Poised Toronto Blue Jays overpower Los Angeles Angels 5-4 – MLB Update
Los Angeles Angels could not maintain the lead on Sunday, August 14 and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 at Rogers Centre.
Having secured a 4-2 lead earlier, the Angels stumbled and allowed Edwin Encarnacion an RBI in the 10th to lose the game.
Dan Haren who allowed three runs in the seven inning spell thought it was one of the toughest encounters the team has had. "It's make or break here coming up," starter Dan Haren said. "This is probably one of the toughest stretches of our schedule."
"We feel that if we get leads on a consistent basis, we're going to hold them," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Our issue has been the margins by which we've been getting leads late has been very, very tight.”
Sunday’s game began with the Los Angeles Angels going tough against Brett Cecil. Torii Hunter was the first to homer, giving the Angels a safe 2-0 lead. In the 2-hit two-run first inning, Cecil found it hard to keep the Angels at bay.
Dan Haren proved a tough contender, remaining magically effective to maintain the lead for the Angels. He kept the Toronto Blue Jays’ hitters confined, allowing them no hits in the initial few innings.
For Brett Cecil, on the other hand, putting up a strong defensive shield against the Angels seemed a bit difficult. Alberto Callaspo had a hit in the third to triple the lead for the Angels while the Blue Jays looked for an opportunity to open their account.
The opportunity fortuitously came in the fourth when Eric Themes homered first to bring the lead down to 3-1 following whom – in the very next pitch, Jose Bautista had another homer to make it 3-2 for the Blue Jays.
However, Peter Bourjos was quick with his double to left to take the Angels lead up to 4-2. That was a lead that continued till the sixth when Eric Thames scored once again for the Blue Jays, making it 4-3 by the end of the inning.
Casey Janssen then pitched effective innings for the Blue Jays while Scott Downs did it for the Angels. It was in the ninth when Brett Lawrie levelled the score with his double to centre. Failing to contain the Blue Jays, the Angels strained.
For the Angels, the result was obviously exceedingly frustrating. "Not a good road trip," Angels’ outfielder Torii Hunter said of the 2-4 swing through New York and Toronto. "We'll just have to try and bounce back, starting tomorrow.”
Jon Rauch pitched a shut-out 10th while Edwin Encarnacion hit a game-winning single to centre against Fernando Rodney that turned the game into the Blue Jays favour with a 5-4 victory.
Tags: