Telepeer

Angels’ bats, bullpen fail to support Shohei Ohtani in season-opening loss

March 31, 2023

OAKLAND — On a night when Shohei Ohtani had a brilliant start, Mike Trout was unlucky at the plate and Hunter Renfroe was lucky in right field, the game ended up being decided by Aaron Loup.

And the veteran lefty had a simple summation for his performance in the Angels’ 2-1 loss to the Oakland A’s in the season opener on Thursday night.

“Embarrassing, honestly,” Loup said. “Probably the most embarrassing outing of my career for me. … I was out there pitching scared. … It is what it is. Game 1. Long season.”

Loup wouldn’t elaborate on what he meant by “pitching scared,” but he assured that it “definitely won’t” happen again.

His belt-high 0-and-2 curveball to left-handed hitting Tony Kemp wound up bouncing off the fence for a game-tying double in the eighth. The go-ahead run then scored on a single by Aledmys Diaz against reliever Ryan Tepera.

That eighth-inning hiccup was enough to send the Angels to their ninth Opening Day loss in the last 10 years, leaving Ohtani without a victory on a night when he pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10.

Ohtani recorded two of his strikeouts after allowing his only two hits, a fourth-inning single and double that put runners at second and third with one out in a scoreless game. He got Jesus Aguilar on a splitter and then whiffed Ramon Laureano on a 100-mph fastball.

“He went from dominant to unhittable,” Trout marveled.

Ohtani started off a little shaky in the first, but then he settled into a groove and had little trouble with the A’s. He was saved from a leadoff extra-base hit in the fifth on a remarkable catch by Renfroe in right field.

Jace Peterson hit a line drive and Renfroe said the wind took over. He ended up turned the wrong way, and he stabbed his glove out behind him, with the ball sticking in it. He said he never saw the ball go into his glove.

“We mess around in BP all the time making trick catches and doing stuff like that,” Renfroe said. “Sometimes you’ve got to use it when the ball is doing crazy stuff in the outfield and the wind is pushing it different directions. I’m glad I caught it. It’s not how you draw it up, but it is what it is.”

Trout, watching from center field, could only laugh at what his teammate did.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Trout said.

Renfroe’s catch and Ohtani’s outing all might have come in a victory, despite Loup’s performance, if the Angels’ much-improved offense had not started the season with such a disappointing performance.

Facing rookie left-hander Kyle Muller for the first five innings, the Angels managed just five hits. Their only run was on a Logan O’Hoppe RBI single in the fifth.

Los Angeles Angels |

Gio Urshela happy with Angels’ decision to give him a continued look at shortstop

Los Angeles Angels |

Hoornstra: Joe Davis reflects on calling ‘one of the great moments in baseball history’

Los Angeles Angels |

Alexander: It should be a fun MLB summer in Southern California

Los Angeles Angels |

Angels face high expectations, pressure to win with Shohei Ohtani

Los Angeles Angels |

Angel Stadium parking price increase catches some by surprise

The Angels’ best at-bats were Trout’s, and none of them were hits. In the first inning, his 108 mph line drive was caught by diving center fielder Esteury Ruiz. In the sixth, he hit a ball 104 mph and it was caught by left fielder Seth Brown with his back against the fence. In the eighth, Trout hit a 106 mph line drive that Brown caught.

“That’s baseball for you,” said Trout, who also walked. “Just have good at-bats. Put the barrel on it. If they get caught, they get caught. I felt really good out there today.”

Otherwise, the Angels went quietly, a disappointing start for a team that boasted its deepest lineup in years. The Angels’ primary problem last year was a failure to produce offensively, but no one expects that to be an issue this year unless the lineup is again ravaged by injuries. On this night they had all the players they wanted in the lineup, but they still couldn’t score.

“We’re going to score runs,” Manager Phil Nevin said. “I’m not worried about that. Just Opening Night. Baseball gets weird sometimes. We’re gonna swing the bats. We’re gonna score a lot of runs.”

Orange County Register

News Details

Angels’ bats, bullpen fail to support Shohei Ohtani in season-opening loss

Related Articles

News

CONTACT INFO

QUICK LINKS

SERVICES

CURRENT NEWS