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ANAHEIM — After trading two of their best relievers, the Angels have the final two months of the season to see who can do what in their bullpen.
Ben Joyce certainly seems like a lock to be their closer, but a day after the Angels used him for four outs, they turned to some other pitchers to secure the final outs of Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the New York Mets.
Right-hander José Marte worked two innings and then right-handers Mike Baumann and Roansy Contreras handled the final two, locking up the series victory for the Angels.
Contreras picked up his second save of the season, striking out two hitters in a perfect inning. Since the Angels’ brief experiment with him a starter, Contreras has allowed two earned runs in 10-1/3 innings with 13 strikeouts in his last eight games in relief.
Marte was the first pitcher to the mound after Griffin Canning’s five-inning start. Marte retired six of seven hitters over two innings, dropping his ERA to 2.55 in 17-2/3 innings.
Baumann, who was picked up in a minor trade at the deadline, got out of a jam in the eighth with the help of a double play. The Angels would like to see if they can rediscover the Baumann who had a 3.76 ERA with the Baltimore Orioles last year. He’s on his fourth team this year, with a 4.70 ERA.
The trio of relievers preserved the victory for Canning, who gave up two runs, one earned.
The game could have gotten away from him in the fifth inning, when he allowed a run on a Jeff McNeil double and Francisco Lindor’s one-out single.
Manager Ron Washington came to the mound to give Canning a pep talk after he prepared to face J.D. Martinez and Pete Alonso, each with the go-ahead run on base.
Canning retired them both on routine fly balls to right field.
The Angels had little margin for error because the offense generated only four hits, none that drove in a run.
The first three hitters of the second inning reached, but the only runs came home on a wild pitch and a Matt Thaiss sacrifice fly.
Zach Neto led off the third with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly, but the Angels got nothing else. They didn’t get another runner into scoring position until the eighth inning.
More to come on this story.
Originally Published: August 4, 2024 at 4:15 p.m.
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Courtesy : https://www.pressenterprise.com/2024/08/04/angels-bullpen-locks-down-one-run-victory-over-mets/