ANAHEIM, Calif. — A late rally from the Angels pushed their Easter Sunday series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays into extra innings, but they lost it in the tenth, 12-11, after a rough bullpen outing couldn’t support an impressive slate of home runs from Hunter Renfroe, Shohei Ohtani, Logan O’Hoppe and Brandon Drury.
The Angels came alive in the bottom of the ninth after Blue Jays pitcher Jordan Romano gave up a single to Gio Urshela, walked Taylor Ward and Shohei Ohtani and hit Anthony Rendon with a pitch. Renfroe drove in the tying runs with a double hit into left field, and the game went into extra innings with the score at 10-10.
Both Kevin Kiermaier and George Springer drove in a run in the 10th , leaving the Angels to answer the 12-10 score. Urshela recorded a single, and Ward got a walk off Trevor Richards, leaving the bases loaded for Mike Trout who also took a walk that scored Brandon Drury. Ohtani had an opportunity to upend the 12-11 score in the tenth with two outs and the bases loaded, but he was unable to capitalize on a pitch from Tim Mayza.
“We showed a lot of fight,” said manager Phil Nevin. “I like to fight in the team. We play like that. We do a lot of those good things we did today, we’re gonna win a lot of games.”
The late push in the ninth wasn’t the only time the Angels offense showed what they’re capable of. Today’s scoreboard also included four home runs — one more than they hit last night when they beat the Blue Jays, 9-5.
Last night, Renfroe hit his first home run as an Angel, a 2-run blast deep into left center field that secured the team a cushioned lead in their fifth victory of the season. Today, he had everyone asking if they were experiencing déjà vu with yet another 2-run homer that gave the Angels an early 3-0 lead.
Shohei Ohtani followed Renfroe’s lead in the third inning with the second 2-run home run of the game. The 397 ft. drive into center field was Ohtani’s first home run in Angels Stadium this season, and his third overall.
Logan O’Hoppe also joined today’s home run club, launching his third home run of the season 424 ft. into left center field, and leaving the score at 6-0 by the close of fourth inning.
Brandon Drury chimed in with his first home run of the season in the eighth inning, sending a ball 402 ft. into center field.
The near comeback and early lead of the game epitomized the Angels offense capabilities, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win after the bullpen experienced a couple of rough innings that gave the lead to the Blue Jays.
After Tyler Anderson’s rocky start against the opposing lineup last night, it looked like 23-year-old lefty Reid Detmers was off to a better start against the stacked offense as he kept them scoreless through the first five innings. However, things quickly took a turn.
By the top of the sixth inning, it looked like an entirely different game as Detmers loaded the bases with a walk, a single and a hit by pitch before Matt Chapman hit a grand slam that cut the Angels lead to 6-4. After giving up another single, Detmers’ day on the mound was over, and Andrew Wantz took over. Two more runs were scored by the Blue Jays in the sixth to tie the game.
“It just came down to execution. I thought I made a really good pitch, he hit it through the hole. Two sliders got away from me,” said Detmers. “After that, everything was up in the air.”
Relievers Ryan Tepera and Aaron Loup didn’t fare much better in the seventh with Tepera giving up four runs to put the Blue Jays score in the double digits. Carlos Estévez took the loss in the tenth after giving up two runs that the offense couldn’t answer. The final score was 12-11 Blue Jays.
“Just missed my spot twice. That’s what happens when you make mistakes, you pay for it at this level,” said Estévez.
