Kole Calhoun Sparks Struggling Angels; Tyler Anderson Tosses 8 Scoreless As Rockies Sweep Giants

Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Calhoun: 3-5, HR, 3 RBI

American League

Even though their 7-4 win at Seattle pushed the LA Angels back over .500 (44-43), they are still 12 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West.

LA has been in a rough patch of late. Their win on the 4th was just the third in their last 11 games, but there's always the second half and the wild card to keep hopes alive.

Kole Calhoun singled twice, homered, scored a pair, and drove in three runs from his leadoff spot to spark the win for the Angels. His single in the fourth inning snapped a 2-2 tie, and his two-run belt in the sixth advanced LA's lead to 6-2. In the eighth, he singled and scored on a Justin Upton ground out to finish the scoring.

Despite his recent effort, Calhoun has been one of the reasons the Angels have fallen so far behind. The 30-year-old outfielder is batting just .180 in 222 at-bats, with 5 homers 19 RBI and 24 runs.

The Angels and Mariners wrap up their three-game series on Thursday, 7:10 pm PDT.

National League

Anderson: 8IP, 2H, 9K

With Arizona losing, 8-4, to the Cardinals, the Dodgers, Rockies and Giants each had an opportunity to gain ground on the NL West leader.

While the Dodgers took advantage of the Pirates to pick up a game with a 6-4 win, the Rockies were hosting the Giants, meaning only one of them would move forward.

The Rockies took the first two games of the series, 5-2 and 8-1, completing the sweep with a 1-0 Independence Day victory.

Chris Ianetta's solo shot in the seventh backed the two-hit, eight inning effort by Colorado starter, Tyler Anderson, who improved to 6-3. Anderson walked two and struck out nine and needed just 93 pitches before turning the ball over to closer Wade Davis, who earned his 25th save.

Anderson, 28, is in his third year as a Colorado starter. The lefty hurler is getting the hang of things. He went 5-6 in 2016 and 6-6 in 2017.

Colorado's win didn't get them out of fourth place, but they did snatch up three games on the Giants with the sweep. Winners of six of their last seven, the Rockies are just four games off the pace, the Giants 3 1/2 back, and the Dodgers closed to within 1/2 game of Arizona in the tightest, most contentious race in the majors.

The Rockies open a three-game series at Seattle on Friday, while the Giants return home to host the Cardinals in a four-game series that starts Thursday.