Angels shut out 1-0 despite Johnson's 6 strong innings
Ryan Johnson allowed just 1 run over 6 innings, but the Angels were shut out 1-0 by the Pirates, dropping to 1-4 in their last 5 as the club digests word that Arte Moreno has agreed to sell the team to Stan Kroenke.
Johnson's 6 shutout innings wasted in Pittsburgh
The Angels lost 1-0 to the Pirates on September 4 in Pittsburgh, dropping their record to 53-88. Ryan Johnson gave the offense every chance, working 6 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 4 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts — a line the club's own account flagged as him having 'himself a day' — but Los Angeles could not push a run across. Josh Lowe (neck) remained out of the lineup for that game, per the day's injury report.
Pirates0-1The loss made it 1-4 over the last 5 games. Los Angeles beat the Yankees 10-1 on August 31, then lost the next two of that series 7-3 and 6-3, with Rhett Bollinger reporting that Reid Detmers allowed just 1 earned run over 7 innings in the September 2 defeat before Luke Murphy gave up 5 runs in a 10th-inning collapse. A 5-2 loss to the Phillies on August 30 rounded out the skid before the Pittsburgh shutout.
The stretch leaves the Angels 19.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West with an elimination number down to 2.
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Arte Moreno has agreed to sell the Angels to Stan Kroenke, and Ken Rosenthal, via Foul Territory, called it 'basically Independence Day for fans,' adding the sale should push the franchise toward building 'the kind of machine the Dodgers have.'
Brent Suter was one of several former Angels who got traded while playing on Mike Trout's golf course. "It was unlike anything I've ever experienced, but it was great to spend the last couple of hours with those guys."
Rosenthal also reported that Kroenke wants to keep the team in Anaheim and sees a roster — with Mike Trout still going at age 35 — that could get 'real good, real quickly.' Former Angel Brent Suter told Foul Territory he was 'happy for the Angels' over the news.
@StoolBaseball framed the week as Kroenke buying the club and planning a new $2.5 billion stadium, tagging Barstool's own Hubbs on the story.
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Yusei Kikuchi (0-5, 5.65 ERA) starts for the Angels after allowing 2 earned runs over 7 innings in a loss to the Phillies on August 30. He's opposed by Braxton Ashcraft (14-5, 3.59 ERA), who beat the Cardinals on the road that same day, working 5 innings and allowing 2 runs.
The Angels are in Pittsburgh tonight to close out the series.
The Pirates are favored, and the market projects a low-scoring game — consistent with Ashcraft's stronger form and Kikuchi's winless record this season. For the total to hold up low, Kikuchi needs to avoid the free passes that have plagued his year, while an Angels offense that's managed just 3 runs across its last 3 games would need to find some traction against a Pirates staff pitching at home.