THE GAME: The Angels lost to the Padres, 7-3, on Wednesday afternoon at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz., falling for the fifth time in their first six Cactus League games.
PITCHING REPORT: Right-hander George Klassen pitched two scoreless innings. Klassen, one of the Angels’ top pitching prospects, appeared in two major league games last spring, but this was his first start. “Knowing you’re starting and you’re throwing first in front of all these people, it’s awesome,” Klassen said. “Unreal experience.” He struck out three, including getting Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill. After loading the bases on two walks and a bloop single in the second, he escaped with a strikeout of Ty France. “That was pretty electric today,” Manager Kurt Suzuki said. “Attacking, threw all his pitches, threw everything competitively in the zone. That was impressive.” … Right-hander Sam Bachman pitched a perfect inning, with two strikeouts. In his other outing this spring, he walked the bases loaded. … Right-hander Chris Cortez started the sixth with a 1-0 lead and he didn’t retire any of the five hitters he faced. He gave up two hits and walked three, two with the bases loaded. … Right-hander Austin Gordon followed Cortez to the mound. He nearly escaped the bases-loaded jam with no further damage. An inning-ending third strike call was reversed and he gave up a two-run single on the next pitch. … Right-hander Jared Southard gave up three runs in his first outing after he was added to the major league spring training roster.
HITTING REPORT: Christian Moore hit a solo homer in the second. The only other homer the Angels had hit this spring was by 20-year-old minor league Juan Flores. … Jo Adell hit his first homer of the spring, in the seventh inning. … Zach Neto doubled off the fence in right field, his second double of the spring. … Omar Martinez, a minor league catcher, hit a homer on the pitch after losing an ABS challenge. … The Angels have scored a total of five runs in the three games in which they’ve used most of their everyday starters. “These guys are working their way back from having six months, five months off,” Suzuki said. “They’re working their way back. Swings look great, just no results thus far, but that’s fine.”
DEFENSE REPORT: Neto, the shortstop, made a sliding stop of a grounder to his right. … Left fielder Wade Meckler put his arms up to signal that the ball was stuck under the padding of the outfield fence, similar to the play that famously happened in the World Series last year. Meanwhile, the Padres’ Jase Bowen circled the bases. After the play, an umpire came out and checked how tightly the ball was lodged under the padding. He then signaled for Bowen to return to second.
UP NEXT: Cubs (LHP Matthew Boyd) at Angels (RHP José Soriano), Thursday, 12:10 p.m. PT, at Tempe Diablo Stadium
