PHILADELPHIA -- Garrett Richards had another standout start as the Angels defeated the Phillies, 3-0, at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday afternoon, taking both games in Philadelphia and winning five of six on the road to move three games above .500 for the first time since 2012.Richards pitched seven shutout innings, walking none, striking out eight and scattering five hits to move to 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA. The 25-year-old right-hander, a full-time starter in the Majors for the first time, has a quality start in five of his eight outings and gave up just two runs in 14 innings on the road trip. 
The Angels had plenty of baserunners against A.J. Burnett, who walked five and gave up seven hits, but only scored on a first-inning RBI single by Raul Ibanez (his second hit since April 28), a base hit up the middle by Efren Navarro (surprisingly batting leadoff) and a double to deep center field by Erick Aybar.Richards got into trouble in the sixth, with runners on second and third and one out, then struck out Ryan Howard and got Marlon Byrd to fly out. In the seventh, he gave up a one-out single to Carlos Ruiz, who moved to second on a wild pitch, then got Cody Asche to roll into a groundout and struck out pinch-hitter Reid Brignac.Ernesto Frieri then pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Joe Smith came on for the save in the ninth, as both relievers flip-flopped their roles from Tuesday night.Local boy Mike Trout, who had upwards of 8,000 people from South New Jersey cheering him on, went 2-for-9 with a walk, three strikeouts and a triple in the two-game set, putting his batting average at .269.Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
The Angels had plenty of baserunners against A.J. Burnett, who walked five and gave up seven hits, but only scored on a first-inning RBI single by Raul Ibanez (his second hit since April 28), a base hit up the middle by Efren Navarro (surprisingly batting leadoff) and a double to deep center field by Erick Aybar.Richards got into trouble in the sixth, with runners on second and third and one out, then struck out Ryan Howard and got Marlon Byrd to fly out. In the seventh, he gave up a one-out single to Carlos Ruiz, who moved to second on a wild pitch, then got Cody Asche to roll into a groundout and struck out pinch-hitter Reid Brignac.Ernesto Frieri then pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Joe Smith came on for the save in the ninth, as both relievers flip-flopped their roles from Tuesday night.Local boy Mike Trout, who had upwards of 8,000 people from South New Jersey cheering him on, went 2-for-9 with a walk, three strikeouts and a triple in the two-game set, putting his batting average at .269.Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
