AAR: Aston’s Angels Report June 27, 2011
Game 80: Singles Night at the Ballpark Vol. 1, Issue 82
Win 4-3, 10 innings Record: 40-40
After a successful road trip where the Angels won each of their four series, despite a bitter ending and a stolen victory in the last game against the Dodgers, the Angels returned home to face the Washington Nationals. Once again, the Angels had to face a team in their first games under their new manager, just like when they faced Florida in their first games under Jack McKeon. Like McKeon, Davey Johnson has been a successful manager in the past, but this is his first team in about ten years, and replaced their temporary interim manager, becoming the new, new manager for the Nationals, but he didn’t enter into a job with a struggling team on a losing streak like in Florida. Former Nationals manager Jim Riggleman decided to resign hours after his team had surpassed the .500 mark. They have won 13 of their last 15 games, and moved up to 3rd place in the difficult National League Eastern division (an accomplishment in itself), but he decided to desert his team, just because the general manager/owner refused to discuss a contract extension. That was some kind of example he set, quitting on his team like a little crybaby, instead of working hard, working for his teammates, and leaving their contracts out of the equation until after the season, like he probably asked his players to do everyday. It’s no wonder why many players think can force their team to trade them, or make contract demands, and act like spoiled brats who refuse to play when they don’t get their way. I hope he never gets a job in the majors again, after that disgusting display of disloyalty and selfishness.
John Lannan started for the Nationals, trying to start Johnson off on the right foot with a victory, and although he wasn’t the pitcher of record, the team nearly found a way to do just that. the Angels’ Ervin Santana out-pitched him, and deserved a victory for his effort, but the chance for his first win in over a month was erased when their closer, Jordan Walden, blew the save with two outs in the 9th inning. Bobby Abreu took over his normal DH position now that they were back at home, and they elected to go with Howie Kendrick in, with Wells over in RF. Torii Hunter should be back in the starting lineup soon, so hopefully they won’t have to use this alignment too much more because it weakens their defense and could come back to hurt the team because of Kendrick’s inexperience and awkwardness out there. Bobby Wilson got a rare start as the catcher, and the struggling Alberto Callaspo was at 3B again but moved down in the lineup (7th) because of his recent slump. Callaspo contributed in this one, and he along with his teammates posed the question: Which is Mightier? Singles or solo homeruns?
Ervin Santana came in with a bad 3-8 record, but his 4.22 ERA is not terrible, and he has pitched better at home, so his record is a little misleading. He pitched great again in this one, allowing only two runs on two solo homeruns, in 8 strong innings of work, against one of the surprise teams in baseball, the Nationals. After retiring CF Roger Bernadina on a groundout and RF Jayson Werth reached for an 0-2 slider popping up to 1B Mark Trumbo in foul ground, Santana allowed just a two-out single, to star 3B Ryan Zimmerman. He hit one of Santana’s few bad sliders for a grounder through the hole on the left side of the infield, but the LF, Laynce Nix grounded out to 1st for the last out.
The Angels offense thought it was singles night tonight, collecting 15 one-base-hits out of the 16 hits they accumulated in the game. They didn’t get that one extra-base hit ( a double) until the 10th inning, so they were definitely playing small ball, but it earned them an eventual victory, the hard way. They got a bunch of runners on base, but still only had three runs after nine innings, so needless to say the Angels hit into more double plays and left runners on base in nearly every inning. In the 1st, 2B Maicer Izturis led off with a line drive back up the middle for a single, then Erick Aybar dragged a perfectly placed bunt down the 1st base line for an infield single. They had the first two men on, with run producers up next, but Abreu struck out after working the count full (his typical 3-2 at bat), then Wells hit an easy fly out to center and Kendrick grounded out to SS, to blow their chance to take the lead.
The Nationals needed just one swing to take the lead and capitalize on the Angels’ failure to come up with the big hit (or even a productive out or two would have been nice). 1B Michael Morse showed off his power as he led off the 2nd inning, and whacked a high slider deep into right center field, for a solo homerun. It looked like a typical fly after the easy swing and harmlessly hit to the opposite field, but it kept on carrying and went way beyond the fence. Santana retired the next three to end the inning, getting two to swing at sliders in the dirt for strikeouts, but the Angels now trailed 1-0.
Mark Trumbo led off the bottom of the 2nd, hitting a high, slow chopper towards SS, but Ian Desmond couldn’t barehand the ball, allowing him to reach on an infield hit. Callaspo went after an outside changeup and hit a grounder back to Lannan, who turned and threw to 2nd to start the double play and erase the base runner. The throw was wide of the base, but the 2B Danny Espinosa made a good play as he went for the ball and dragged his toe across the base to record the out before throwing to 1st the complete the DP. Peter Bourjos fell behind 0-2 but worked the count full, before hitting a hard line drive to the CF, and once again, the double play brought an inning to a rapid end.
In the 3rd, Santana recorded the first of his three 1-2-3 innings, setting down Desmond on a groundout, then Bernadina popped out to the SS in shallow left field. Werth struck out looking on a fastball down the middle, after two sliders before that threw off his timing completely, to end the inning. … In the bottom half, the John Lannan mimicked the job done by Santana tossing a 1-2-3 inning of his own, in what would be the only inning the Angels didn’t get a runner on base. Wilson had the count in his favor, 3-1 and hit the predictable fastball hard, but it was a line drive right to the 2nd baseman for the first out. Maicer Izturis grounded out to SS and Erick Aybar hit the first pitch fastball into deep center for the last out of the inning, to send the game into the 4th.
Ryan Zimmerman fell behind 0-2, but Santana made another mistake to the slugging 3B, with a 92 MPH fastball left belt high and inside, that Zimmerman turned on and launched a high fly ball deep into left field, that traveled a few rows beyond the short fence. Another leadoff homerun by a Nationals slugger and it was 2-0, but this would be the last run that Santana would allow from here on. After getting Nix to groundout on the first pitch, Michael Morse crushed another one but luckily it was more of a line drive instead of a flyball, so it pounded off of the centerfield wall instead of flying out of the ballpark. The ball was hit so hard he had to hustle in and slide in at 2nd to beat the throw from Bourjos who fielded it and threw it in to make a close play out of it. From here on, Santana didn’t allow much, starting with the last two in this inning to strand the runner in scoring position, getting Espinosa to ground out and the catcher, Wilson Ramos on an easy fly ball to center.
Two of the batters that failed with runners on 1st and 2nd in the first inning, singled to start the bottom of the 4th, to initiate the same scenario for the next batters to see what they could do. Abreu punched a 1-2 fastball the other way, through the hole between 3B and SS, into left field, and then Vernon Wells followed with another one in the same place, pulling a 1-1 slider to put two men on with no outs again. Kendrick tried to go the other way again, but his line drive went right to the RF Werth for the first out. Mark Trumbo hit a deep fly out to centerfield that Barnadina caught on the warning track, but for some reason Abreu went nearly all the way to 3rd, instead of tagging up so he could advance to 3rd. The base running mistake became a moot point, as Alberto Callaspo finally broke out of his batting slump, hitting a hanging curveball off the end of his bat into left for a clutch 2-out single, scoring Abreu to cut the deficit to one. Bourjos had a good day at the plate also, and came through with another two-out RBI single, on a blooping ‘duck-fart’ into shallow right after he was jammed by an inside fastball. The Angels did tie the score as Vernon Wells scored, but fell victim to another out on the basepaths, as Callaspo ran to 3rd and was thrown out on a great throw from Jayson Werth, to end the inning. I’ve complained when Callaspo appeared not to be hustling to 2nd on a similar play in the past, and this showed that he feels healthier and wants to be more aggressive, but it still wasn’t very smart to risk the chance of running on a RF who has always been amongst the league leaders in outfield assists, and they were getting hits against Lannan, but instead let him off the hook with an unearned out. The Angels seem to be trying the aggressive base running at all the wrong times; they seem to coast into 2nd instead of at least think about going to 3rd because the hit takes the outfielder into a tough throwing position, or the ball is slow to get out to him Then, when they have a runner at 2nd they stop him at 3rd after a two-out hit into the outfield instead of trying to score, when the risk is far less (because the runner is automatically running on any hit and is more likely to score and the throw all the way home has to be perfect), and the gain is far better if you are successful. Another backwards maneuver cost them a potentially bigger inning.
