The Los Angeles Angels took on the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night, falling behind early as the Reds scored five runs in the first inning to two for the Angels. The Angels' Anthony Rendon made headlines for the wrong reasons and went through an injury scare while attempting to beat out an infield single.
The game took place during a frustrating season-ending injury to Los Angeles pitcher Robert Stephenson. Prior to the game, former baseball MVP Mike Trout shared his thoughts on Rendon of the positive variety.
Rendon's injury happened as part of a play that has become all-too-familiar in the world of Major League Baseball.
Anthony Rendon's injury scare, revealed
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound third baseman from Houston, Texas has a batting average of nearly .260 so far on the young season, as well as three runs batted in with a .614 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). Rendon did his best to beat out a ground ball in Saturday's action, turning on the jets at the last split second in hopes of beating out a throw from the Reds.
Rendon came up lame after the play and was replaced by Zach Neto alongside trainer Mike Frostad.
As of the top of the third inning on Saturday night in the Queens City, the Angels trailed 5-2 on the scoreboard.
Angels, Reds' first half schedule trends
The Angels started out the season two losses in three games to the Baltimore Orioles followed by a three game sweep against the Miami Marlins. They entered Saturday's game at 9-11, third place in the American League West.
The Reds started out the season by taking two of three games from both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Generals. They then lost two of three games to the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers before recovering to sweep a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox. At 10-9, their series opening win against the Angels catapulted them above the .500 mark on the season.
For the Angels to fight back and win this series, the team's starting pitching must improve. Patrick Sandoval gave up five earned runs in just three innings of work on Saturday, putting the Angels behind the eight-ball early. With Shohei Ohtani now across town with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Angels don't have the same caliber of superstar hitting to get them over the hump the way Ohtani did last year at times.
The onus will be on the pitching to improve, as well as supporting players to give Trout the help he needs to put more runs on the board in the coming innings and games.
The Angels continued to trail the Reds by a score of 5-2 midway through the fifth inning on Sunday.
Follow Us
Subscribe