Gavin Lux hit his fifth home run of the year, and Brady Singer pitched six strong innings to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Los Angeles Angels.
ANAHEIM, California – The Cincinnati Reds have gotten so good at locking down the Los Angeles Angels over the past decade that some of the fans are getting locked down along with them.
Well, maybe one. In fact, when that young woman ran on the field to join the defensive Angels in the outfield in the eighth inning of the latest meeting between the teams Aug. 18, she provided the closest thing to a highlight for the home team at Angels Stadium in the opener of this week’s three-game series.
Just before she was escorted off the field and headed, presumably, to the local hoosegow.
Perhaps a fitting punctuation to a 4-1 Reds (66-60) victory — their ninth straight over the Angels in the interleague matchup?
The Reds’ personal Angels of mercy at least seem to be a reliable balm for all that grueling, grinding aggravation against the Brewers over the weekend.
When Gavin Lux set the tone with a two-run, first-inning home run and Brady Singer pitched another six strong innings to help make it hold up, the Reds moved to just one game behind the idle New York Mets for the final National League playoff position (with 36 games to play).
Next up for the Mets is a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. For the Reds: Hunter Greene (2.47 ERA) makes his second start since returning from a groin injury.
How long have the Reds had the Angels’ number?
The last time the Angels beat the Reds Mike Trout was an MVP, and Derek Dietrich was the Reds’ cleanup hitter. That was June 25, 2019.
The Reds are working on a fourth straight series sweep since then (including a two-gamer that same season in August).
Singer (11-9) turned in his fourth stellar start in his last five outings, striking out four and walking one in six innings.
He’s 4-1 with a 1.86 ERA in his last five starts with 30 strikeouts and seven walks.
Scott Barlow got the last out of the eighth and finished it off in the ninth for the save, getting strikeouts for all four of the outs. It was the durable set-up man's first save of the season.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds win 9th straight vs. Angels; 1 game behind Mets
Category: Baseball
