spree

HOUSTON — Zach Neto was five for six with his 21st homer and a career-high seven RBIs and the Angels scored their most runs in three years to rout the Houston Astros 18-3 on Thursday night.

The Angels (51-77) had a season-high 18 hits and scored their most runs since a 25-1 victory over Colorado on June 24, 2023.

Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (4-5) gave up just two unearned runs across seven innings while striking out six.

Peter Lambert (8-7) entered as Houston’s most consistent starter but had his worst outing of the season, giving up eight hits and nine runs in 3⅔ innings.

Houston slipped to 64-64 and saw its two-game lead in the AL West drop to one as Texas beat Washington.

In a scary moment in the fifth, Angels left fielder Wade Meckler was hit in the head by a 90-mph sinker from reliever Bryan King. The pitch appeared to hit Meckler on the helmet over his right ear. He was on the ground near home plate for a few minutes and was attended by medical staff before walking to the dugout and exiting the game.

Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel left in the sixth with right side soreness.

Up next: Angels LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.78 ERA) was set to start against Rangers LHP MacKenzie Gore (7-9, 4.45) in Texas on Friday night. Astros RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-1, 5.16) was set to open a home series against Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (8-7, 3.53).

Murder 24/7 returns tonight with another harrowing episode as detectives race against the clock for justice

Chilling video footage recovered from a killer’s phone has been exposed, showing a violent spree across “two days of torture”.

Murder 24/7 has returned this week with a harrowing two-part special titled Natural Born Killer. Returning for its third series earlier this month, the true crime documentary takes viewers right into the heart of murder investigations across the UK.

Following West Mercia Police, the show, which sees detectives racing against the clock to ensure justice is done, has been dubbed better than Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody.

Last night (August 4), viewers were horrified after a harrowing episode delved into the murder of 54-year-old Jamie Gawler who was brutally killed and found by officers dead in an armchair with a towel thrown over his head.

Tonight (August 5), the second episode will air at 9pm on BBC One, as detectives continue their investigation into suspect Matthew Jonathan. A synopsis reads: “In Hereford, detectives continue to build their case against Matthew Jonathan for the murder of 54-year-old Jamie Gawler.

“The suspect maintains a ‘no comment’ stance in interviews, so the team is relying on digital and physical forensics to piece together the final days of Jamie’s life.”

It adds: “A critical forensic breakthrough comes when analysts match an incomplete, bloody footprint from the scene to Jonathan’s rare boots via a national database. Soon after, investigators recover a series of phone videos that reveal the true extent of the assault.”

In the episode, officers can be seen analysing a mobile phone recovered, believed to be Matthew’s, before discovering harrowing video footage on it which appears to show him assaulting Jamie.

The clips were played out as detectives watched on in horror. In the video footage, Matthew can be heard laughing and saying: “Don’t give me that broken face b******.”

He later instructs his victim: “Lift your head up,” before levelling abuse at him. He then adds: “I’ll do 30 years for this, I don’t care.”

The episode then sees officers showing Matthew the footage as one detective can be heard saying: “This is now two days into what I would describe as torture.”

Matthew Jonathan was eventually charged with murder as the episode explains three months later, he pleaded guilty to the charge. At sentencing, Matthew received a life sentence with a minimum of 32 years.

With all episodes available to stream on BBC iPlayer, viewers were horrified after watching the latest instalments this week. Taking to TikTok, one true crime fan admitted their “jaw was on the floor watching this show.”

In the video, they added: “Wow. Absolutely brutal…. I couldn’t believe them episodes, they were brutal.” Another replied: “I love watching this programme but those two were brutal.”

Murder 24/7 can be streamed on BBC iPlayer

No date will ever top Oct. 27, 2002, the date the Angels won their lone World Series.

We could talk about Sept. 30, 1984, the date Mike Witt threw the Angels’ lone perfect game. Or June 9, 2009, the date the Angels drafted the best player in franchise history, Mike Trout. Or July 29, 2018, the date Vladimir Guerrero became the first player to wear an Angels cap on a Hall of Fame plaque.

Or, if you care to look at it from a cynical angle, that fateful fall day in 1979 when then-general manager Buzzie Bavasi said he could replace Nolan Ryan, who had just gone 16-14 in his final year in Anaheim, with “two 8-7 pitchers.”

This isn’t about trivia. This is to say that Monday might well be remembered as one of those significant dates in Angels history.

In recent years, the Angels have deluded themselves and their fans with such beliefs as: they had assembled a young core that could win; Shohei Ohtani really wanted to stay; and the universally and consistently poor rankings of their minor-league system should be dismissed.

