Community Picks: Minnesota Twins 0% vs LAA Angels 0%

The upcoming three-game series between the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins, which starts Monday night, is the latest engagement in each team's campaign to salvage their respective seasons. After Sunday's 8-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Angels are only one-half game out of last place in the American League West. Los Angeles not only has lost seven of its past nine games but members of the Angels' patchwork rotation have failed to pitch beyond the sixth inning in eight of the previous 10. Continue to Article

June 12, 2016 10:53:pm EST

Los Angeles Angels reliever Fernando Salas only threw one of the 260 total pitches recorded during Saturday's game against the Indians. That one pitch was enough to earn him the victory. Salas was called upon to clean up a mess created by usually reliable closer Huston Street in the ninth inning. The Angels had entered the inning with a three-run lead after starter Matt Shoemaker tossed eight scoreless frames, but that lead had vanished by the time Salas arrived. Salas entered with the game tied, two outs, and the Indians threatening with two runners in scoring position. Then he rocked and fired his one pitch, getting Yan Gomes to pop out harmlessly to end the inning and position himself for a most efficient victory. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] The Angels would secure that victory, 4-3, thanks to a Yunel Escobar walk-off single . It all made for a dramatic sequence of events and a happy ending for the home fans. In the big picture though, it's just another reminder of how misleading the pitcher win stat can be.  In this case, you have a starter in Shoemaker who pitched brilliantly. In his eight innings, he allowed three hits while walking one and striking out 11. That's a Clayton Kershaw like outing that perhaps should have earned him a chance to complete the game. That was never a serious consideration though given his 108 pitches. So to recap, Shoemaker's 108 pitches were undone by Street's 28 pitches, but it was Salas' one pitch that earned the decision. Yeah, that's a definitely flawed system, but it's a better result than Street surviving one more out and vulturing the win for himself. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: - - - - - - - Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813 Continue to Article

June 12, 2016 1:45:pm EST

Los Angeles Angels reliever Fernando Salas only threw one of the 260 total pitches recorded during Saturday's game against the Indians. That one pitch was enough to earn him the victory. Salas was called upon to clean up a mess created by usually reliable closer Huston Street in the ninth inning. The Angels had entered the inning with a three-run lead after starter Matt Shoemaker tossed eight scoreless frames, but that lead had vanished by the time Salas arrived. Salas entered with the game tied, two outs, and the Indians threatening with two runners in scoring position. Then he rocked and fired his one pitch, getting Yan Gomes to pop out harmlessly to end the inning and position himself for a most efficient victory. [ Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Baseball contest now ] The Angels would secure that victory, 4-3, thanks to a Yunel Escobar walk-off single . It all made for a dramatic sequence of events and a happy ending for the home fans. In the big picture though, it's just another reminder of how misleading the pitcher win stat can be.  In this case, you have a starter in Shoemaker who pitched brilliantly. In his eight innings, he allowed three hits while walking one and striking out 11. That's a Clayton Kershaw like outing that perhaps should have earned him a chance to complete the game. That was never a serious consideration though given his 108 pitches. So to recap, Shoemaker's 108 pitches were undone by Street's 28 pitches, but it was Salas' one pitch that earned the decision. Yeah, that's a definitely flawed system, but it's a better result than Street surviving one more out and vulturing the win for himself. More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports: - - - - - - - Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813 Continue to Article

June 12, 2016 1:45:pm EST

About a year ago at this time, Michael Fulmer was starting to gain some notice for how he was pitching with Double-A Binghamton as a prospect for the New York Mets. A month later, the Detroit Tigers found themselves in the rare position of selling at the trading deadline when they dealt Yoenis Cespedes to New York. The reward for the trade is Fulmer, and he takes an impressive run of effectiveness for the Detroit Tigers into Sunday's series finale with the New York Yankees. Continue to Article

June 12, 2016 3:33:am EST

Everything has been a struggle for the Los Angeles Angels lately, and on Saturday night, even victory came with some complications. The Angels got a masterful performance from Matt Shoemaker, only to have closer Huston Street allow three runs in the ninth inning for a tie game. For the first time in a while, though, the Angels had an answer. Continue to Article

June 12, 2016 3:11:am EST