Tag Archives: Angels

04 Jul

eye on …

Hunter Hines essentially has taken the Cape Cod League by storm. The Mississippi State star leads the elite college summer league with eight home runs, five more than the next-closest total, and 26 RBIs, 11 more than the next-highest number. Through 20 games for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, the lefty-hitting outfielder, who goes 6 feet 4, 220 pounds, is batting .289 with 14 runs. Facing some of the top college arms in the country, Hines has picked up right where he left off at State. He hit .297 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs, made All-SEC and was a Ferriss Trophy finalist as a sophomore in 2023. As a freshman, he hit .300 with 16 bombs and 52 RBIs. “From his first BP (batting practice) until now, he’s been the best hitter in our program,” State coach Chris Lemonis said at the Ferriss Trophy ceremony. Hines was a highly touted recruit coming out of Madison Central High in 2021, overshadowed a bit by teammate Braden Montgomery, who took Gatorade player of the year honors. Hines comes by his talent naturally, of course. His father, Richey, was a tremendous hitter at Mississippi College, where he still holds school records for career homers and RBIs. P.S. A raw box score doesn’t always tell the story. Hunter Renfroe went 2-for-5 for the Los Angeles Angels on Monday, boosting his average to .248. But the ex-MSU standout most certainly didn’t feel good about his game. The Angels stranded 14 runners in a 10-3 loss to San Diego. Renfroe personally left eight runners on base, twice striking out in early run-scoring situations. As a team, the Angels are batting just .246 with runners in scoring position, one of the worst averages in baseball. … Kudos to Ole Miss product Nick Fortes, whose clutch hit delivered the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of Miami’s 5-4 win against St. Louis. The second-place Marlins managed to stay within 9 games of red-hot Atlanta, which has won nine in a row, in the National League East.

30 Jun

answering the call

Despite a rash of injuries, defending World Series champion Houston has stayed afloat in the American League playoff pool, and one of the unexpected heroes is rookie right-hander J.P. France. France, who capped his college career at Mississippi State, threw seven shutout innings at St. Louis on Thursday night as the Astros routed the Cardinals 14-0. It was the fifth straight quality start for France, who is 3-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 10 starts since being recalled from the minors in early May. “I just was able to locate, and it was one of those games where everything was working …, ” he told mlb.com. With the win, Houston (44-37) moved past the Los Angeles Angels and into second place alone in the AL West, 5 games back of first-place Texas (49-32). The Astros and Rangers start a four-game series at Globe Life Field tonight. France, who started his college career at Tulane, went 5-5, 3.84, at MSU in 2018 and was a 14th-round draft pick as a senior that summer. He made the Astros’ 40-man roster this past off-season and made his big league debut May 6, throwing five shutout innings at Seattle. Grae Kessinger, the ex-Ole Miss star and another Astros rookie, got into Thursday’s game as a defensive replacement at first base. He went 0-for-1 with a walk and is 1-for-10 in his six MLB games. He is 1,930 hits behind grandfather Don but just six back of uncle Keith on the Kessinger hit list. … The Angels (44-39) lost 9-7 at home to the Chicago White Sox as a trio of Mississippi products played key roles for the enigmatic Sox. Former Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn (5-8, 6.47) got the win despite yielding three homers — including MSU alum Hunter Renfroe’s 14th — and five earned runs in six innings. East Central Community College alum Tim Anderson, in an 0-for-24 spiral entering the game, went 2-for-5 and scored twice. And MSU product Kendall Graveman (3.06 ERA in 36 appearances) closed out the win despite allowing two runs — on a Shohei Ohtani bomb — in the ninth. P.S. Kudos to former Mississippi Braves star Freddie Freeman and Biloxi Shuckers alum Orlando Arcia for making the National League All-Star team, joining ex-M-Braves standout Ronald Acuna, and to Madison Central High alum Braden Montgomery, now at Stanford, for making the final roster of the Collegiate National Team.

25 Jun

pouring it on

Making his first start at first base for the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night at Colorado, Hunter Renfroe made a nice play to start a double play and end the first inning. Then the former Mississippi State standout celebrated with a single to lead off the second inning. The party at Coors Field was just getting started. Renfroe went 5-for-5 with a walk as the Angels set franchise records for hits (28) and runs in a 25-1 rout of the Rockies. Mickey Moniak also had five hits and four other Angels had at least three. “(H)itting gets contagious sometimes,” Angels manager Phil Nevin told mlb.com in one of the season’s great you-don’t-say statements. Renfroe hit a three-run double in the club record-tying 13-run third inning. He finished with four RBIs and three runs. His career day raised his average to .261. Normally the team’s right fielder, Renfroe is batting .281 over his last 15 games, though he has been stuck on 12 homers since June 13. The Angels (42-36) have climbed past Houston into second place in the American League West. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss standout James McArthur got his first big league call-up Saturday with Kansas City but did not pitch. McArthur, 26, traded from Philadelphia to the Royals in May, has a 4.87 ERA in 12 appearances at Triple-A Omaha. … Ex-Rebels star Mike Mayers, a big league vet, was assigned by the Royals to Omaha last week after a rough stint in the majors. He got a hold in his return to Triple-A on Friday. … Former MSU ace Ethan Small went on the injured list Saturday at Triple-A Nashville (Milwaukee system). The former first-rounder has a 3.46 ERA in the minors this season and made one wobbly appearance with the Brewers. … Houston Harding, who got into pro ball as an undrafted free agent in 2021, made his Double-A debut Saturday for Rocket City in the Angels’ system. The left-hander, who won seven games for MSU’s 2021 national title team, allowed a three-run homer but fanned five in 2 2/3 innings vs. Montgomery. He had a 1.32 ERA in A-ball before his promotion. A Coldwater native, Harding was a strikeout machine at Itawamba Community College before signing with MSU. … Landon Sims, one of the heroes of State’s ’21 championship team, made his pro debut this month and has pitched in four games, allowing no runs, in rookie ball for Arizona. Sims was the 34th overall pick last summer after missing most of the ’22 season at State with an elbow injury.

14 Jun

beware of dog

The Dogs were out and barking in MLB parks on Tuesday night. Four former Mississippi State Bulldogs enjoyed big nights at the plate, with two of them going head-to-head in a significant American League West clash. Hunter Renfroe hit a go-ahead home run — his 12th — to help the Los Angeles Angels beat AL West-leader Texas 7-3. The Angels have won three in a row and eight of nine to pull within 4.5 games of the Rangers. Nathaniel Lowe went 3-for-5 with his eighth homer for Texas, which has dropped three in a row but still leads second-place Houston by 3.5. The hottest team in the big leagues is the last-place team in the AL West, Oakland, which took down Tampa Bay 2-1 for its seventh straight win. Brent Rooker went 2-for-3 with an RBI double for the A’s; he is hitting .265 with 13 homers for the 19-50 club. The loss by the AL East-leading Rays enabled Baltimore to move within 4 games of the top with an 11-6 victory against Toronto. Adam Frazier went 2-for-5 with his eighth homer and three RBIs for the second-place Orioles, who have won five in a row. Also worth noting: Ex-Bulldogs star and big league pitcher Jeff Brantley, now a Cincinnati broadcaster, has had a lot to bark about lately as the Reds, infused with young talent, have won four straight. They beat Kansas City 5-4 Tuesday and are 33-35, very much back in the race in the National League Central.

12 Jun

here and there

Southern Miss, which plays Tennessee today in Hattiesburg for a trip to the College World Series, isn’t just a Mississippi-based team. It’s a Mississippi-fueled team. Twenty Magnolia State natives dot the roster, including regulars Dustin Dickerson, Slade Wilks, Nick Monistere, Carson Paetow and Tate Parker. Today’s probable starter, Nikko Mazza, is also a state product. Incidentally, USM’s 2009 team, the only one to make it to Omaha, also featured 20 Mississippi natives, most notably Brian Dozier, future big league star. … Also vying for a CWS trip today is Stanford, playing a Game 3 at home against Texas. Former Madison Central standout Braden Montgomery, an All–Pac-12 selection this year, is 4-for-9 with a walk and pair of runs in that Super Regional. … Former USM pitcher Hurston Waldrep, now at Florida, already has booked a trip to the CWS; he was brilliant (eight shutout innings, 13 strikeouts) in the Gators’ clincher vs. South Carolina on Saturday. … Twice on their just-completed homestand the Mississippi Braves took the field with a chance to reach .500 for the first time since mid-April. Twice they lost. Biloxi, which got five shutout innings from rehabbing big leaguer Wade Miley, beat the M-Braves 5-4 Sunday at Trustmark Park, dropping the home team to 27-29. The M-Braves started the season 3-2 but then went on an eight-game skid and have been fighting their way back ever since. … Mississippi native — and former M-Braves radio voice — Ben Ingram will do the TV play-by-play on Bally Sports South for Atlanta’s three-game series at Detroit. Ingram is moving over from the radio booth for this short road trip. … Congrats to Crystal Springs native Hunter Renfroe, who became a first-time father last week. The veteran outfielder out of Mississippi State returned to the Los Angeles Angels’ lineup on Saturday. … Tim Anderson, the East Central Community College product, got a (needed?) day off Sunday as the Chicago White Sox lost to Miami 6-5. Anderson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and made a critical ninth-inning error that led to three unearned runs in the White Sox’s 5-1 loss to the Marlins on Saturday. Anderson, a 2022 All-Star, is hitting .263 with no home runs and has five errors in 46 games at shortstop with a minus-4 Defensive Runs Saved stat (per FanGraphs). BTW, former MSU star Kendall Graveman blew the save for the White Sox in Sunday’s loss; they are reeling again at 29-38. … MSU alum Brent Rooker hit his 13th homer for Oakland on Sunday as the woeful A’s (17-50) completed a three-game sweep at Milwaukee. After a prolonged cold spell, Rooker has six hits (two homers) in his last 19 at-bats.

10 Jun

sudden impact

On this date in 2002, Marcus Thames, a New York Yankees rookie, stepped to the plate in Yankee Stadium for his first big league at-bat and, on the first pitch he saw, blasted a home run off Randy Johnson, then pitching for Arizona. It was the first of 115 homers for Thames, a Louisville native and ex-East Central Community College star who had a nice MLB career. It’s a cool memory, for sure, but Thames no doubt has other things on his mind today, namely the five-game win streak by the Los Angeles Angels that has pushed their record to 35-30, within 6.5 games of first place in the American League West. Thames is in his first year as the Angels’ hitting coach, and he has had a positive impact. The Angels’ offense was a mess in 2022, despite the presence of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. They went 73-89 and finished 26th in the majors in on-base percentage, 25th in runs and first (as in worst) in strikeouts. Under Thames’ direction, their OBP (.333) as well as batting average (.256) are up, and they are averaging more runs per game (4.8) and fewer strikeouts (8.7). Thames, widely regarded as a good coach, was the victim of staff purges by the Yankees and Miami the last two years. He quickly found work with Phil Nevin’s Angels and promised an “aggressive in the zone” approach. It appears to be working, much like it did for him on that memorable first AB 21 years ago. … Things are not going so well for Buck Showalter’s New York Mets, who have lost seven in a row and tumbled to 30-34, 9.5 games out in the National League East. They’ve also lost slugger Pete Alonso to the injured list. Showalter, the ex-Mississippi State star in his second season as manager of the Mets, is already rumored to be on the hot seat despite winning manager of the year honors with a playoff team in 2022. He said he remained proud of his current club after they blew late leads and lost three times to the archenemy Atlanta Braves. They then lost to the low-budget Pittsburgh Pirates 14-7 on Friday. (Ke’Bryan Hayes — son of Hattiesburg native Charlie — went 5-for-5 with four RBIs for the Bucs, who are 33-29.) The Mets have the largest payroll in baseball; owner Steve Cohen can’t be happy with what has happened this season.

19 May

arm robbery

Home runs by Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani were certainly highlight-worthy plays in the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-5 win at Baltimore on Thursday. Not to be overlooked was Hunter Renfroe’s throw in the bottom of the ninth inning. The former Mississippi State standout took a ball that hopped off the right-field wall, whirled and cut down former Bulldogs teammate Adam Frazier at second base for the second out of the inning. Angels manager Phil Nevin called the throw “incredible.” “I’ve seen him make a couple against me, I know that,” Nevin said in a TV interview. “It’s nice to have it on my side once.” Renfroe, in his first season with the Angels, has five assists from right field in 43 games in 2023 and 62 all told in his big league career. (And runners don’t challenge him all that often.) Renfroe is hitting .250 with 10 homers, a total matched by Trout and Ohtani on Thursday. P.S. East Central Community College plays No. 1 LSU-Eunice today for the NJCAA Division II Region 23 championship and a berth in the juco World Series. ECCC beat LSU-E in a winners bracket game Thursday, then lost to the Bengals in a later rematch. LSU-E eliminated defending national champ Pearl River in between. … Kudos to: Southern Miss’ Tanner Hall for notching his 11th win of the season — and USM’s 14th straight — with eight shutout innings against Louisiana-Lafayette; Mississippi State’s Amani Larry for his walk-off home run against Texas A&M; former Mississippi Braves star Freddie Freeman, now with the Dodgers, for his 300th career homer; former Ole Miss standout Doug Nikhazy for his first Double-A win for Cleveland’s Akron club; Jackson Prep product Will Warren for a win in his Triple-A debut for the New York Yankees’ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team; and Jackson Prep for claiming its sixth straight MAIS 6A state title with a win over Madison-Ridgeland Academy.