On Monday, John Mozeliak changed all that. The Angels’ interim general manager traded seven players off the major-league roster ahead of the trade deadline, including five within the final nine hours. Mozeliak imported nine prospects, only one of which will report to the major-league team.

It was one thing for owner Arte Moreno and new team president Molly Jolly to recruit Mozeliak six weeks ago and promise that he could embark on a desperately overdue rebuild.

To see it actually come to fruition? Maybe there really are Angels in the outfield.

“What’s really impressive for me is just the amount of trust I’ve been granted,” Mozeliak said.

The Angels finished in last place last year, and the year before that. They are on pace to lose 100 games this season, for the first time in franchise history. Their postseason drought is about to hit 12 years, the longest in baseball.

But now there is a plan, not just a bunch of ifs and hopes, even if the Angels might have to take another step back to take two steps forward.

“I would say we took a step forward today,” Mozeliak said on a videoconference after the trade deadline passed.

Prospects! Tell me more!

Arjun Nimmala takes part in batting practice for the Toronto Blue Jays on July 14, 2023.

(Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)

The only top-50 prospect the Angels acquired: shortstop Arjun Nimmala, 20. The Toronto Blue Jays swapped him and two other minor leaguers for pitcher José Soriano. Mozeliak said Nimmala is about two years from the majors.

The only prospect coming to the majors: catcher/designated hitter Moises Ballesteros, whom Mozeliak said would DH in two of the next three games.

That means Jorge Soler won’t be the DH for the moment. Who was traded?

Soriano, outfielder Jo Adell, catcher Logan O’Hoppe and relievers Ryan Zeferjahn, Brent Suter, Kirby Yates and Chase Silseth. All but Suter and Yates were under the Angels’ control beyond this season.

And who was not traded?

In addition to Soler, pitcher Reid Detmers and shortstop Zach Neto (“We definitely listened to offers, but we were not comfortable with the offers we received”) and first baseman Nolan Schanuel (“He was asked about, but not to the level of others”).

Mozeliak had said last month that a Trout trade was “not happening.” He said Monday that he had invited Trout to observe the team’s war room ahead of the trade deadline.

“He’s the face of this franchise,” Mozeliak said. “From where I stand, from being around him, we want to get this better for him, and for others. Our fans want to see winning.”

Mozeliak had said the Angels should not need a total rebuild because the resources available to a major-market team should mitigate the need to tank and just play kids. Does he believe the Angels could be better next season?

Hear it from him: “We need to remain disciplined and patient to a process and not just try to rush some people to the big leagues. … If they’re not ready, and we’re not ready to compete with that group, that’s where we’re going to augment using more of the free-agent model.”

This is starting to sound like a long-term plan. Is Mozeliak here for the long-term, as most inside the industry believe he is?

Mozeliak insists he hasn’t decided if he wants to stay, and he hasn’t yet met with Moreno and Jolly to discuss the matter. But he said two things that stuck out to me.

One: “It’s fun being back in the game. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”

Two: “We have made a difference. Change has been real.”

The Sunday Times says, external Prime Minister Andy Burnham will give England’s metropolitan mayors a share of income tax to spend in their cities, in devolution plans to be announced next week. It says the policy will be driven from the new Number 10 North office in Manchester.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, external about his government’s priorities, Burnham says “if I’ve learnt anything from my time in politics, it’s that ‘it can’t be done’ is usually just another way of saying ‘we’ve stopped trying’.” In an article justifying policy decisions that have been taken so far, he adds, “our job will only be done when people aren’t just living, they’re living well.”

The Sunday Telegraph claims, external that the new Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, has offered in a call with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, to collaborate on a global effort to re-open the Strait of Hormuz. The paper says a conference may be held in London to bring together representatives from more than 40 countries to discuss the issue. It describes the efforts as an attempt to “turn the page” on the divergence between the US and UK over the Iran war.

The wildfires raging across Europe feature on the front page of the Observer, external. It carries a stark full page image of a bather walking into the sea, with billowing smoke causing the sky to blacken. The headline reads: “Baptism of Fire.”

The Sun on Sunday reports, external that a group of migrants who arrived in the UK this week may include suspects wanted for questioning in connection with the fatal stabbing of another migrant. The incident is alleged to have happened in the seaside resort of Berck-sur-Mer in northern France on Thursday.

The Sunday Express claims, external that Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is close to agreeing to a deal with broadcasters for a documentary series about her life. It says Netflix is one of the broadcasters she has been negotiating with. Those negotiating on behalf of Ferguson have stipulated that her contributions would have to be filmed outside the US because of the risk of being subpoenaed by the Congressional House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the crimes of her former husband’s friend, Jeffrey Epstein.