After the Nats’ DH Matt Stairs struck out for the second time, Ian Desmond lined one past the diving Izturis into right center for a single. Bernadina swung at the first pitch- a high fastball- and hit a high, deep fly ball into right field, that may have been a homer if hit during the day (or at another park) but it fell into Vernon Wells’ glove as his back was against the wall, for a scary 2nd out. Werth grounded out to 3B, on the first pitch he saw, to end the inning, and preserve the tie…. The Angels got three men on base, without recording a hit, but another out by a base runner led to another failure to score. Wilson drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning, and then Lannan fell behind Maicer Izturis with two more balls, and a 2-0 count, before he was visited by the pitching coach to remind him how to throw strikes. I guess the Angels manager assumed Lannan would throw a fastball for a strike (even though he hadn’t thrown a strike yet) so he called for a hit-and-run play, that Izturis had to make contact on to protect his catcher who would be running to 2nd. Lannan threw a breaking pitch, Izturis swung and missed and Wilson was thrown out by about 10 feet at 2nd base, because of [my opinion] a bad move by the Angels manager. Once again, they were picking the wrong spot to try and be more aggressive and ran themselves out of another inning- the pitcher wasn’t throwing strikes and uncomfortable out there, so it makes a lot more sense to let Izturis take a strike before you call for a play like that, because he could walk him for one thing, not to mention the fact that Wilson was the runner so Izturis would have to swing at anything and make contact or else it would certainly be an easy out. Izturis struck out on a 3-2 changeup, so there were now two outs, and no one on base. Aybar was hit on the foot on a slider that went too far inside, then Abreu drew a walk after taking a 3-2 fastball near the dirt, to put two men on, and I wondered what could have been if not for the botched hit-and-run. Vernon Wells got ahead in the count 2-0, but it looked like he had his mind made up to swing at anything, going after a fastball way outside, and to make matters worse, he pulled it instead of at least going the other way [if you swing at that kind of pitch], resulting in an easy groundout to the SS to end the inning.
Santana set the Nationals down in order in the 6th, mowing through the middle of the lineup, and the hitters who had hurt him the most so far. He induced a groundout from Zimmerman, retiring him for the first time in the game, then got Nix to groundout to the SS again. He finally retired Morse, who hit another fly ball, but it didn’t travel like the first two, landing in Vernon Wells glove in right center to end the inning…. The Angels looked like they were going to blow another chance to start something in the bottom of the 6th, when Kendrick led off with a single into right, and Trumbo immediately followed by hitting into a double play. Zimmerman dove for the grounder to his left, then fired the ball to 2nd from his knees, and Espinosa did the rest to turn the double play. Lannan then got ahead of Callaspo 0-2, but he managed to hit an off-speed 82 MPH pitch into left field for a two-out single. Bourjos then hit a grounder that Desmond stopped, deep in the hole at SS, and he had no play, but dropped the ball before he could even try, so Bourjos was on with another infield hit. Wilson hit the first pitch fastball through that hold on the left side, for an RBI single, and Bourjos sprinted into 3rd ahead of the throw (another risky play but successful). After three straight two out singles gave the Angels the 3-2 lead, Davey Johnson decided to make his first pitching change as a National’s coach, removing Lannan and bringing in rookie Ryan Mattheus, who came in with an unblemished record, throwing 6 scoreless innings as a major leaguer. He walked Izturis on four pitches to load the bases, then went to a full count after getting ahead 0-2 against Aybar, but he threw a strike and it turned into a simple groundout to SS, to strand the bases loaded and end the inning.
Santana now had the lead as he pitched in the 7th, a somewhat unfamiliar feeling of late, and he refused to give it up. He made a mistake, throwing a slider on 1-2 that targeted the hitter, Espinosa and hit him in the back of the leg as he turned away. Ramos hit a groundball to SS that looked like it would be an easy double play to bail out Santana, and they got the out at 2nd, but Iztruris made an off-balance, one-legged throw to 1st and it got past Trumbo, and rolled into the dugout, so it was an error because it allowed Ramos to go to 2nd. Santana walked Stairs on four pitches (which was off because he had struck him out in both previous at bats) but he made it look like all part of the plan, when the next batter, Ian Desmond, swung at a slider on the first pitch and hit another double play grounder to Aybar, and this time they turned it perfectly to end the inning.
The Angels got two more on base in the 7th, starting with Abreu who worked another full count before lining a single back up the middle, nearly clipping the pitcher’s feet on the way to centerfield. Wells hit an easy fly out to left, then Kendrick bid for a homer with a deep fly ball to center, but Bernadina made another catch on the warning track in the deepest part of the field, for the 2nd out of the inning. Mark Trumbo fell behind 0-2 but worked the count full, fouled off a couple pitches, and eventually drew a walk, to put two runners on. That was the end of Mattheus’ night, as Henry Rodriguez was called in form the bullpen to end the threat. Alberto Callaspo couldn’t get another clutch two-out single, instead grounding out to the SS on a 98 MPH fastball.
Torii Hunter made his first appearance since the Marlins’ series, coming in as a defensive replacement in right field, so Wells moved over to LF, and Kendrick took over at 1B. Santana shut down the Nationals again in the 8th, getting Bernadina on grounder to 2nd, Werth striking out on a 2-2 slider (after two straight fastballs, to confuse Werth once again), and Zimmerman took a half-swing, trying to hold up on a 0-1 slider, but tapped it back to the pitcher for the final out…. Peter Bourjos got his 3rd hit of the game, blooping another one into short right field, on the first pitch fastball, to put another runner on base for the Angels. Wilson tried to bunt him over, but the sacrifice attempt failed when he bunted the ball on the ground right back to the pitcher, who turned and threw to 2nd for the out. Wilson was safe at 1st on the double play attempt, and Izturis popped up to the SS for the 2nd out. Aybar grounded out to the SS, as the Angels were once again victimized by their own hit-and-run play with Wilson running, because Desmond was going towards 2nd to cover the base on the stolen base attempt, and the grounder up the middle was right to him instead of up the middle for a single.
Jordan Walden came in to close the game, even though Santana was pleading his case to his manager in the dugout to go back out there after he was done with the 8th. I’m sure now they both wish he had been given the opportunity to get his complete game, because Walden ended up blowing another save. He got the first two outs on a fly out to left center by Nix and an easy groundout by Morse on a 98 MPH fastball, but he made one mistake and paid for it. He threw a fastball over the inner half, instead of to the catcher’s outside target, and Espinosa clobbered the 96 MPH fastball, turning on it as if it was a slowball, sending it deep into left field for the game-tying solo homerun. Ramos grounded out to 3rd to end the inning, but there went the possible win for Santana....The Angels started the bottom of the 9th, getting their leadoff man on for the 6th straight inning (8th time in the game) but once again failed to capitalize on it. Abreu walked after getting to another (surprise!) full count and taking a ball in the dirt, but Vernon Wells continued his poor offensive game, grounding into an easy double play started by the SS Desmond. Kendrick hit a fly out to right, to end the inning, as Rodriguez completed another strong inning to send the game into extra innings.
Scott Downs came in to pitch the 10th, as the Angels came out for their 15th extra inning game already in this season. Ryan Bixler pinch-hit for Matt Stairs and he hit a grounder to Izturis at 2B, but he played the one-hopper off his body and couldn’t make the throw in time, for his second error in the game. Desmond sacrificed him to 2nd with a good bunt, but the pinch hitter Jerry Hairston popped out to Maicer Izturis who ran out to shallow right field to make a good over the shoulder catch for the second out. Downs struck out Werth looking at perfect fastball over the inner edge of the plate, to complete another scoreless inning for Downs.
The Nationals changed pitchers too, bringing in left-hander Sean Burnett. Hunter had his first at bat of the game, and showed no ill-effects of his rib injury, as he swung hard at a few pitches, but ended up popping up behind the plate to the catcher for the first out. Callaspo continued his strong offensive night, with his third hit, on a line drive single into right field, so maybe hitting lower in the lineup (like he should be anyway) helped take some pressure off. Bourjos followed by hitting an outside fastball down the right field line, that dropped in for a hit, but it bounced into the stands for a ground rule double, which may have been bad luck for the Angels, preventing a chance to score. Then again, they may not have tried to score since Werth would have been in position to make the throw and had already thrown out Callaspo once in this game. After a conference on the mound with everyone but the outfielders, to discuss their strategy, they decided to walk Wilson intentionally, even though he is hitting under ,200, to load the bases. In a way, I don’t quite understand the move, since he isn’t exactly a great hitter, but they wanted to load the bases so a grounder would get an easier out at home, which is a common tactic in that situation. The plan didn’t work, as Maicer Izturis made up for his two errors on defense by hitting a groundball up the middle, and through the drawn-in infield to drive home the game-winning run.
