OAKLAND, Calif. — In the second game of the season, the Angels’ offense looked much improved from its opening night struggles.
Eleven runs in the third inning — the first time the Angels have scored 11 runs in one inning since July 2, 2016, according to the team — secured their eventual 13-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. Taylor Ward, Shohei Ohtani, Jake Lamb, Gio Urshela, Logan O’Hoppe and Anthony Rendon combined for 13 RBIs.
And Angels starter Patrick Sandoval picked up from where he left off in the World Baseball Classic by shutting out the A’s until the fifth inning, when Ramón Laureano hit a solo home run off a change-up.
There was plenty of booing from the Oakland Coliseum crowd Saturday each time Rendon was at the plate.
The crowd was pleased when Rendon made a fielding error at third base in the second inning and also in the fourth inning when he was unable to make a play on a foul ball that ended up hitting the tarp.
Rendon was taken out of the game in the sixth, with Urshela shifting to third base and David Fletcher coming in to play shortstop.
The Angels’ arrival at the Coliseum and pregame work for their second game of the season should have been as normal as any other game.
Angels players and managers have always signed autographs for fans before games, but it seemed as if more autographs were being signed than usual Saturday. Ohtani, who does not often sign autographs before games, was among those signing for fans, as were manager Phil Nevin, outfielder Brett Phillips and O’Hoppe.
During the team’s off day Friday, video circulated on social media of Rendon grabbing the shirt of a fan and cursing after the Angels’ 2-1, opening night loss to the A’s on Thursday.
The Angels did not comment on the video. Major League Baseball said it was looking into the incident. The Oakland Police Department stated that it was investigating an incident of battery at the Oakland Coliseum captured on surveillance video. The department has not confirmed whether Rendon was involved in the incident under its review.
On Saturday, the Angels closed their clubhouse to regular media access, with the team holding a meeting before going on the field for batting practice and workouts. The clubhouse opened to the media for a brief time after that meeting, with most players coming onto the field shortly afterward.
Rendon stood on the field in front of dozens of reporters and camera operators and said, “It’s an ongoing investigation, so unfortunately I can’t comment.”
Asked who was investigating, MLB or the police, he said he did not know. Asked how he feels about the situation, whether he had seen the videos, whether he believes he made a mistake, what the climate is like with the fans, he repeated, “I’m sorry, I can’t comment.”
General manager Perry Minasian and Nevin also would not comment, citing the investigation.
After that, the morning carried on with familiar flow.
