Clevinger’s revenge, Angels 9th loss

By Pete Zarustica

It seems like the Los Angeles Angels have made a habit of trading away players who come back to bite them. Or maybe it’s just a matter of an athlete wanting to prove that his former team made a mistake.

It was Mike Napoli a few days ago. On Saturday it was Mike Clevinger. Just traded a short time ago to the Cleveland Indians, he threw a no-hitter through five innings and ended up with a 5-1 win over the Angels. It was their ninth straight loss.

“It was storybook-esque,” Clevinger said. “It was everything I could imagine and more. It’s hard to describe right now.”

He worked 5.2 innings, giving up just one hit and one run, although he walked four batters. The Cleveland bullpen was even more perfect, yielding no hits or runs and striking out four while walking two.

The sole Angel run came in the third when Johnny Giovotella drove in Andrelton Simmons with a sharply-hit ground ball. Simmons ended up with the Angels’ only hit.

Matt Shoemaker (6-13), who usually does well against the Tribe, struggled through his six innings. He gave up 12 hits and five runs, striking out three batters and walking none.

The loss dropped the Halos (49-67) deeper into fifth and last place in the American League West. The series concludes Sunday with Jered Weaver (8-9) making the start for the Angels.