The Angels lost the second game of the series against the Yankees on Wednesday, their offense coming up short with only two runs.
But it wasn’t for a lack of opportunity. The Angels went one for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 on base in a 3-2 loss to the Yankees in 10 innings.
“We had a lot of chances tonight, myself included, at the plate,” Angels center fielder Mike Trout said. “Sometimes that’s how it goes. … Try and win the series tomorrow.”
One of those last opportunities for the team came in the 10th inning, with Trout on third base and Hunter Renfroe at the plate. Renfroe hit a grounder between second and third, but Trout was held at third base instead of immediately breaking for home on contact.
“I gotta talk to the coaches on what we had on there,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said.
Nevin was ejected from the game in the ninth inning for arguing a strike call against Trout and was not in the dugout for the ending.
“It’s a tough call there with the infield in,” Nevin said “… I mean, would Mike have scored? You know, he’s one of the quicker guys in the game and he’s a good base runner. Would have liked our chances there.”
The Yankees’ Aaron Judge did it all for his team, blasting a two-run home run in the first, robbing Shohei Ohtani of a potential homer in the bottom of the inning and later making a sliding catch in the gap on Brandon Drury that would have given the Angels the lead.
There were other pivotal moments that could have changed the outcome.
In the ninth, when Nevin was ejected, the Angels had two outs and a chance to load the bases on walks when Trout was called out on a check swing.
Nevin said he realized Yankees reliever Clay Holmes was struggling to throw strikes. Taylor Ward was hit by the second pitch Holmes threw to him. Ohtani then reached on a five-pitch walk.
There was the possibility Holmes might have ended up walking in the go-ahead run for the Angels.
“Just the situation and everything,” Nevin said. “I know who’s coming up [after Trout]. I know Holmes was having a hard time throwing strikes and [Anthony Rendon’s] not going to swing at a ball. At all.”
Trout was so certain that he did not swing that even before the call, he was making his way toward first base.
“I felt like I didn’t go and…