The Los Angeles Angels made an impressive comeback to defeat the Chicago Cubs 7-4 at their home stadium on Tuesday night. The game saw the Cubs’ first visit to the Angel Stadium since 2016. The Angels’ Taylor Ward and Shohei Ohtani both hit home runs, while Mike Trout and Matt Thaiss delivered two-run singles during the fifth inning to draw the score level. Cubs’ Mike Tauchman and Matt Mervis had two-run singles and doubles, respectively, in the second inning. The Angels’ Tyler Anderson overcame a poor second inning to pitch five innings of five-hit ball, striking out five.
Angels manager Phil Nevin commended his team, stating that their improved performance was contagious: “It’s a contagious thing. You keep passing the baton.” Though Ohtani hit an impressive fourth-inning solo homer, the umpires did not initially notice that it had cleared the yellow line on the right-field fence, and Ohtani had to sprint to third.
The Cubs have lost four out of six games and are 2-3 on their ten-game California road trip. Right-hander Hayden Wesneski, who pitched into the fifth inning of his first game since receiving a demotion to the minors last month due to a 5.03 ERA, is expected to start for the Cubs once again in place of the injured Justin Steele.
Though the Cubs loaded the bases in the seventh inning, Yan Gomes’ 6-4 double play on Chris Devenski’s first pitch saved the Angels from conceding further runs. As Chicago manager David Ross stated, “Offensively, we just weren’t able to tack on. We had opportunities, (but) the fifth inning, for me, was kind of the game-changer.”
The Angels’ Anthony Rendon, who celebrated his 33rd birthday, returned to the game after missing 21 games due to groin tightness. The Halos sent infielder Livan Soto back to Double-A Rocket City to make room for him.
The Angels’ Jaime Barria, who has a 2-2 record and 1.59 ERA, will take on the Cubs’ Jameson Taillon, who earned his first win of the season last week in San Diego, in the upcoming matchup.
