Rockies rally past Angels 9‑8 in wild contest
ANAHEIM, Calif. (Interstat) — Hunter Goodman homered and drove in three runs, and the Colorado Rockies overcame a five-run deficit with a five-run eighth inning to defeat the Los Angeles Angels 9-8 on Monday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
The Rockies, who entered with a 23-38 record matching the Angels, scored one run in the first, one in the third, one in the fifth, five in the eighth and one in the ninth. The Angels countered with five in the third, one in the fifth and two in the eighth. Both teams had 10 hits.
Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela earned the victory with 1⅔ scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and striking out none. He improved to 5-0. Kirby Yates took the loss for the Angels, falling to 0-1 after allowing the decisive runs in the eighth.
The game turned in the top of the eighth, with the Rockies trailing 6-3. Sterlin Thompson led off with a double to center. Kyle Karros followed with an RBI double to left, scoring Thompson and cutting the deficit to 6-4. Jake McCarthy walked, and Tyler Freeman singled to left, scoring Karros to make it 6-5. Goodman then launched his 14th home run of the season, a three-run shot to left field that scored McCarthy and Freeman and put the Rockies ahead 8-6. The inning ended with Colorado leading 8-6 after a strikeout, a walk and a flyout.
The Angels answered in the bottom of the eighth. Adam Frazier walked, advanced to second on a groundout and scored along with Donovan Walton on Jorge Soler’s triple to right, tying the game 8-8. Soler finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs. But the Angels could not take the lead. Mike Trout walked, and Vaughn Grissom grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Colorado regained the lead in the top of the ninth. Kyle Karros singled to left, and McCarthy doubled to right, putting runners at second and third. TJ Rumfield then hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Karros to give the Rockies a 9-8 lead. Goodman grounded out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jo Adell grounded out, and Oswald Peraza singled to center. The Angels challenged a play at first base on a ground ball by Jose Siri, but the call stood, and Siri grounded into a double play to end the game.
The Angels had stormed ahead with a five-run third inning. After Donovan Walton singled and Soler singled, Jo Adell singled to left to score Walton and make it 1-0. Oswald Peraza singled to load the bases, and Jose Siri hit a grand slam to left center, his second home run of the season, putting the Angels ahead 5-1. Siri finished 1 for 5 with four RBIs.
The Rockies had taken an early lead in the first inning. Jake McCarthy grounded out, Tyler Freeman walked, Hunter Goodman struck out, then Troy Johnston singled to center to score Freeman for a 1-0 advantage.
McCarthy homered to center in the third, his fourth of the season, to make it 2-0.
The Angels extended their lead to 6-2 in the fifth. Vaughn Grissom walked, Jo Adell flied out, Oswald Peraza reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a throwing error by pitcher Kyle Freeland, and Jose Siri flied out. Nick Madrigal then lined out, but the inning ended with the Angels leading 6-2.
Colorado cut the deficit to 6-3 in the top of the fifth. Willi Castro was hit by a pitch, Ezequiel Tovar struck out, Edouard Julien walked, and Sterlin Thompson singled to right to score Castro.
The Angels’ Jose Soriano pitched 4⅔ innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out seven, but did not factor in the decision.
Seth Halvorsen pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings for the Rockies, allowing one hit and striking out one. Chase Silseth pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings for the Angels, allowing one hit and striking out one. Brent Suter pitched ⅓ of an inning for the Angels, allowing no hits. Ryan Zeferjahn pitched a scoreless inning for the Angels, striking out one.
The game lasted 3 hours, 12 minutes in front of an announced attendance of 27,165.
The Rockies improved to 23-38, while the Angels fell to 23-38. Both teams were coming off lopsided losses the previous day: Colorado lost 19-6 to San Francisco on Sunday, while the Angels lost 5-2 at Tampa Bay.
The series continues Tuesday night, with the Rockies and Angels playing the second game of a three-game set. Colorado then hosts Milwaukee for a three-game series starting Friday. The Angels visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series starting Friday.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Los Angeles Angels 6, Colorado Rockies 3. Interstat’s ELO system projected the Angels with a 60.60 percent probability to win. The Angels were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5 runs. The total score of 17 went under the over-under line of 8.5.