The win should have marked their 5th in a row, but because of that awful call on the play at home plate that stole away a victory on Sunday, they had to settle for just getting back to the .500 mark. Unfortunately, Ervin Santana will have to wait until his next outing to get that elusive victory in his column, but if he pitches that well again, he will have a good chance. It was another odd game, as the Angels had 16 hits, compared to just 6 for the Nationals, but the first 14 were singles for the Angels and three of the Nationals’ were homeruns. Somehow they ended up cancelling out each other after 9 innings, but the Angels finally hit an extra base hit in the 10th to put themselves in position to score the game winner on another single, proving perhaps that singles are more mightier than the homerun (if you have about 15 of them anyway).On the plus side, the Angels did hit well in their home ballpark, which hasn’t been the case for most of the season, as every starting player got a hit.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Aston’s Angels Report [Game 79 @ LA Dodgers- Loss]
AAR: Aston’s Angels Report June 26, 2011
Game 79: Eject the Umpire!!! Vol. 1, Issue 81
Loss 3-2 Record: 39-40
Sunday’s game at Dodgers Stadium marked the last one of a long road trip, on which they won all four series, as they once again played much better on the road than they do at home. I happened to see the last inning of this game live before I was able to watch the whole thing, and the outcome pissed me off so much, I almost didn’t want to see the rest of the game. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the umpire cost the Angels a victory, a series sweep and a four-game winning streak, with what might be the worst call I’ve ever seen on a play at the plate. When he went into the clubhouse after the game, I’m sure he watched the replay and realized that he made a huge mistake; the runner didn’t even touch home plate until he reached around with his hand after being blocked completely off of home plate and tagged out by Jeff Mathis. I don’t know how he could even see that play any other way; even the Dodger fans can’t deny that he was out, for goodness sake. What’s worse is that WAS the last out of the game, but it turned into the tying run, so the game continued and the Dodgers went on to score the “winning” run, on the next play. The Angels should at least be able to protest that call since it was so obviously wrong, but that can’t happen either. Where is the justice?!? I know I have already gone on about this (self-fulfilling plug upcoming) in one of my recent posts “Hey Blue, the Game Isn‘t About You”, but this really pisses me off; it is so ridiculously unnecessary and irrational, and it would be so simple to solve!! I need to go have an inward scream and cool off before I continue…
The teams’ ace starters took the mound, with Jared Weaver and Clayton Kershaw- two pitchers who may end up leading their respective leagues in strikeouts when the season ends. The Angels decided to play Howie Kendrick in LF again, and moved Vernon Wells into RF, with bobby Abreu getting the day off against the tough lefthander, Kershaw. The Dodgers came out with a different lineup again, using Casey Blake at 3B, Juan Uribe at 2B, Jamey Carroll moving over to SS, and Navarro was back behind the plate.
The game started out as expected, in a major pitcher’s duel in what ended up being a scoreless tie until the 7th inning. In the first three innings, both teams only could muster one hit each. Clayshaw faced the minimum in that time, retiring the first six in order, including three strikeouts, then erasing the leadoff single by CF Peter Bourjos in the 3rd by getting the next hitter, C Jeff Mathis to ground into a double play (same old thing for the Angels). Weaver allowed a bunt hit on the first pitch he threw in the game, to LF Tony Gwynn Jr, who bunted it down the 3rd base line, probably because Callaspo wasn’t even playing in to deter the attempt. Weaver then set down the next ten in a row (nine in those three innings), including two strikeouts.
In the 4th, Kershaw allowed another leadoff single, to Maicer Izturis, who then moved to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt by SS Erick Aybar. Kendrick broke his bat as he grounded out to the SS up the middle, and Vernon Wells struck out on a 1-2 slider to end the inning and strand the runner in scoring position… In the bottom half, Weaver faced some trouble of his own, after Blake led off with a fly out to center on the first pitch (to complete his 10 in a row). Ethier reached out and pulled a 3-2 outside curveball into the right field corner for a one-out double, then Kemp was jammed by an inside fastball but and broke his bat but the ball still found it’s way into left field for a single (the kind of thing that happens when you are near triple crown statistics). Ethier had to hold up to make sure the ball fell in front of Kendrick in LF, so the situation was runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. Loney hit a weak fly out to left on an outside curveball, not deep enough to score the run, and Uribe ended the inning striking out on a high fastball, as Weaver got out of the jam.
The Angels went down in order again, in the 5th, as Kershaw struck out the side. Kershaw was ahead in the count to nearly every hitter he faced, and was dominant throughout most of the game, locating all four pitches well. He had seven strikeouts through 5 innings, after recording his fourth in a row here…. Weaver faced more adversity in his half of the 5th on the mound, started by his own mistake, walking the catcher Dioner Navarro to lead off the inning. Jamey Carroll then punched a 1-2 inside fastball the other way, for a bloop single down the right field line, moving Navarro to 3rd, for a sticky situation. With runners at 1st and 3rd, Kershaw got the chance to hit because he isn’t a terrible hitter like some pitchers, and hit a grounder to 2B Izturis. He was going to flip the ball to Aybar covering 2nd, but he saw that Navarro was running home on the contact play, so he threw home to get him out at home by a wide margin, for the first out. With runners at 1st and 2nd and one out now, Gwynn hit a curveball into the air to center for the 2nd out. Weaver fell behind Blake 3-0, and didn’t want to face Ethier with the bases loaded, so he got the count to 3-2 (including a gutsy 3-1 curveball for called strike 2) before jamming him with a fastball to get the fly out to right field and end the inning. Weaver escaped possible disaster, to keep the game scoreless heading into the 6th.
Jeff Mathis led off with another hit for the Angels, pulling an inside fastball down the line for a ground rule double, that hopped over the short fence in left. He didn’t stay there long, because Jared Weaver couldn’t get the bunt attempt on the ground, hitting it in the air right Kershaw, who threw to 2nd to get the double play, as Mathis had gone too far off 2nd and couldn’t slide back to 2nd in time. An out was supposed to occur, but Mathis was supposed to be at 3rd because of the out, but now because both players made mistakes there were now two outs, and no one on base, just like that. Izturis grounded out to 3rd to end the inning, and their golden opportunity to score was erased quickly because Weaver failed to help himself and Mathis fell into the bad base running habits that have hurt his team throughout this series.
Weaver surrendered a leadoff single in the 6th, when Ethier hit another outside pitch-this time a fastball, into centerfield. Weaver struck out Kemp, looking at a great 2-2 changeup over the outer edge, then Loney popped up again, and Uribe hit the first pitch into left for the last out…. The Angels had some fortune on their side in the bottom of the 6th, when Aybar was jammed by an inside slider, and popped it into left field where it fell in front of the LF, Gwynn and out of SS Carroll’s reach for a hit. Aybar tried to stretch it into a 2nd, and the throw from Gwynn beat him to the base, caught by the Uribe in front of 2nd base, but Aybar pulled out a tricky slide, going around the base and touching the base with his hand, before Uribe could tag him out. Maybe it was a bad play, but his hustle turned a blooper into a leadoff double, thanks also to the fact that the 2nd base umpire, Bill Miller, took the time to watch the play unfold instead of automatically calling the runner out because the ball beat him there. Kendrick capitalized on that runner in scoring position, hitting the 0-1 low changeup into center field, and Kemp dove for the sinking line drive but could only catch it on the hop. Aybar made a great base running move, not hesitating to move up and rounding 3rd to score ahead of the throw by Kemp, who had to get off the ground to make the throw and still made the play close. Kendrick went to 2nd on the throw home, but Wells struck out again, swinging at one in the dirt this time for the first out. Trumbo popped up to 1B Loney, in shallow RF, and Callaspo struck out to end the inning, blowing a chance to add to their slim 1-0 lead.
After his offense finally squeezed out a run going into the 7th inning stretch, Weaver took the mound in the bottom of the 7th, and retired Navarro and Carroll on pop up in the infield, testing the Angels’ ability in that high sun. Weaver’s only real mistake was to the Dodgers’ pitcher Kershaw, throwing a 1-2 inside changeup, letting him get his bat on it to be able to drop a single into left field. Instead of retiring the pitcher to end the inning and secure the lead, he allowed the leadoff man, Gwynn to hit with two outs. Gwynn hit a 1-1 hanging curve into deep left field, and Vernon Wells ran it down, and reached out for the catch, but the ball went in and out of his glove, falling in for an RbI triple, to tie the score 1-1. I’m sorry, but when you are a [multiple] gold glove-winning outfielder and you are in position to make the catch, you should make that play every time, and I hope that Wells would say the same thing. The run can still be traced back to the hit allowed to Kershaw so all the blame can’t be put on Wells, but that ‘hit’ did drive the run in. Blake hit a ball down the right field line, that Wells tracked down in foul ground to end the inning, so at least the score remained tied. It was ironic, that a hit by the opposing pitcher turned out to be Weaver’s undoing, considering how he got out of those jams earlier in the game.
The Angels got another leadoff man on in the 8th, when Bourjos was hit by a slider, which was surprisingly the first time Kershaw has given up a hit-by-pitch. Mathis failed to put down a sacrifice bunt, fouling off two to fall behind 0-2 and then he struck out looking at a curveball, to end a terrible at-bat. For some reason, the Angels manager, Mike Scioscia, decided to send up Bobby Abreu to pinch-hit for Weaver (instead of a right-handed batter), even though Kershaw was still out there. Bourjos went to 2nd base when the pickoff throw by the catcher, Navarro went off of Loney’s glove at 1st and trickled far enough away to let Bourjos zoom in to 2nd. Abreu struck out swinging (again, why was he up?) on a 2-2 slider, and Izturis grounded out to 3rd to end the inning.
