The Angels fan base saw what the A's fan base had done to the Astros on opening weekend — trash cans on posters — and they raised them some real trash cans.
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That's right — in Monday's game between the Astros and the Angels in Los Angeles, an inflatable trash can was tossed on to the warning track in the bottom of the sixth inning.
But that's not an actual trash can, you say, like the headline reads. And you're right. However, we didn't have to wait long for that to be the case.
Another fan hoisted a large trash can up on the outfield wall when the Astros were fielding, though this one did not make it down to the grass/dirt of the outfield.
What will fans do for the next Astros' road trip? Dress up as trash cans? Drive garbage trucks to the stadium? There are only so many ways to "improve" upon the methods of opposing fan bases that we've seen to this point in the young 2021 season.
But manager Dusty Baker hopes there aren't too many more shenanigans. Baker has had enough.
"It's sad to me," Baker said after acknowledging, once again, that his team had made mistakes, like many others have in their lives. "People make mistakes. We paid for ours, and I wish they'd leave it alone."
The Astros ultimately lost the game, their first in that column of the season, by a score of 7-6. However, catcher Martin Maldonado said that the hostility from Angels fans and others doesn't hurt their chances, instead saying that it might give the team more fuel to win.
"That stuff, we don’t even look at it," Maldonado said (via Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle). "We go out there to play a game, and the fans, they do whatever they want. They’re gonna be loud. But I think that gives us a little bit more motivation. We feel like we’re in the playoffs in the fifth game of the season. Every guy out there -- they’re playing like we’re in the playoffs, so that’s good stuff."
Considering what we saw from the Astros in their opening four-game sweep of the Athletics to start the season, this seems to be true. However, their blown lead to the Angels, in which four eighth-inning runs were surrendered to allow for a comeback, might indicate that not everyone can feed off that environment the same way.
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