Read the Angels side (the whole game, score included)
Los Angeles Angels at Pittsburgh
This is Missed It. Los Angeles Angels at Pittsburgh, Sunday, September 6, 75 and sunny at PNC Park, with the Angels. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.
Pregame
It's Los Angeles Angels at Pittsburgh Pirates, and we've got a pitcher's duel brewing on the road. The Angels are looking to steal one here, and they've got the ball first in this one. Pittsburgh's got their crowd behind them, but we know what this team can do when the bats get going. Let's get into it.
Innings 1-3
Top of the first, and we're off. The Angels send four batters to the plate, and we're in and out of there without a run. Score stays zero-zero. Pittsburgh comes up, three batters, and they go down just as quick. Clean inning. Zero-zero after one. Top of the second, same story. Four batters for us, no runs. Pittsburgh answers with three of their own, no runs. We're locked in a tight one early. Zero-zero after two. Top of the third, and we're still searching. Four batters, no runs. The bats haven't woken up yet, but the pitching is keeping us right there. Zero-zero going to the bottom of the third. And then it happens. Two outs, bases empty, and Henry Davis steps in. He gets a pitch he likes, and he doesn't miss it. That ball is gone, a fly ball to left field that just keeps carrying. Davis rounds the bases and Pittsburgh has the lead. One-nothing. Just like that, a solo shot puts us behind, and we've got to find a way to answer.
Innings 4-6
Top of the fourth, and we need a response. Four batters come up, and we can't push anything across. Still one-nothing. But the bottom of the fourth, that's where this game takes a turn. Pittsburgh gets something going early. No outs, two on, and Nick Gonzales steps in with a chance to blow this open. He hits a ground ball, and it's right at Zach Neto. Neto to Christian Moore to Moisés Ballesteros. Double play. Brandon Lowe scrambles to third, Bryan Reynolds is out at second, Gonzales out at first. The inning is flipped on its head. What looked like a rally is suddenly two outs and a runner at third. Pittsburgh can't cash it in. We escape, still down just one. Top of the fifth, and we get our best chance yet. Two outs, a runner on, and Mike Trout steps in. He's been waiting for a pitch all night, and he gets one. Trout drives it deep to center, a line drive that Oneil Cruz has to chase down. Zach Neto is running on contact, trying to score from first. Cruz gets to the ball, fires to Brandon Lowe, and the relay goes to Henry Davis at the plate. Neto is out. He's out at home by a step. Trout's standing on second with a double, but the run doesn't count. We're still down one, and that one hurts. Bottom of the fifth, Pittsburgh sends three batters up, no runs. Top of the sixth, we send three of our own, no runs. We're running out of time, and this one-nothing lead is starting to feel like a mountain.
The Stretch
Here we are, and it's the play in the top of the fifth that we'll be talking about. Mike Trout's double, Zach Neto thrown out at home. That was the moment. That was the chance to tie this game, and the relay beat us. One play, and the whole feel of this game shifted. We've had our chances, and we've got nothing to show for it. We need a break. We need someone to get on base and someone to drive them in. We need to find a way to scratch across a run before this one slips away completely.
The Sequence
Bottom of the sixth, Pittsburgh sends four batters up, no runs. Still one-nothing. We've got to make something happen. Top of the seventh, and we get a runner on. One out, Josh Lowe on base, and Adam Frazier steps in. He hits a ground ball to Carmen Mlodzinski, who flips to Spencer Horwitz at first. Frazier's out, but Lowe moves to second. A runner in scoring position with one out. This is our chance. But we can't bring him home. Four batters, no runs. Still one-nothing. Bottom of the seventh, three batters for Pittsburgh, no runs. We're running out of innings. Top of the eighth, and we need a rally. Zach Neto leads off, and he strikes out swinging. One down. Then Mike Trout steps in, and he does what Mike Trout does. He singles on a ground ball to left field, Billy Cook can't get to it. Trout's on first, and we've got life. Wade Meckler comes up, and he hits a ground ball to Brandon Lowe. Lowe to Konnor Griffin. Force out. Trout's out at second, Meckler's safe at first. Two outs now, and Vaughn Grissom steps in. He grounds out, Jacob Gonzalez to Spencer Horwitz. Inning over. We had Trout on, and we couldn't move him. Bottom of the eighth, three batters, no runs. We're down to our last chance. Top of the ninth, and this is it. Down one, and we need a miracle. Two outs, a runner on, and Denzer Guzman steps in. He gets a pitch, he swings, and he flies out to Bryan Reynolds in right field. Game over. That's the ballgame.
Wrap-up
One-nothing. That's the final. Pittsburgh by one, and it's a tough one to swallow. We had our chances, we had Trout at the plate with a runner on, we had Neto thrown out at home, and we just couldn't find that one hit. Henry Davis's solo shot in the third was the difference, and we couldn't answer. It's a loss, and it stings. But we'll be back at it tomorrow. That's all we can do.
Outro
That was Los Angeles Angels at Pittsburgh, from the Angels side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.