Weaver was once again left out of the decision, despite allowing just one run in 7 innings, falling victim once again to low run support from his offense ( of course some of that is due to the fact that Weaver often faces off against the other teams’ ace). Scott Downs relieved Weaver, and came in to pitch the 8th, and face the meat of the Dodgers’ lineup, and set them down in order. He got ahead and struck out Ethier quickly, on an 0-2 slider in the dirt to start, then Kemp grounded out on an 0-1 curve, and Loney did the same on another low curveball, to end the inning…. The big inning of the game was of course the 9th inning. Kershaw was still in there for the Dodgers, and he retired the first two hitters of the inning, getting Aybar on a foul pop up to 3rd and Kendrick on a grounder to 3rd. Vernon Wells came up, with strikeouts in each of his first three at-bats. He worked the count to 3-1, then fouled one off to make it 3-2, before he launched a 3-2 inside slider deep into left field, for the go-ahead solo homerun. He finally got ahold of that slider that had caused him trouble all game against Kershaw, and connected for his 9th homerun of the year and a big 2-1 lead. Trumbo grounded to end the inning, and now the Angels were three outs from winning the game.
Jordan Walden came in to close the game out, but hurt his team significantly with his wildness to start the inning. First he got ahead of Juan Uribe 1-2, but he missed with the next three pitches including the 3-2 fastball that was about a foot outside, to walk the leadoff batter. The Dodgers installed a pinch-runner, using the speedy Dee Gordon to replace Uribe at 1st. Navarro came up and tried to bunt, but Walden didn’t give him a chance because he was so wild that the hitter didn’t even have to offer at them. When it was 2-0, Gordon stole 2nd base on the high fastball that made it 3-0. He finally threw a strike and Navarro let it go to make it 3-1, but he threw an inside fastball that may have hit Navarro (he was still trying to square around and bunt the ball) as he dove forward to try and avoid the pitch, resulting in another walk. After nearly hitting Jamey Carroll with the first pitch, that Carroll luckily bunted foul instead, he finally threw a strike to Carroll, and he laid down a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher. Now runners were up to 2nd and 3rd, with one out, and Aaron Miles was up to hit. Walden got ahead of the count 0-2 after two sliders, then came a ball on a fastball, before he threw another low slider on 1-2, but Miles hit a fly ball into center. Bourjos backed up some so he could gain momentum for the throw, moved up as he caught the ball, and threw a one-hop throw to Mathis, who blocked the plate perfectly and tagged the runner…SAFE?!? This was the play I referred to earlier, and I still don’t know how he was called safe. Mathis crouched down in front of the plate, leaving no room for the slim runner to get through with his feet-first slide, and he caught the perfect throw in position, blocked the plate, keeping Gordon’s legs off the plate, and tagging him with his glove at the same time. By the time Gordon reached around to touch the plate with his hand, because he obviously missed the plate with his feet, the home plate umpire, Tom Hallion, had already called him safe. Obviously Walden shouldn’t have walked the first two hitters, but a terrible call by the umpire on what should have been the last out of the game, shouldn’t change the outcome of the game like that. After an argument by Mathis and Scioscia, who knows a lot about blocking home plate from his playing days with the Dodgers, Tony Gwynn Jr hit with a runner at 2nd and two outs. After a long at bat, with about five foul balls, he lined a 2-2 inside fastball into right field, for a game-winning RBI single (that should never have happened).
My blood boils just thinking about how bad that call was, and I sincerely wish that the powers that be in baseball would at least allow instant replay on disputed calls on the bases…. But then again, why would I expect the commissioner to make a decision that actually benefits the game, when he does things like have the All-Star game (an exhibition game between players who are irrationally picked to play by fans who vote based on popularity rather than ability) decide who gets home field advantage in the World Series. Commissioner Bud Selig needs to wake the hell up, join the technological age we live in, and institute instant replay, if he cares at all about the game he is being paid to regulate. It makes me sick to think that if the Angels miss the playoffs by one game, it was because some damn umpire couldn’t see an obvious play, because he is either blind or incapable of getting into the right position to see the play clearly, and then had no recourse to correct the call because there is no instant replay. On the plus side, they did still win their fourth straight series on the road, but it may not be the best thing that they are going to play some more inter-league games at home, since they have hit so much better on the road this season. One way to find out I guess.
Game 79: Eject the Umpire!!! Vol. 1, Issue 81
Loss 3-2 Record: 39-40
Sunday’s game at Dodgers Stadium marked the last one of a long road trip, on which they won all four series, as they once again played much better on the road than they do at home. I happened to see the last inning of this game live before I was able to watch the whole thing, and the outcome pissed me off so much, I almost didn’t want to see the rest of the game. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the umpire cost the Angels a victory, a series sweep and a four-game winning streak, with what might be the worst call I’ve ever seen on a play at the plate. When he went into the clubhouse after the game, I’m sure he watched the replay and realized that he made a huge mistake; the runner didn’t even touch home plate until he reached around with his hand after being blocked completely off of home plate and tagged out by Jeff Mathis. I don’t know how he could even see that play any other way; even the Dodger fans can’t deny that he was out, for goodness sake. What’s worse is that WAS the last out of the game, but it turned into the tying run, so the game continued and the Dodgers went on to score the “winning” run, on the next play. The Angels should at least be able to protest that call since it was so obviously wrong, but that can’t happen either. Where is the justice?!? I know I have already gone on about this (self-fulfilling plug upcoming) in one of my recent posts “Hey Blue, the Game Isn‘t About You”, but this really pisses me off; it is so ridiculously unnecessary and irrational, and it would be so simple to solve!! I need to go have an inward scream and cool off before I continue…
The teams’ ace starters took the mound, with Jared Weaver and Clayton Kershaw- two pitchers who may end up leading their respective leagues in strikeouts when the season ends. The Angels decided to play Howie Kendrick in LF again, and moved Vernon Wells into RF, with bobby Abreu getting the day off against the tough lefthander, Kershaw. The Dodgers came out with a different lineup again, using Casey Blake at 3B, Juan Uribe at 2B, Jamey Carroll moving over to SS, and Navarro was back behind the plate.
The game started out as expected, in a major pitcher’s duel in what ended up being a scoreless tie until the 7th inning. In the first three innings, both teams only could muster one hit each. Clayshaw faced the minimum in that time, retiring the first six in order, including three strikeouts, then erasing the leadoff single by CF Peter Bourjos in the 3rd by getting the next hitter, C Jeff Mathis to ground into a double play (same old thing for the Angels). Weaver allowed a bunt hit on the first pitch he threw in the game, to LF Tony Gwynn Jr, who bunted it down the 3rd base line, probably because Callaspo wasn’t even playing in to deter the attempt. Weaver then set down the next ten in a row (nine in those three innings), including two strikeouts.
In the 4th, Kershaw allowed another leadoff single, to Maicer Izturis, who then moved to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt by SS Erick Aybar. Kendrick broke his bat as he grounded out to the SS up the middle, and Vernon Wells struck out on a 1-2 slider to end the inning and strand the runner in scoring position… In the bottom half, Weaver faced some trouble of his own, after Blake led off with a fly out to center on the first pitch (to complete his 10 in a row). Ethier reached out and pulled a 3-2 outside curveball into the right field corner for a one-out double, then Kemp was jammed by an inside fastball but and broke his bat but the ball still found it’s way into left field for a single (the kind of thing that happens when you are near triple crown statistics). Ethier had to hold up to make sure the ball fell in front of Kendrick in LF, so the situation was runners at 1st and 3rd with one out. Loney hit a weak fly out to left on an outside curveball, not deep enough to score the run, and Uribe ended the inning striking out on a high fastball, as Weaver got out of the jam.
The Angels went down in order again, in the 5th, as Kershaw struck out the side. Kershaw was ahead in the count to nearly every hitter he faced, and was dominant throughout most of the game, locating all four pitches well. He had seven strikeouts through 5 innings, after recording his fourth in a row here…. Weaver faced more adversity in his half of the 5th on the mound, started by his own mistake, walking the catcher Dioner Navarro to lead off the inning. Jamey Carroll then punched a 1-2 inside fastball the other way, for a bloop single down the right field line, moving Navarro to 3rd, for a sticky situation. With runners at 1st and 3rd, Kershaw got the chance to hit because he isn’t a terrible hitter like some pitchers, and hit a grounder to 2B Izturis. He was going to flip the ball to Aybar covering 2nd, but he saw that Navarro was running home on the contact play, so he threw home to get him out at home by a wide margin, for the first out. With runners at 1st and 2nd and one out now, Gwynn hit a curveball into the air to center for the 2nd out. Weaver fell behind Blake 3-0, and didn’t want to face Ethier with the bases loaded, so he got the count to 3-2 (including a gutsy 3-1 curveball for called strike 2) before jamming him with a fastball to get the fly out to right field and end the inning. Weaver escaped possible disaster, to keep the game scoreless heading into the 6th.
Jeff Mathis led off with another hit for the Angels, pulling an inside fastball down the line for a ground rule double, that hopped over the short fence in left. He didn’t stay there long, because Jared Weaver couldn’t get the bunt attempt on the ground, hitting it in the air right Kershaw, who threw to 2nd to get the double play, as Mathis had gone too far off 2nd and couldn’t slide back to 2nd in time. An out was supposed to occur, but Mathis was supposed to be at 3rd because of the out, but now because both players made mistakes there were now two outs, and no one on base, just like that. Izturis grounded out to 3rd to end the inning, and their golden opportunity to score was erased quickly because Weaver failed to help himself and Mathis fell into the bad base running habits that have hurt his team throughout this series.
