte 0-1, Miller 1-1, Seager 0-2, Trumbo 0-1, Baron 0-1, Morrison 2-2, Jones 0-1, Canó 0-2) Team LOB: 9 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: O'Malley (3, 2nd base off Richards/Pérez) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Nuño-Marte-Morrison). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA |
| Attendance | 38,355 (84.3% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:09 |
| Weather | 83 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 4 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Bob Davidson, First Base - Hunter Wendelstedt, Second Base - Marvin Hudson, Third Base - David Rackley |
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