LA Angels 3, Boston 0
When: 9:05 PM ET, Saturday, July 18, 2015
Where: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Temperature:
70°
Umpires:
Home -
Hunter Wendelstedt, 1B -
David Rackley, 2B -
Marvin Hudson, 3B -
Bob Davidson
Attendance:
43631
By The Sports Xchange
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- For the second time in less than a year, Los Angeles Angels right-hander Garrett Richards threw a complete-game shutout.
Richards gave up two hits in the Angels' 3-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night in front of 43,631 at Angel Stadium.
"If you're not hitting your spots, those guys are going to let you know," Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said of Boston's lineup. "But he pitched a terrific game. That was as pitch efficient as we've seen Garrett."
Richards (10-6) retired the final 15 batters he faced and 22 of the last 23. He induced 11 groundouts and registered six strikeouts while conceding only one walk.
"He was unreal," Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun said. "He was dominant all night. He threw one of the best games I've ever seen him throw."
Richards threw his only other major-league shutout and complete game on Aug. 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Calhoun contributed the first multi-homer game of his career. Calhoun hit two home runs and drove in two runs before finishing 3-for-3 with a walk.
The Angels used their 13th win in their past 16 games to extend their lead over the second-place Houston Astros to 1 1/2 games in the American League West.
Third baseman Pablo Sandoval had both of Boston's hits, but shortstop Xander Bogaerts and first baseman Brock Holt saw their 11-game hitting streaks end. The Red Sox have now lost four of five games.
"Except for Pablo's two base hits, he filled the strike zone up with power stuff," Boston manager John Farrell said of Richards, whose fastball reached 97 mph. "He mixed up his upper-90s fastball with his breaking ball and beat us consistently in the strike zone."
The Angels exploited two mistakes to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning without getting a hit against right-hander Rick Porcello.
With third baseman David Freese at second base and left fielder Matt Joyce on first with two outs, catcher Carlos Perez hit a high chopper. Sandoval fielded the ball but dropped it as he prepared to throw. The error loaded the bases.
Then, as second baseman Johnny Giavotella stood at the plate, Porcello threw a wild pitch that brought Freese home.
Los Angeles extended its lead to 2-0 in the third on Calhoun's 11th home run of the year. On a 3-1 count, Calhoun propelled Porcello's 90 mph fastball about 10 rows into the right-field bleachers.
Calhoun added a solo home run to right in the bottom of the fifth to give the Angels a 3-0 advantage. His drive was the 18th home run that Porcello had allowed this season.
Porcello (5-10) gave up two earned runs, three walks and four hits in five innings while striking out five.
Though Porcello suffered his eighth loss in his last nine decisions, Farrell noticed improvement.
"He's done a much better job with runners in scoring position," Farrell said. "They got some leadoff base runners on, but he was able to manage them and minimize the damage. When he's missed, he's missed to the extremes, not over the plate. That's a major step forward."
NOTES: Boston recalled RHP Noe Ramirez from Triple-A Pawtucket and optioned INF Travis Shaw to the same club after Friday night's game. Shaw, 25, batted .200 (3-for-15) in nine games for the Red Sox. ... SS Xander Bogaerts and CF Mookie Betts are the first Boston teammates age 22 or younger to each compile at least 90 hits before the All-Star break. ... Red Sox OF Daniel Nava was scheduled to play a rehabilitation game Saturday for Triple-A Pawtucket at Durham. Nava has been on the disabled list since May 26 because of a strained left thumb. ... Angels CF Mike Trout was the American League player of the week for the period ending July 12. Trout led the league with five home runs, a 1.130 slugging percentage, a .556 on-base percentage and 26 total bases while sharing first place with a .478 average and 10 RBIs. Trout won the award for the third time in his career.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Boston
|
2 |
0 |
3 |
.069 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| LA Angels
|
5 |
2 |
12 |
.172 |
17 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
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