Weaver surrendered a leadoff single in the 6th, when Ethier hit another outside pitch-this time a fastball, into centerfield. Weaver struck out Kemp, looking at a great 2-2 changeup over the outer edge, then Loney popped up again, and Uribe hit the first pitch into left for the last out…. The Angels had some fortune on their side in the bottom of the 6th, when Aybar was jammed by an inside slider, and popped it into left field where it fell in front of the LF, Gwynn and out of SS Carroll’s reach for a hit. Aybar tried to stretch it into a 2nd, and the throw from Gwynn beat him to the base, caught by the Uribe in front of 2nd base, but Aybar pulled out a tricky slide, going around the base and touching the base with his hand, before Uribe could tag him out. Maybe it was a bad play, but his hustle turned a blooper into a leadoff double, thanks also to the fact that the 2nd base umpire, Bill Miller, took the time to watch the play unfold instead of automatically calling the runner out because the ball beat him there. Kendrick capitalized on that runner in scoring position, hitting the 0-1 low changeup into center field, and Kemp dove for the sinking line drive but could only catch it on the hop. Aybar made a great base running move, not hesitating to move up and rounding 3rd to score ahead of the throw by Kemp, who had to get off the ground to make the throw and still made the play close. Kendrick went to 2nd on the throw home, but Wells struck out again, swinging at one in the dirt this time for the first out. Trumbo popped up to 1B Loney, in shallow RF, and Callaspo struck out to end the inning, blowing a chance to add to their slim 1-0 lead.
After his offense finally squeezed out a run going into the 7th inning stretch, Weaver took the mound in the bottom of the 7th, and retired Navarro and Carroll on pop up in the infield, testing the Angels’ ability in that high sun. Weaver’s only real mistake was to the Dodgers’ pitcher Kershaw, throwing a 1-2 inside changeup, letting him get his bat on it to be able to drop a single into left field. Instead of retiring the pitcher to end the inning and secure the lead, he allowed the leadoff man, Gwynn to hit with two outs. Gwynn hit a 1-1 hanging curve into deep left field, and Vernon Wells ran it down, and reached out for the catch, but the ball went in and out of his glove, falling in for an RbI triple, to tie the score 1-1. I’m sorry, but when you are a [multiple] gold glove-winning outfielder and you are in position to make the catch, you should make that play every time, and I hope that Wells would say the same thing. The run can still be traced back to the hit allowed to Kershaw so all the blame can’t be put on Wells, but that ‘hit’ did drive the run in. Blake hit a ball down the right field line, that Wells tracked down in foul ground to end the inning, so at least the score remained tied. It was ironic, that a hit by the opposing pitcher turned out to be Weaver’s undoing, considering how he got out of those jams earlier in the game.
The Angels got another leadoff man on in the 8th, when Bourjos was hit by a slider, which was surprisingly the first time Kershaw has given up a hit-by-pitch. Mathis failed to put down a sacrifice bunt, fouling off two to fall behind 0-2 and then he struck out looking at a curveball, to end a terrible at-bat. For some reason, the Angels manager, Mike Scioscia, decided to send up Bobby Abreu to pinch-hit for Weaver (instead of a right-handed batter), even though Kershaw was still out there. Bourjos went to 2nd base when the pickoff throw by the catcher, Navarro went off of Loney’s glove at 1st and trickled far enough away to let Bourjos zoom in to 2nd. Abreu struck out swinging (again, why was he up?) on a 2-2 slider, and Izturis grounded out to 3rd to end the inning.
Weaver was once again left out of the decision, despite allowing just one run in 7 innings, falling victim once again to low run support from his offense ( of course some of that is due to the fact that Weaver often faces off against the other teams’ ace). Scott Downs relieved Weaver, and came in to pitch the 8th, and face the meat of the Dodgers’ lineup, and set them down in order. He got ahead and struck out Ethier quickly, on an 0-2 slider in the dirt to start, then Kemp grounded out on an 0-1 curve, and Loney did the same on another low curveball, to end the inning…. The big inning of the game was of course the 9th inning. Kershaw was still in there for the Dodgers, and he retired the first two hitters of the inning, getting Aybar on a foul pop up to 3rd and Kendrick on a grounder to 3rd. Vernon Wells came up, with strikeouts in each of his first three at-bats. He worked the count to 3-1, then fouled one off to make it 3-2, before he launched a 3-2 inside slider deep into left field, for the go-ahead solo homerun. He finally got ahold of that slider that had caused him trouble all game against Kershaw, and connected for his 9th homerun of the year and a big 2-1 lead. Trumbo grounded to end the inning, and now the Angels were three outs from winning the game.
Jordan Walden came in to close the game out, but hurt his team significantly with his wildness to start the inning. First he got ahead of Juan Uribe 1-2, but he missed with the next three pitches including the 3-2 fastball that was about a foot outside, to walk the leadoff batter. The Dodgers installed a pinch-runner, using the speedy Dee Gordon to replace Uribe at 1st. Navarro came up and tried to bunt, but Walden didn’t give him a chance because he was so wild that the hitter didn’t even have to offer at them. When it was 2-0, Gordon stole 2nd base on the high fastball that made it 3-0. He finally threw a strike and Navarro let it go to make it 3-1, but he threw an inside fastball that may have hit Navarro (he was still trying to square around and bunt the ball) as he dove forward to try and avoid the pitch, resulting in another walk. After nearly hitting Jamey Carroll with the first pitch, that Carroll luckily bunted foul instead, he finally threw a strike to Carroll, and he laid down a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher. Now runners were up to 2nd and 3rd, with one out, and Aaron Miles was up to hit. Walden got ahead of the count 0-2 after two sliders, then came a ball on a fastball, before he threw another low slider on 1-2, but Miles hit a fly ball into center. Bourjos backed up some so he could gain momentum for the throw, moved up as he caught the ball, and threw a one-hop throw to Mathis, who blocked the plate perfectly and tagged the runner…SAFE?!? This was the play I referred to earlier, and I still don’t know how he was called safe. Mathis crouched down in front of the plate, leaving no room for the slim runner to get through with his feet-first slide, and he caught the perfect throw in position, blocked the plate, keeping Gordon’s legs off the plate, and tagging him with his glove at the same time. By the time Gordon reached around to touch the plate with his hand, because he obviously missed the plate with his feet, the home plate umpire, Tom Hallion, had already called him safe. Obviously Walden shouldn’t have walked the first two hitters, but a terrible call by the umpire on what should have been the last out of the game, shouldn’t change the outcome of the game like that. After an argument by Mathis and Scioscia, who knows a lot about blocking home plate from his playing days with the Dodgers, Tony Gwynn Jr hit with a runner at 2nd and two outs. After a long at bat, with about five foul balls, he lined a 2-2 inside fastball into right field, for a game-winning RBI single (that should never have happened).
My blood boils just thinking about how bad that call was, and I sincerely wish that the powers that be in baseball would at least allow instant replay on disputed calls on the bases…. But then again, why would I expect the commissioner to make a decision that actually benefits the game, when he does things like have the All-Star game (an exhibition game between players who are irrationally picked to play by fans who vote based on popularity rather than ability) decide who gets home field advantage in the World Series. Commissioner Bud Selig needs to wake the hell up, join the technological age we live in, and institute instant replay, if he cares at all about the game he is being paid to regulate. It makes me sick to think that if the Angels miss the playoffs by one game, it was because some damn umpire couldn’t see an obvious play, because he is either blind or incapable of getting into the right position to see the play clearly, and then had no recourse to correct the call because there is no instant replay. On the plus side, they did still win their fourth straight series on the road, but it may not be the best thing that they are going to play some more inter-league games at home, since they have hit so much better on the road this season. One way to find out I guess.
Aston’s Angels Report [Game 78 @LA Dodgers- Win]
AAR: Aston’s Angels Report June 25, 2011
Game 78: Three in a Row !! Vol. 1, Issue 80
Win 6-1. Record: 39-39
With their win in yesterday’s crazy game against the Dodgers, the Angels finally reached the .500 mark for their season record, and they are just 3 games back of the Texas Rangers for the lead in their division. They had a little luck on their side, allowing them to take the lead, in spite of their mental errors and terrible plays, before the bullpen retired the last nine Dodgers in a row to end the game. On Saturday, Tyler Chatwood took the ball for the Angels, and pitched very well, especially to start the game, en route to another victory to take his record to 5-4. Hiroki Kuroda has been given little run support this season, as evidence by his 5-8 record, despite a very respectable 3.07 ERA, and he took the tough-luck loss despite giving up only 2 runs in 5 innings. The start of this game was essentially the exact opposite of the way Friday’s game started off, but it ended similarly with the Angels scoring late to take an insurmountable lead.
The Angels changed up their lineup (thankfully), re-installing Peter Bourjos into centerfield, so Vernon Wells moved over to left, and Howie Kendrick was able to go back to 2nd base after his up-and-down day in the outfield on Friday. Maicer Izturis was given the day off, in favor of Alberto Callaspo at 3B, and Torii Hunter is still trying to get better after his rib injury a few games ago, so Bobby Abreu manned RF. The Dodgers needed a new LF after Thames went down with an injury in the last game, so rookie Trent Oeltjen played out there instead. Aaron Miles took over 3B, instead of Juan Uribe, and AJ Ellis was catching, as opposed to Dioner Navarro.
Both pitchers got off to a great start over the first couple of innings in this one. Typically a left hander reserves the term ‘crafty’, but Kuroda is a prime example of a crafty right-hander, with a quirky windup that helps throw off the hitter’s timing, and every pitch he has moves one way or another to make up for his lack of major velocity and he will throw anything at any time. The Angels made him pitch a few extra pitches in the first, but they went down in order to start the game. Kuroda did the same thing in the 2nd, but only needed five pitches, as the impatient Wells and Callaspo went down quickly with fly outs to left, and 1B Mark Trumbo took no time to groundout to end the inning.
Tyler Chatwood was even more impressive, and continued the dominant pitching that the Angels bullpen started in Friday’s 7th inning. They set down nine straight over those last three innings, then Chatwood set down the Dodgers in order in each of the first three innings. He struck out SS Dee Gordon (the son of former ML pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon) with a 2-seam fastball that moved over the inner edge of the plate for the first of four called strikeouts for Chatwood, all on that very pitch. The next two, 2B Jamey Carroll and RF Andre Ethier hit easy groundouts to end it. After the Angels finished their 2nd, the NL’s best hitter so far, Matt Kemp led off for the Dodgers. He came in to the game ranking 1st in ave. (.331), 2nd in homeruns (21) amd 3rd in RBI (60), but he took a defensive swing on a 2-2 94 MPH fastball from Chatwood and grounded out to 2nd weakly. Loney struck out looking on another one of those good inside fastballs, and Miles hit the first pitch on the ground to Trumbo to end the inning.
Kuroda set down the first two in the 3rd, as the catcher Hank Conger popped up, and Bourjos struck out looking on an outside slider (a pitch he had trouble with all game). Chatwood came up with no one on, and fell behind 1-2, but he held his hands back on an inside slider (despite stepping in the bucket, ala Garret Anderson) and hit a grounder back up the middle, for the first hit of the game by either side. Erick Aybar fell behind 1-2, but he walloped the low sinking 88 MPH fastball deep into right center field, and off of the fence, for an RBI triple. Normally, requiring a pitcher to sprint around the bases can be a risky endeavor, but Chatwood actually rounded the bases smoothly, like a regular, which is rare for an American League pitcher (who are known to injure themselves running the bases because they aren’t used to it). In all honesty, Aybar shouldn’t have been running to 3rd on that play, and was lucky to make it to 3rd because the ball him in the back on the relay throw to 3rd, otherwise it would go down as yet another bone-headed base running play. Kendrick drew a walk on a 3-2 outside slider, after a long 8-pitch at bat, to prolong the inning, but Abreu hit a fly out to center to end the inning, after a long at bat of his own.
Chatwood pitched with the 1-0 lead, and (if you paid attention you’d already know this) retired the side in order again, in the bottom of the 3rd. He struck out the rookie Oeltjen to lead off, with that 2-seamer inside that worked for him all game. Ellis and Kuroda each grounded out, but Kuroda had the longest battle of the game for the Dodgers, seeing nine pitches and fouling off about four fastballs on the 2-2 count before reaching for a slider and tapping it to the SS for the last out.
The Angels saw their first two hitters go down again, to start the 4th, as Wells popped out to the catcher by the netting behind home plate, and Callaspo grounded out. Mark Trumbo came through with another two-out rally all by himself, as he launched a 1-1 sinker deep into left field (he doesn‘t hit wall scrapers that just barely make it out), for a solo homerun, and a 2-0 lead. Conger grounded out to end the inning, and the Dodgers were still looking for their first hit…. Chatwood retired his 10th hitter in a row, making a good play fielding a bunt by the speedy SS, Dee Gordon, to get the first out of the inning. Jamey Carroll, worked a full count and connected with a 3-2 fastball, for a line drive single back up the middle, to finally put a mark on the scoreboard for the Dodgers. The next batter, Ethier was jammed by a 2-2 inside fastball, and hit a spinning grounder towards Aybar at SS, who turned it into an inning-ending double play, so Chatwood faced the minimum through the first four innings.
The Angels went down in order in the top of the 5th, and the 2B Carroll was responsible for all three outs. Bourjos went for the first pitch and popped up that slider to him, then Chatwood and Aybar hit grounders to him for two more easy outs…. The bottom of the 5th, was the most important half-inning of the game, on many levels. Matt Kemp led off the inning, and struck out looking on a fastball over the outer half (same place as his fastball inside to lefties), but it was what happened after that was more important. Kemp was yelling at the home plate umpire from the dugout about something; more than likely it was about the home plate umpire calling a check swing strike without asking for help, on the 1-1 pitch (I feel your pain on that one, Kemp) because the strike three pitch was almost down the middle, so I don’t think he was debating the strike zone. Whatever he said in that dugout, the umpire didn’t appreciate, because he threw him out of the game in no time; a surprisingly quick move (since the stars tend to get more leniency because, once again, fans come to see the players play, not the umpires). After a short delay for the Dodgers manager Don Mattingly to argue with the umpire, some more (by the way that could have all been avoided by taking two seconds to ask the first base umpire for help- I’m just saying), the Dodgers offense started something. Loney lined a hanging curveball the other way, into left for a single, then Miles swung at the first pitch fastball again, and this time hit a grounder through the hole on the right side for another single. Loney was stopping at 2nd, but Abreu rushed the play, and flubbed the ball so it trickled behind him and allowed both runners to move ahead one base on the error. Chatwood came into the game, having finally pushed his strikeout total past his walk total (43 vs. 42) for the first time all year, but he once again found an inopportune time to unleash his random wildness. He walked the 7th place hitter and rookie, Oeltjen on a bad -3-2 fastball, to load the bases, which caused a conference on the mound with the pitching coach and all the infielders. Chatwood then walked the 8th place hitter, rarely used catcher AJ Ellis on a 3-1 low fastball, to walk in a run, and once again the walks caused much more trouble than was necessary. It was now 2-1, and the bases were loaded with one out, so the Dodgers decided to pinch-hit for their pitcher, feeling like this was their opportunity to take the lead. The biggest play of the game came next, as the pinch-hitter Casey Blake took his turn at the plate to try and produce the knockout blow. He hit a linedrive that was heading for left center field, but the 2B, Howie Kendrick, was right under it’s flight and leaped high in the air to snag the liner, then threw to 1st to double up the runner, Oeltjen, who was in no-man’s land in between 1st and 2nd. That double play not only ended the inning, but saves the Angels from going down 3-2 and maybe more.
Now, Kuroda was out of the game, and so was there star player Matt Kemp, so Tony Gwynn Jr took over CF, and Kenley Jansen became the pitcher. He retired the Angels in order in both the 6th and 7th, making it look easy, and keeping the game close…. Chatwood pitched scoreless innings in the 6th and 7th also, but he did get away with a bad pitch in the 6th that could have changed the game significantly. He got Gordon out on a grounder, to lead off the 6th, but walked Carroll on a 3-2 low fastball. That was a mistake in itself, since the only power hitter left in the Dodgers lineup was next hitter Andre Ethier and he should have been challenging Carroll with fastballs since he is just looking to make contact. It nearly cost him the lead, because he threw a terrible high changeup on a 1-0 pitch that Ethier hit deep into right center, that luckily didn’t go over the fence, falling just short of the wall as Bourjos caught it. This also marked the first true fly out of the game (the only other hit in the air was the line drive by Blake that Kendrick jumped up for). It would have been a shame if the one ball hit deep in the air against him turned into a homerun, and it probably should have been, but luck was on his side there. Gwynn grounded out to 2nd to end the inning, so Chatwood could breathe a sigh of relief, after getting away with throwing a terrible pitch to their only offensive threat.
Chatwood came back out to pitch the 7th, and allowed a one-out single to Miles, who collected two of the four hits by the Dodgers against Chatwood. Oeltjen and Ellis both hit fly outs, but Ellis’ took Bourjos to the warning track again as he caught the ball with his back against the wall. Once again he dodged a bullet, and was probably getting tired, since he was allowed three fly outs in those last two innings after not allowing any really in the first five innings. It would be his last inning, as he left the mound, with a 2-1 lead, but he would be guaranteed the win, after the Angels were done in the 8th.
The Dodgers brought in a new pitcher, former Twins reliever Matt Guerrier, but he didn’t pitch as well as the previous Dodgers. He threw another slider to get Bourjos to hit groundout to the SS to lead off the inning, but pinch-hitter Russell Branyan, hit a fastball away, to the opposite field, for a double into left center. Erick Aybar struck out on three pitches for the second out, but Howie Kendrick came through with a clutch two-out hit, lining a single into right center, with his patented opposite field swing, sending Branyan home with their 3rd run. Left-handed fireballer Hong-Chih Kuo was called upon to pitch to Bobby Abreu, but he walked him on five pitches to put two runners on with two out. Vernon Wells got the big hit of the game, clobbering a 1-1 inside fastball, into almost the same spot that Trumbo’s blast went into deep left field, for a 3-run homer. Callaspo grounded out to end the inning, but the score was now 6-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th.
Scott Downs came in for the Angels, and shut down the Dodgers in order to end any hope they might have at coming back in this one…. The Angels got one base runner in the 9th, on a one-out walk by Conger, but were content with a 5-run lead heading into the last at-bat of the game…. Trevor Bell finished off the game without allowing a run, despite a one-out walk to Gwynn, followed by a single that dropped in front of Abreu in right. He struck out Miles and retired Oeltjen on a groundout to 2nd, to end the game.
The Angels can now call themselves an average team, having finally equaled their number of wins with losses, but they have been a contender despite their sub-par record for most of the year. They have guaranteed another series victory no matter what happens on Sunday, making that four in a row, and they have finally put together a legitimate winning streak of three games in a row. They also gained a game on the Rangers after they were blown out by the Mets, leaving them just two games behind them, but they also trail the [surprising pitching of the] Mariners. Perhaps most importantly (I kid), now I can gloat to anyone who will listen about how much better the Angels are than the [stinkin’] Dodgers, which is at least always fun for me.
Game 78: Three in a Row !! Vol. 1, Issue 80
Win 6-1. Record: 39-39
With their win in yesterday’s crazy game against the Dodgers, the Angels finally reached the .500 mark for their season record, and they are just 3 games back of the Texas Rangers for the lead in their division. They had a little luck on their side, allowing them to take the lead, in spite of their mental errors and terrible plays, before the bullpen retired the last nine Dodgers in a row to end the game. On Saturday, Tyler Chatwood took the ball for the Angels, and pitched very well, especially to start the game, en route to another victory to take his record to 5-4. Hiroki Kuroda has been given little run support this season, as evidence by his 5-8 record, despite a very respectable 3.07 ERA, and he took the tough-luck loss despite giving up only 2 runs in 5 innings. The start of this game was essentially the exact opposite of the way Friday’s game started off, but it ended similarly with the Angels scoring late to take an insurmountable lead.
The Angels changed up their lineup (thankfully), re-installing Peter Bourjos into centerfield, so Vernon Wells moved over to left, and Howie Kendrick was able to go back to 2nd base after his up-and-down day in the outfield on Friday. Maicer Izturis was given the day off, in favor of Alberto Callaspo at 3B, and Torii Hunter is still trying to get better after his rib injury a few games ago, so Bobby Abreu manned RF. The Dodgers needed a new LF after Thames went down with an injury in the last game, so rookie Trent Oeltjen played out there instead. Aaron Miles took over 3B, instead of Juan Uribe, and AJ Ellis was catching, as opposed to Dioner Navarro.
Both pitchers got off to a great start over the first couple of innings in this one. Typically a left hander reserves the term ‘crafty’, but Kuroda is a prime example of a crafty right-hander, with a quirky windup that helps throw off the hitter’s timing, and every pitch he has moves one way or another to make up for his lack of major velocity and he will throw anything at any time. The Angels made him pitch a few extra pitches in the first, but they went down in order to start the game. Kuroda did the same thing in the 2nd, but only needed five pitches, as the impatient Wells and Callaspo went down quickly with fly outs to left, and 1B Mark Trumbo took no time to groundout to end the inning.
Tyler Chatwood was even more impressive, and continued the dominant pitching that the Angels bullpen started in Friday’s 7th inning. They set down nine straight over those last three innings, then Chatwood set down the Dodgers in order in each of the first three innings. He struck out SS Dee Gordon (the son of former ML pitcher Tom “Flash” Gordon) with a 2-seam fastball that moved over the inner edge of the plate for the first of four called strikeouts for Chatwood, all on that very pitch. The next two, 2B Jamey Carroll and RF Andre Ethier hit easy groundouts to end it. After the Angels finished their 2nd, the NL’s best hitter so far, Matt Kemp led off for the Dodgers. He came in to the game ranking 1st in ave. (.331), 2nd in homeruns (21) amd 3rd in RBI (60), but he took a defensive swing on a 2-2 94 MPH fastball from Chatwood and grounded out to 2nd weakly. Loney struck out looking on another one of those good inside fastballs, and Miles hit the first pitch on the ground to Trumbo to end the inning.
Kuroda set down the first two in the 3rd, as the catcher Hank Conger popped up, and Bourjos struck out looking on an outside slider (a pitch he had trouble with all game). Chatwood came up with no one on, and fell behind 1-2, but he held his hands back on an inside slider (despite stepping in the bucket, ala Garret Anderson) and hit a grounder back up the middle, for the first hit of the game by either side. Erick Aybar fell behind 1-2, but he walloped the low sinking 88 MPH fastball deep into right center field, and off of the fence, for an RBI triple. Normally, requiring a pitcher to sprint around the bases can be a risky endeavor, but Chatwood actually rounded the bases smoothly, like a regular, which is rare for an American League pitcher (who are known to injure themselves running the bases because they aren’t used to it). In all honesty, Aybar shouldn’t have been running to 3rd on that play, and was lucky to make it to 3rd because the ball him in the back on the relay throw to 3rd, otherwise it would go down as yet another bone-headed base running play. Kendrick drew a walk on a 3-2 outside slider, after a long 8-pitch at bat, to prolong the inning, but Abreu hit a fly out to center to end the inning, after a long at bat of his own.
Chatwood pitched with the 1-0 lead, and (if you paid attention you’d already know this) retired the side in order again, in the bottom of the 3rd. He struck out the rookie Oeltjen to lead off, with that 2-seamer inside that worked for him all game. Ellis and Kuroda each grounded out, but Kuroda had the longest battle of the game for the Dodgers, seeing nine pitches and fouling off about four fastballs on the 2-2 count before reaching for a slider and tapping it to the SS for the last out.
The Angels saw their first two hitters go down again, to start the 4th, as Wells popped out to the catcher by the netting behind home plate, and Callaspo grounded out. Mark Trumbo came through with another two-out rally all by himself, as he launched a 1-1 sinker deep into left field (he doesn‘t hit wall scrapers that just barely make it out), for a solo homerun, and a 2-0 lead. Conger grounded out to end the inning, and the Dodgers were still looking for their first hit…. Chatwood retired his 10th hitter in a row, making a good play fielding a bunt by the speedy SS, Dee Gordon, to get the first out of the inning. Jamey Carroll, worked a full count and connected with a 3-2 fastball, for a line drive single back up the middle, to finally put a mark on the scoreboard for the Dodgers. The next batter, Ethier was jammed by a 2-2 inside fastball, and hit a spinning grounder towards Aybar at SS, who turned it into an inning-ending double play, so Chatwood faced the minimum through the first four innings.
The Angels went down in order in the top of the 5th, and the 2B Carroll was responsible for all three outs. Bourjos went for the first pitch and popped up that slider to him, then Chatwood and Aybar hit grounders to him for two more easy outs…. The bottom of the 5th, was the most important half-inning of the game, on many levels. Matt Kemp led off the inning, and struck out looking on a fastball over the outer half (same place as his fastball inside to lefties), but it was what happened after that was more important. Kemp was yelling at the home plate umpire from the dugout about something; more than likely it was about the home plate umpire calling a check swing strike without asking for help, on the 1-1 pitch (I feel your pain on that one, Kemp) because the strike three pitch was almost down the middle, so I don’t think he was debating the strike zone. Whatever he said in that dugout, the umpire didn’t appreciate, because he threw him out of the game in no time; a surprisingly quick move (since the stars tend to get more leniency because, once again, fans come to see the players play, not the umpires). After a short delay for the Dodgers manager Don Mattingly to argue with the umpire, some more (by the way that could have all been avoided by taking two seconds to ask the first base umpire for help- I’m just saying), the Dodgers offense started something. Loney lined a hanging curveball the other way, into left for a single, then Miles swung at the first pitch fastball again, and this time hit a grounder through the hole on the right side for another single. Loney was stopping at 2nd, but Abreu rushed the play, and flubbed the ball so it trickled behind him and allowed both runners to move ahead one base on the error. Chatwood came into the game, having finally pushed his strikeout total past his walk total (43 vs. 42) for the first time all year, but he once again found an inopportune time to unleash his random wildness. He walked the 7th place hitter and rookie, Oeltjen on a bad -3-2 fastball, to load the bases, which caused a conference on the mound with the pitching coach and all the infielders. Chatwood then walked the 8th place hitter, rarely used catcher AJ Ellis on a 3-1 low fastball, to walk in a run, and once again the walks caused much more trouble than was necessary. It was now 2-1, and the bases were loaded with one out, so the Dodgers decided to pinch-hit for their pitcher, feeling like this was their opportunity to take the lead. The biggest play of the game came next, as the pinch-hitter Casey Blake took his turn at the plate to try and produce the knockout blow. He hit a linedrive that was heading for left center field, but the 2B, Howie Kendrick, was right under it’s flight and leaped high in the air to snag the liner, then threw to 1st to double up the runner, Oeltjen, who was in no-man’s land in between 1st and 2nd. That double play not only ended the inning, but saves the Angels from going down 3-2 and maybe more.
