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The Astros headed into Anaheim last night with hopes of continuing their hot start to the season. They fell to the Angels, 7-6, in a great game and now are tied with the Angels for the AL West lead at 4-1. However, there was a bigger story to the game last night. Angel fans decided to take it upon themselves to get just a little rowdy.
During the bottom of the 6th inning, with the Astros holding a 5-3 lead, a fan (note: he was wearing a Dodgers hat), blew up and threw an inflatable trash can on the field. But, it didn't stop there.
Later in the game, during Jose Altuve's at-bat, another fan grabbed what looks like one of the stadium trash cans and proceeded to beat it like it was a drum. He also did it somehow while his arm was in a sling. In a small way, I respect the dedication. But, guess what? It didn't stop there either.
A little bit later, during the top of the 8th inning, the same fan, "arm in a sling" guy, grabbed a second trash can, beat it like a drum, again, but this time, actually tossed it on to the field. I'm starting to think this guy's arm isn't hurt at all but, still, the fans as a whole got a bit rowdy last night. On top of all of that, the Angels fed off the fan's energy, rallied with 4 runs in the 8th inning, and proceeded to beat the Astros 7-6.
We knew there would be fan made signs, we knew their would be heckling, hell, we knew there may be actual trash cans thrown on the field. However all of this is going down only 5 games in to the season. I know the guys in the clubhouse will say it doesn't bother them, but only time will tell if it does eventually take some kind of toll. A 162 game season is a long season after all.
If this is how Angel fans react, one can only wonder what fans at Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium have in store when the Astros come to town. Expect opposing stadium security to closely monitor the use of their trash cans for the rest of the season. On that note, if you're an Astros fan, don't expect opposing fan bases to stop this kind of behavior any time soon.