RICHARDS DOMINATES M'S IN HALOS VICTORY
Angels Starter Fans 14, Including 7 Straight
SEATTLE, Apr. 9 (AP) - Garrett Richards struck out 14 batters, including seven
straight at one point, in seven shutout innings and the Los Angeles Angels broke
a scoreless tie late and went on to defeat the Seattle Mariners 2-0 at Safeco
Field. The victory improved the Angels' record to 8-1, best in the major
leagues thus far this season.
Mariners starter Roenis Elias wasn't as overpowering as Richards, but he was
every bit as effective. The two starters matched zeroes for seven
frames. Elias allowed two hits and walked three while striking out
six. Richards, in addition to fanning 14, allowed only one hit--a one out
infield single off the bat of Robinson Cano in the first inning--and one
additional baserunner (Mike Zunino was hit with a pitch with one out in the
sixth). No Mariners baserunner advanced past first.
The Angels did have a two-out scoring threat in the top of the first.
Colin Cowgill singled to lead off the game. Elis struck out Mike Trout and
got Albert Pujols on a fly ball to right, but David Freese singled and Howie
Kendrick walked to fill the bases. Kole Calhoun then rolled into a
fielder's choice to end the inning. That was the only time Los Angeles
moved a baserunner past first against Eilas.
The Seattle right-hander was lifted after seven with a shutout intact and the
Angels broke through against the Tom Wilhelmsen. Chris Iannetta drew a
walk to lead off the top of the eighth. Pinch hitter J.B. Shuck popped to
first and Raul Ibanez flied to center but Cowgill walked, putting runners on
first and second. Trout then singled through the box, scoring Iannetta to
break the scoreless deadlock.
Joe Smith came on in relief of Richards in the bottom of the eighth and retired
the Mariners in order.
Los Angeles tallied an insurance run in the ninth. Dominic Leone walked
Freese to open the frame and Kendrick singled him to second. Erick Aybar's
single loaded the bases with no outs. Iannetta grounded to third, forcing
Freese at the plate for the first out and Joe Beimel took over on the
mound. Shuck's slow roller to the right side left no play at the plate;
Shuck was thrown out at first by Cano but Kendrick scored to make it 2-0.
Ernesto Frieri came on in the bottom of the ninth for the Angels and set Seattle
down 1-2-3 to earn his third save.
The 14 strikeouts by Richards, as well as the seven consecutive punch outs,
represent highs for the young season to date.
4/9/2014, LAA14-Sea14, Safeco Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2014 Angels 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 5 0 7 0 2014 Mariners 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 Angels AB R H BI AVG Mariners AB R H BI AVG Cowgill lf 2 0 1 0 .375 Almonte,A cf 4 0 0 0 .118 Trout cf 3 0 1 1 .378 Miller,B ss 4 0 0 0 .097 Pujols dh 4 0 0 0 .333 Cano 2b 3 0 1 0 .286 Freese 3b 3 0 1 0 .303 Smoak 1b 3 0 0 0 .273 Kendrick,H 2b 3 1 1 0 .125 Hart dh 3 0 0 0 .182 Calhoun rf 3 0 0 0 .094 Seager 3b 3 0 0 0 .261 Aybar ss 1 0 1 0 .333 Morrison rf 3 0 0 0 .053 Iannetta c 3 1 0 0 .240 Ackley lf 3 0 0 0 .250 Stewart,I 1b 2 0 0 0 .000 Zunino c 1 0 0 0 .217 Shuck ph 2 0 0 1 .000 Saunders,M ph 1 0 0 0 .250 McDonald ss 2 0 0 0 .000 28 0 1 0 Ibanez ph 2 0 0 0 .185 30 2 5 2 Angels INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Richards W 2-0 7.0 1 0 0 0 14 98 64 0.00 Smith,J H 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 14 10 0.00 Frieri S 3 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 18 11 0.00 9.0 1 0 0 0 15 130 85 Mariners INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Elias 7.0 2 0 0 3 6 100 64 0.64 Wilhelmsen L 0-1 1.0 1 1 1 2 1 30 15 4.91 Leone 0.1 2 1 1 1 0 15 9 7.71 Beimel 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 7 4 0.00 9.0 5 2 2 6 7 152 92 LAA: Shuck batted for Stewart,I in the 8th Ibanez batted for McDonald in the 8th Cowgill moved to rf in the 8th Aybar inserted at ss in the 8th Shuck moved to lf in the 8th Ibanez moved to 1b in the 8th Sea: Saunders,M batted for Zunino in the 9th RBI-Trout(5), Shuck(1). K-Trout, Pujols, Kendrick,H, Calhoun, Stewart,I, McDonald 2, Almonte,A 4, Miller,B 2, Cano, Smoak 3, Hart 3, Seager, Zunino. BB-Cowgill 2, Trout, Freese, Kendrick,H, Iannetta. HBP-Zunino. HB-Richards. GWRBI: Trout Temperature: 70, Wind: none. Attendance: 18,372 Game Time: 2:50