A cold and rainy Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh did not stop the Angels from taking on the Pirates for the last game of the series. For the Halos, Hector Santiago took the mound looking to get a win for the first time since May 15th. The Pirates gave the ball to ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, who looked to recuperate after taking a loss in his last start.
Right out of the gate, Yunel Escobar and Mike Trout hit singles to right field against Cole, and Albert Pujols helped the Angels get on the board by hitting a sacrifice fly to right field, making it 1-0. Luckily for the Pirates, Santiago started off slow and Starling Marte took advantage of his mistakes by hitting a single to right field, tying the game up at 1-1 in the 1st inning.
Things did not go Santiago’s way in the bottom of the 2nd inning. He loaded up the bases with two walks and a single, and then walked Gregory Polanco and hit Jung Ho Kang with a pitch to make it a 3-1 Pirates lead. Overall, it was not a good day for Santiago once again, as he only pitched four innings for the Angels.
In the bottom of the 6th inning, Jose Alvarez could not get it done against the Pirates’ bats, giving up a RBI single to Josh Harrison to give the Pirates a 4-1 lead. C.J. Cron brought some energy to the Angels in the 7th inning, hitting a double off of the wall in center field and bringing home Rafael Ortega to make it a 4-2 ballgame. Gregorio Petit kept the rally going for the Halos, ripping a ground ball down the 1st baseline for a RBI double, making it 4-3. Marte made an outstanding catch in center field to end the 7th inning rally.
The Rally Cat was unleashed again in the 8th inning. Pujols, A.K.A. Mr. Clutch, hit a 2-run home run over the left field wall to give the Halos a 5-4 lead and keep the comeback alive. Deolis Guerra shut it down against his former team in the 8th inning, and Huston Street got out of a bases-loaded jam in the 9th inning to give the Angels a 5-4 comeback victory. Pujols seemed to be injured on the last play of the game, but he walked off the field without assistance.
Guerra was the winning pitcher, making him (1-0) on the season, and the losing pitcher was Tony Watson (1-2). The Angels (26-30) took the series against the Pirates, and they will look for another series win against the Yankees, starting tomorrow at 4:05 P.M. with Matt Shoemaker (3-6) on the mound.