Angels come out on top over Cardinals in wild extra-inning battle

In a roller coaster extra-inning afair, the Los Angeles Angels defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-7, on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. The Halos are now three games above .500 for the first time since August 2, 2023, and have their first 4-1 start to a season since 2021.

Kyren Paris continued what has been a red-hot start to the year as he cashed in with a two out, go-ahead single in the 11th inning that made it 7-6 Los Angeles. The youngster came into the game as a pinch runner for Jorge Soler and finished 1-2 on the night.

Yoan Moncada followed up Paris' big hit with some clutch insurance on a two-run double down the left field line to make it 9-6. It was his first hit in three games as he earned his third and fourth RBIs of the year.

In the bottom half of the inning, Ryan Johnson and Ryan Zeferjahn combined to find the final three outs as they conceded only the free runner on second base. Johnson, who earned the first save of his career in Monday's win, picked up his first victory on Tuesday.

The game was forced into extras thanks to a throwing error from Angels' first baseman Nolan Schanuel in the bottom of the eighth as he could not hit Ben Joyce in stride as he raced to cover the first base bag. Nolan Arenado reached safely as Lars Nootbar came around to score and even the game at three.

Los Angeles managed to score their three regular-inning runs in the top of the third as Luis Rengifo and Mike Trout each hit run-scoring doubles off of St. Louis starter Matthew Liberatore. The left-hander lasted six innings as he allowed six hits and three earned runs.

On the mound for the Angels making his debut with the squad was veteran Kyle Hendricks. He delivered a solid performance, working through six innings to match Liberatore as he struck out four and allowed two earned runs.

Hendricks, entering his 12th season at age 35, had spent the previous 11 years of his career in Chicago with the Cubs. He dealt 97 pitches on the day, missing out on his first win as the game eventually went on to produce nine more runs after his replacement on the mound.

Schanuel, who made the critical error that led to extra innings, did manage to redeem himself in the tenth with a two-run triple that put the Angels up 5-3. Jo Adell also added on with an RBI single as it looked like the 6-3 lead would be enough to get over the finish line.

The Cardinals immediately had the answer in the bottom half of the frame, however, as lefty Garrett McDaniels had a rough outing. McDaniels allowed a walk, two-run double to Luken Baker to make it 6-5, and then another walk before being replaced by Ryan Johnson. Johnson then gave up a game-tying single to Arenado, but did a nice job to defuse the situation and prevent St. Louis from walking it off.

While it certainly took a few more innings than it needed to, it was a gusty road win for Los Angeles to continue a promising start to 2025. Paris and Schanuel continue to swing the bat well as a pair of 23-year-olds who are hungry to prove they belong at the MLB level.

One game remains on the six-game trip to start the season for the Angels as they will look for a sweep of the Cardinals on Wednesday morning. 

Yusei Kikuchi will make his second start as he looks to pick up his first victory in a Los Angeles uniform. He will face off against right-hander Sonny Gray, who is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA.

First pitch is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. PT.