01 May

tales of the west

Three former Mississippi State hombres are certainly stirring things up out West. In Oakland, Brent Rooker emerged as an American League player of the month candidate for April despite toiling for the worst team in the West Division. In Texas, Nathaniel Lowe has helped the Rangers ride into first place in the division, and in Los Angeles, Hunter Renfroe has added punch to an Angels team lurking 2.5 games back of the Rangers. Rooker hit his ninth home run of 2023 on Sunday as Oakland beat Cincinnati 5-4. With a .417 average, five homers and 11 RBIs in his last seven games, Rooker is batting .353 for the year and has driven in 22 runs in just 68 at-bats for the 6-23 A’s. “That kind of production for a month’s worth of games is probably past even my expectations of myself, so that’s been a pleasant surprise for me,” Rooker said, in understated fashion, in an mlb.com story. Lowe also went yard on Sunday, taking Nestor Cortes deep for his fourth homer of the season — 60th career — in the Rangers’ 15-2 rout of the ailing New York Yankees. Lowe is hitting .257 with 19 RBIs for the 17-11 Rangers. Renfroe, hitting cleanup for L.A. behind superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, went 1-for-4 Sunday as the Angels (15-14) beat Milwaukee 3-0. Renfroe has seven homers — matching Trout and Ohtani — and is batting .259 with 20 RBIs, which leads the team. (Back East, another ex-Bulldogs batslinger, Adam Frazier, hit his third homer of the year Sunday for Baltimore, which stands 19-9, second in the AL East.)

18 Apr

the power of power

Hunter Renfroe is a good outfielder with a great arm. The former Mississippi State star also runs pretty well for a 230-pound dude. But never mind that. It’s his ability to hit dingers that grabs our attention. The Crystal Springs native hit his 161st big league homer on Monday, a three-run blast in the first inning that boosted the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-4 win over Boston on Patriots Day at Fenway Park. Renfroe has moved past Bill Melton and Frank White (both with 160) and into eighth place on the all-time homer list of Mississippi natives in the majors. (Dmitri Young, with 171, is next in Renfroe’s sights.) Renfroe was a power prodigy in high school, belting an MAIS record 20 bombs for Copiah Academy back in 2010. He went deep 16 times as a junior at State in 2013, earning All-America honors and then getting drafted in the first round by San Diego. He continued to rake in the minors, belting 77 homers over parts of four seasons before his first big league call-up in 2016. He got his first MLB bomb in his fourth game. In his five full seasons in the majors (not counting 2020), Renfroe has hit 26, 26, 33, 31 and 29 homers. Oddly enough, he has been traded three times since 2019. He’ll likely never be a .300 hitter, but he has improved in that area the previous two years, batting .259 for Boston in 2021 and .255 for Milwaukee last season. The Angels dealt three young pitchers to the Brewers to acquire Renfroe in November, hoping he can help power them into the postseason for the first time since 2014. With four homers in 16 games, he is off to a strong start.

31 Mar

opening acts

One of the most disappointing MLB teams in 2022, the Chicago White Sox needed to get off to a good start this season. With the aid of Mississippi products Tim Anderson and Kendall Graveman, they did exactly that on Thursday, beating the world champion Houston Astros 3-2. Anderson, former East Central Community College star, went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run — both in a ninth-inning rally — and Mississippi State product Kendall Graveman earned the win after throwing a scoreless eighth inning. Ole Miss alum Lance Lynn, like Anderson and Graveman a star in the WBC, gets the start for the ChiSox today at Minute Maid Park. Elsewhere on Opening Day, MSU alum Adam Frazier, in his Baltimore debut, went 2-for-4 with three runs and a stolen base as the Orioles beat Boston 10-9. Ex-Bulldogs standout Nathaniel Lowe had a hit, an RBI and a run, all in a nine-run fourth inning that propelled Texas past Philadelphia 11-7. Austin Riley, the former DeSoto Central High star, went 0-for-2 with three walks and an RBI in Atlanta’s 7-2 victory against Washington. Meridian CC product Corey Dickerson was 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter in his Nationals debut. Hunter Renfroe was 0-for-4 (with a nice catch in right field) for the Los Angeles Angels and fellow former State standout Brent Rooker 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter for Oakland in the A’s 2-1 surprising win. P.S. The exhibition game between the Double-A Mississippi Braves and Jackson State scheduled for April 5 has been cancelled, reportedly due to concerns about field conditions at Trustmark Park in Pearl. (Tuesday night’s Southern Miss-Ole Miss game was cancelled in the fourth inning because recently installed infield sod was not holding up, and Belhaven University’s weekend series against Covenant College has been moved to Holmes Community College’s field in Goodman.) The M-Braves-JSU game — billed as the Hank Aaron Tribute Game by the Hank Aaron Sports Academy — was originally slated for Smith-Wills Stadium, home of the Double-A Jackson Mets and Generals from 1975-99. It would have been the first such contest between JSU and a Jackson-area pro team since 1991, when the Generals — a Houston affiliate — beat Jackson State 6-3 in an April exhibition at Smith-Wills. The M-Braves, Atlanta’s Double-A club now in its 19th year at Trustmark Park, open their Southern League season April 7 at home against Biloxi. The Shuckers, Milwaukee’s Double-A club, have slated an exhibition vs. Pearl River Community College on April 5 at MGM Park.