Who would have expected this? A pitcher’s duel in the series finale between the Mariners and the Angels?
Boasting one of the best offensive lineups in the majors — with superstar Mike Trout leading the way — the Angels score a lot of runs. And with a mediocre pitching staff, they give up a lot of runs.
Their 10-5 win over the Mariners on Saturday and their 7-4 loss on Friday are typical Angels scores.
But with Mariners starter Justus Sheffield working out of trouble several times, the bullpen coming through and the offense doing just enough, the Mariners defeated the Angels 2-0 Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.
The Angels, who entered the game leading the major leagues in batting average (.265) and second in the American League in runs per game (5.0), were shut out for the first time this season.
The fewest toal runs in an Angels game this season had been five.
Sheffield (2-2) wasn’t sharp early, with two hit batters and a walk in the first two innings, but he was able to escape trouble.
The Angels had runners on first and third with one out in the second inning before Sheffield struck out Max Stassi and got David Fletcher to fly out to right field — with Sam Haggerty making a nice running catch on a ball that looked like trouble for the Mariners.
The Angels had runners at first and third again with one out in the third inning, but Sheffield escaped again, getting Jared Walsh to hit into a double play.
The Mariners were held to one hit through three innings, but got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. With one out, Kyle Seager and Kyle Lewis hit consecutive singles.
After Jose Marmolejos struck out, Dylan Moore hit a soft fly to right field that dropped in for a hit, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead.
Seattle scored another run in the fifth as Luis Torrens led off the inning with a double and scored on a one-out sacrifice fly from Mitch Haniger.
Two runs aren’t enough very often against the Angels.
But it was Sunday, with Sheffield leading the way with six scoreless innings. The left-hander threw 103 pitches, allowed two hits, three walks and he hit a pair of batters. He lowered his season ERA from 5.32 to 4.23.
Will Vest, Anthony Misiewicz, Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero finished off the shut out.
Angels starter Dylan Bundy was good too, allowing a pair of runs in six innings on five hits and a walk. That wasn’t quite good enough with his team’s offense unable to muster a run.
