NEW YORK — After the Angels’ duel against the New York Yankees ended on Wednesday night, Angels manager Phil Nevin marveled that the game had delivered plenty of entertainment for a national television audience.
He just wished that he hadn’t been one of those TV viewers after he was ejected in the ninth inning of the Angels’ 3-2, 10-inning loss.
“This was a great baseball game,” Nevin said. “It really was.”
The MVP-filled, tight game featured great defensive plays on both sides, including 2022 American League MVP Aaron Judge robbing 2021 AL MVP Shohei Ohtani of a home run in the first inning. A few minutes later, Judge then hit his own two-run homer.
Mike Trout, a three-time AL MVP, had his chance to deliver in the top of the ninth, but he was called out on a check swing on a 3-and-2 pitch to strand two runners in a tie game.
An angry Nevin then popped out of the dugout, and he was quickly tossed by first base umpire Will Little, who had made the call.
Yankees reliever Clay Holmes had hit a batter and walked a batter before Trout came up, and Nevin figured he had just walked Trout to load the bases for Anthony Rendon.
Trout took a step toward first and flung his bat away before Little ruled that he went around.
“I didn’t think Mike swung,” Nevin said. “Those are tough. Those are really tough for umpires. Will is good. Just the situation and everything, I know who’s coming up. I know Holmes is having trouble throwing strikes and Anthony is not going to swing at a ball at all. That’s a tough spot.”
Trout said he didn’t even look at the replay because he was confident that he didn’t go around, but he admitted that the umpire shouldn’t have even had a call to make.
“That’s an easy one to lay off,” Trout said of the pitch, which was well outside. “I shouldn’t have been chasing that in the first place. That’s on me.”
After the Angels failed to score in the top of the ninth, they escaped the bottom of the inning with the help of a nice play by first baseman Gio Urshela. He fielded a Yankee bunt and quickly fired to second to nail the lead the runner.
In the 10th, Rendon moved Trout, the automatic runner, to third with a ground out to the right side.
Hunter Renfroe then hit a bouncer that third baseman DJ LeMahieu fielded while scrambling to his left. Trout had been given the sign from the dugout to hold unless the ball went through, even though the standard play in that situation would be to have him going on contact, forcing the Yankees to make a play at the plate.
“Would Mike have scored?” asked Nevin, who watched that play from the television in his office. “He’s one of the quicker guys in the game. He’s a good baserunner. I would have liked our chances.”
Trout didn’t score, and then the Yankees got their automatic runner home in the bottom of the inning, on a Gleyber Torres fly ball against Matt Moore.
It was the disappointing end to a night that began with a frustrating moment for the Angels.
In the top of the first inning, Ohtani stepped to the plate and launched a drive to deep center field. Judge drifted back to the wall, leaped and got just enough of his glove on the ball the block it from going over the fence. It then dropped toward his chest and he caught it.
Judge smiled for a moment certain to be replayed endlessly, not only because of the difficulty of the catch but because it involved the last two AL MVPs.
A few minutes later, Judge smoked a two-run homer against Angels right-hander Griffin Canning.
“It’s not as fun on the other side,” said Nevin, who had Judge on his side during his four years as the Yankees’ third base coach. “He’s a game-changer on both sides of the ball.”
That homer was all that Canning gave up in 5-1/3 innings, a strong performance in his second outing after missing a season and a half rehabbing a back injury.
He struck out four and walked three. Canning has allowed four earned runs in 10-1/3 innings in two starts.
“I felt like I kept building off each inning,” Canning said. “I honestly felt like I started to pick up another gear there, other than one pitch. I felt like I kind of found my slider later in the game. Definitely a lot of positives to take.”
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The biggest negative for the Angels was that they were 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position, with Urshela providing the only hit to tie the score in the eighth.
They wasted Zach Neto’s leadoff double in the third, his first of two doubles in the game. In the sixth, the Angels started with back-to-back singles by Trout and Rendon, but Renfroe then hit into a double play and Urshela struck out.
Ohtani struck out to end the Angels’ half of the seventh, stranding two runners.
Just after Urshela tied it in the eighth, the Angels had a chance to take the lead on a Brandon Drury gapper, but Judge made a sliding catch.
“We had a lot of chances tonight, myself included,” Trout said. “Sometimes that’s how it goes. Hang with ’em, try to win the series tomorrow.”
Aaron Judge brings back a souvenir from Monument Park. pic.twitter.com/51SvOak7V5
— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2023
Top of the 1st: @TheJudge44 robs a homer.
Bottom of the 1st: He clobbers one. pic.twitter.com/o5O4vyG1IM
— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2023
Don’t you know about Hunter Renfroe? @Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/ylfZbOzF4G
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) April 20, 2023
What a wonderful fella, Gio Urshela ties it up with 2 outs@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/9JJXvfrumk
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) April 20, 2023
Phil Nevin gives his thoughts after a battle in the Bronx@Angels | #GoHalos pic.twitter.com/7t3GCOvm9K
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) April 20, 2023