OAKLAND – The eighth inning didn’t go exactly the way Ryan Madson wanted in Monday’s opener against the Angels.
For one thing, he was matched up against Mike Trout, and the defending American League Most Valuable Player is not the kind of hitter any pitcher wants to face in a one-run game in late innings.
Or, as Madson put it, “That’s not a matchup you’d ever volunteer for,” Madson said.
Trout won the battle with an opposite field double. Madson won the war, getting C.J. Cron to ground out after a no-pitch intentional walk to Albert Pujols.