Kragh Carves in Anaheim, Palms Head Home on a High Note

 ANAHEIM — If you’re only getting one start on a road trip, you might as well make it count. Miami’s Brian Kragh delivered eight masterful innings Thursday night at Angel Stadium, silencing Los Angeles bats and guiding the Palms to a 3–1 win and a split of the four-game series.

Kragh allowed just five hits, one run, and didn’t issue a walk in a clinical 65-pitch outing. He struck out four and never allowed more than one base runner in any inning. For a rotation still waiting on the return of injured ace Jarod Lantz, Kragh’s performance was a revelation.

“He was in total control,” said manager Scott Hatteberg. “He worked quickly, he attacked, and the Angels never looked comfortable. That’s the kind of start that sets a tone — and now, we take that home with us.”

Kragh’s pinpoint command and economical effort earned him his first win of the season and helped the Palms return to .500 at 13–13. Chris Martin worked a clean ninth for his sixth save.

The Palms took the lead in the fifth on Edwin Encarnacion’s solo homer — his fourth of the year — and never trailed. Encarnacion finished 3-for-4 and looked more like the middle-of-the-order threat Miami hoped for when they brought him to South Florida.

One inning later, Yairo Munoz singled home a third Miami run, to push the lead to 2–0. Then in the seventh, Brett Gardner launched a solo shot of his own — his fifth — giving the Palms enough cushion to let Kragh ride.

The Angels’ only response came in the bottom of the sixth, when Mike Trout singled home Andrelton Simmons. But Kragh stranded Trout on base with a pop-up to end the inning, and the Palms bullpen never gave Los Angeles another look.

“It’s good baseball,” Gardner said. “We’re getting contributions from the whole lineup, and our pitching came through tonight. It’s a good note to fly home on.”

Encarnacion, Markakis, and Gardner have all homered in the last two games as the Palms’ lineup continues to deepen beyond its early-season stars like Chris Korb and Matt Wieters.

Up Next:
The Palms return to Coca-Cola Palms Park for a six-game homestand, beginning Friday night against the Detroit Tigers (8–18). Manny Parra (1–4, 5.51 ERA) is expected to take the ball in the opener.

 Miami Palms 3, Los Angeles Angels 1

 Thursday, April 23, 2020

 

 

 Miami Palms (13-13)                                      Los Angeles Angels (2-2)                                

 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      

 ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      

 Gardner cf      4  1  1  1  0  2  4  0  0  0   .327      Simmons ss      4  1  1  0  0  1  2  3  0  0   .294

 Munoz ss        4  0  1  1  0  1  2  0  0  0   .308      Rendon 3b       4  0  0  0  0  1  0  3  0  0   .333

 Korb 3b         4  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  3   .296      Trout cf        4  0  3  1  0  0  2  0  0  0   .471

 Encarnacion dh  4  1  3  1  0  1  0  0  0  0   .275      Ohtani rf       4  0  0  0  0  1  1  0  0  2   .000

 Sohn rf         4  0  0  0  0  1  5  0  0  0   .267      Upton dh        4  0  1  0  0  1  0  0  0  0   .333

 Markakis lf     4  0  2  0  0  1  3  0  0  0   .284      Goodwin lf      4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  1   .214

 Castillo c      4  1  1  0  0  2  5  0  0  0   .212      Fletcher 2b     3  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .200

 Grant 1b        4  0  1  0  0  2  4  2  0  2   .256      Pujols 1b       3  0  0  0  0  0  8  1  0  2   .000

 Garcia 2b       2  0  0  0  1  2  2  1  0  0   .333      Castro c        3  0  0  0  0  0  12 1  0  0   .231

 

                 -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---                            -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---            

 Totals          34 3  9  3  1  12 27 6  0  5             Totals          33 1  6  1  0  4  27 8  0  5  

 

 

                            1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10     R  H  E

                            -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -      -  -  -

 Miami Palms                0  0  0  0  1  1  1  0  0         3  9  0  

 Los Angeles Angels         0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0         1  6  0  

 LOB- Miami Palms 5, Los Angeles Angels 5; 2B- Castillo(3), Fletcher(1); 3B- Simmons(1);

 HR- Encarnacion(4), Gardner(5); RBI- Encarnacion(16), Gardner(11), Munoz(7), Trout(6);

 GIDP- Castillo(1); RLSP- Korb 2, Grant, Pujols;  

 

 DP- Los Angeles Angels 2; 

 Miami Palms                   IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Kragh(W 1-0)                  8.0  5  1  1  0  4    1.29  

 Martin(S, 6)                  1.0  1  0  0  0  0    2.57  

 

 Los Angeles Angels            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Heaney(L 0-1)                 7.0  8  3  3  1  10   3.86  

 Ramirez                       2.0  1  0  0  0  2    3.00  

 

 Pitches-strikes- Kragh 65-49, Martin 11-8, Heaney 94-65, Ramirez 22-13; Batters faced- Kragh 29,

 Martin 4, Heaney 29, Ramirez 6;  

 Temp - 86, Sky - Clear, Wind - None 

 

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