Shohei Ohtani Doubled, Singled, Scored a Run and Stole His 15th Base of the Season; Giants Beat Angels 8-3

AP

15:49 JST, August 8, 2023

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Patrick Bailey put the Giants ahead with a two-run double when Randal Grichuk misplayed his drive to left, keying San Francisco’s six-run rally in the ninth inning of an 8-3 victory that sent the Los Angeles Angels to their season-worst seventh consecutive loss Monday night.

Mark Mathias added a two-run single in his Giants debut off All-Star closer Carlos Estévez (5-3), who spectacularly blew his second consecutive save opportunity after converting his first 23 chances this season.

Bailey got two RBIs when Grichuk tried and failed to snag his tailing drive, allowing the ball to roll away while Wilmer Flores and J.D. Davis scored. Thairo Estrada and Blake Sabol eventually added RBI singles off Aaron Loup in the ninth.

“We’ve come in after wins and (had) a celebration in the clubhouse, and it’s always got a little extra life, but today was a different level,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “I think the players felt how good it can be when we string a bunch of hits together like we did there. Winning games late, it’s always fun.”

Davis hit a tying homer in the seventh for the Giants, who have won eight of 12.

“We’ve got a resilient group in here,” said starter Logan Webb, who yielded seven hits and one earned run while pitching into the sixth. “A lot of bloop hits and stuff like that, it’s always fun to see. Hopefully we just keep it up, keep grinding away. It’s that part of the year.”

Shohei Ohtani doubled, singled, scored a run and stole his 15th base of the season for the Angels, whose fading hopes of joining the playoff race took another dramatic blow.

Los Angeles (56-58) still hasn’t won a game since the MLB trade deadline, when the club decided not to trade Ohtani in hopes of getting him to the postseason for the first time.

“You walk into that room, you’re going to see some down dudes, some down guys,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “They’re upset. I know the effort is there. We’re playing hard, playing to win. … To come up short this many times in a row in the position we’re in, it hurts. But I know what they’re going to do tomorrow.”

Five of the Giants’ six batters reached base against Estévez, who entered the ninth with a 3-2 lead. Estévez gave up a grand slam to Seattle’s Cade Marlowe in the ninth inning last Thursday.

“Today they hit some pretty good pitches,” Estévez said. “I think the stuff is pretty good. Just maybe (could be) located better? But overall, I feel really good about it. … No one likes losing, but it’s sports. We’re going through a rough patch. We’ve got to keep our heads up.”

Until Grichuk’s key misplay in the ninth, the Angels were the better fielding team.

CJ Cron singled in Ohtani with the tying run in the sixth before scoring the go-ahead run himself from first base when the Giants made two errors on Mickey Moniak’s single.

Grichuk then scored another go-ahead run in the seventh moments after he got credit for a triple when AJ Pollock misplayed his line drive to right.

Moniak even stole a homer from pinch-hitter Joc Pederson in the eighth, leaping and reaching over the center field fence to make an outstanding catch.

Taylor Rogers (6-4) pitched the eighth.

Patrick Sandoval pitched five-hit ball into the seventh inning for the Angels to extend his streak of strong starts since June.

Mathias, a Bay Area native, was acquired from Seattle a week ago in the trade that included Pollock.