Now, Kuroda was out of the game, and so was there star player Matt Kemp, so Tony Gwynn Jr took over CF, and Kenley Jansen became the pitcher. He retired the Angels in order in both the 6th and 7th, making it look easy, and keeping the game close…. Chatwood pitched scoreless innings in the 6th and 7th also, but he did get away with a bad pitch in the 6th that could have changed the game significantly. He got Gordon out on a grounder, to lead off the 6th, but walked Carroll on a 3-2 low fastball. That was a mistake in itself, since the only power hitter left in the Dodgers lineup was next hitter Andre Ethier and he should have been challenging Carroll with fastballs since he is just looking to make contact. It nearly cost him the lead, because he threw a terrible high changeup on a 1-0 pitch that Ethier hit deep into right center, that luckily didn’t go over the fence, falling just short of the wall as Bourjos caught it. This also marked the first true fly out of the game (the only other hit in the air was the line drive by Blake that Kendrick jumped up for). It would have been a shame if the one ball hit deep in the air against him turned into a homerun, and it probably should have been, but luck was on his side there. Gwynn grounded out to 2nd to end the inning, so Chatwood could breathe a sigh of relief, after getting away with throwing a terrible pitch to their only offensive threat.
Chatwood came back out to pitch the 7th, and allowed a one-out single to Miles, who collected two of the four hits by the Dodgers against Chatwood. Oeltjen and Ellis both hit fly outs, but Ellis’ took Bourjos to the warning track again as he caught the ball with his back against the wall. Once again he dodged a bullet, and was probably getting tired, since he was allowed three fly outs in those last two innings after not allowing any really in the first five innings. It would be his last inning, as he left the mound, with a 2-1 lead, but he would be guaranteed the win, after the Angels were done in the 8th.
The Dodgers brought in a new pitcher, former Twins reliever Matt Guerrier, but he didn’t pitch as well as the previous Dodgers. He threw another slider to get Bourjos to hit groundout to the SS to lead off the inning, but pinch-hitter Russell Branyan, hit a fastball away, to the opposite field, for a double into left center. Erick Aybar struck out on three pitches for the second out, but Howie Kendrick came through with a clutch two-out hit, lining a single into right center, with his patented opposite field swing, sending Branyan home with their 3rd run. Left-handed fireballer Hong-Chih Kuo was called upon to pitch to Bobby Abreu, but he walked him on five pitches to put two runners on with two out. Vernon Wells got the big hit of the game, clobbering a 1-1 inside fastball, into almost the same spot that Trumbo’s blast went into deep left field, for a 3-run homer. Callaspo grounded out to end the inning, but the score was now 6-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th.
Scott Downs came in for the Angels, and shut down the Dodgers in order to end any hope they might have at coming back in this one…. The Angels got one base runner in the 9th, on a one-out walk by Conger, but were content with a 5-run lead heading into the last at-bat of the game…. Trevor Bell finished off the game without allowing a run, despite a one-out walk to Gwynn, followed by a single that dropped in front of Abreu in right. He struck out Miles and retired Oeltjen on a groundout to 2nd, to end the game.
The Angels can now call themselves an average team, having finally equaled their number of wins with losses, but they have been a contender despite their sub-par record for most of the year. They have guaranteed another series victory no matter what happens on Sunday, making that four in a row, and they have finally put together a legitimate winning streak of three games in a row. They also gained a game on the Rangers after they were blown out by the Mets, leaving them just two games behind them, but they also trail the [surprising pitching of the] Mariners. Perhaps most importantly (I kid), now I can gloat to anyone who will listen about how much better the Angels are than the [stinkin’] Dodgers, which is at least always fun for me.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Aston’s Angels Report [Game 77 @ LA Dodgers-Win]
AAR: Aston’s Angels Report June 24, 2011
Game 77: Crazy Game Vol. 1, Issue 79
Win 7-3. Record: 38-39
Technically, the road trip was still going, even though the Angels had the day off on Thursday to travel back home, because Friday’s series was being played about 30 miles from their home ball park vs. the hometown rivals LA Dodgers. Those who know my sports tendencies know I don’t like the Dodgers- I would rank them just ahead of the Yankees of teams I hate the most. It all stems from what could be termed as an example of nurture vs. nature shaping my thought processes; my Dad was born and raised in northern California, growing up disliking the Dodgers from their time in Brooklyn and even more when they moved to LA and became the main rival for the San Francisco Giants, the home team in his neck of the woods. That anti-Dodger sentiment was bestowed to me from the onset of my baseball watching times, as we rooted against the Dodgers together, while watching my first World Series in 1988- when the Dodgers beat the (nor-Cal) Oakland Athletics. It helped also that the Dodgers won, because my Mom also preferred to cheer for the underdog and the Dodgers were anything but, especially compared to the Angels teams of the late 80s and early 90s …. Back to the present, this was an odd game, to say the least, with a bunch of base running mistakes (by the Angels), including two runners picked off of first by the carcher, then there was a play where another catcher tried the same thing but no one was there, along with some other unusal occurrences (some of which I have never seen before), but it was certainly entertaining.
Dan Haren took the mound for the Angels, sporting knee-high stirrups , to go along with some white-tongued black shoes, going with an old-school look out there. He looked different all the way around, allowing 10 hits in 6 innings of work, allowing at least two base runners in each of the first five innings, as he was forced to throw a lot of pitches early. It didn’t help that the Angels elected to go to a more-offensive lineup, sacrificing some defensive stability, with Howie Kendrick in left field instead of using Bourjos in center (and Wells in LF). The move was partly due to the absence of Torii Hunter, who suffered bruised ribs on Wednesday, but it also revolved around wanting Alberto Callaspo at 3B, while keeping Izturis and Kendrick in the lineup. It was yet another example of how managing in the National League is much more difficult, without the DH spot to help keep your better offensive players in the lineup. I don’t agree with it, because I’d rather have a better defense in the outfield, with Bourjos playing CF instead of forcing Callaspo into the lineup, when Izturis is at least as good at 3B and is a better overall hitter. Bobby Abreu played RF, so Vernon Wells would need to cover a lot of ground as CF in this one (another reason to have a more experienced outfielder in LF).
The Dodgers had their rookie fire-baller Rubby De La Rosa, making his 4th start of his major league career, after spending some time in the bullpen earlier in the season. The Angels lineup put together quite a few hits early, but had just as many base running mistakes to take themselves out of a number of scoring opportunities. Izturis led off the game with a line drive single up the middle, on an 86 MPH off-speed pitch. With Erick Aybar up, Izturis ran to 2nd as part of a hit-and-run play, but Aybar swung and missed and Izturis was thrown out on a one-hop throw by Dodger catcher Dioner Navarro, Aybar eventually struck out on a 3-2 fastball, then Abreu drew a two-out walk and stole 2nd base on the first pitch to Wells. He then whacked the next pitch back up the middle, and for some reason Abreu was held up at 3rd as the throw from CF Matt Kemp came in. That wasn’t the worst part, as Vernon Wells made a bone-headed base running play, heading for 2nd on the throw, but it was cut off and he was now in a run down that would end the inning. I have no idea why Abreu was held at 3rd with two outs and I have even less idea why Wells decided to try for 2nd. Wells stayed in the rundown for a couple of throws, and Abreu ran home to try and squeeze a run in since an out was inevitable, but the throw went home to get him out easily and end the inning. With that result, it brings on even more second-guessing, as they should have just sent the runner home on the hit, if the worst outcome could be the out at home (that happened anyway).
The Dodgers got on the board early even though Haren got the first two hitters out in the 1st. RF Andre Ethier has hit well against Haren in the past, from his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it continued in this game, starting with a line drive single into right, pulling an outside off-speed pitch. Now Haren had to face Matt Kemp who is probably the best player in the National League so far this season (.333, 20+ HR, 20+ SB already), and Kemp showed why, launching the first pitch he saw- a 90 MPH fastball over the outer edge- into deep right center field for a 2-run homer. 1B James Loney lined out to 2nd to end the inning, but it was a 2-0 lead after one inning.
3B Alberto Callaspo led off the 2nd, taking a 3-2 fastball outside for the free pass to 1st, but Kendrick struck out on three pitches. 1B Mark Trumbo was jammed by an inside fastball, and hit a soft line drive into right field, but Callaspo didn’t even round 2nd base with the thought of going to 3rd, and stopped at 2nd on a play that the Angels are famous for making a 1st-to-3rd run around the bases on. Either Callaspo was not hustling or he is still favoring his hamstring that was injured a couple of weeks ago, but either way he shouldn’t be in the lineup if he can’t do what is expected of him, in my opinion. Catcher Jeff Mathis came up to the plate, to watch the Dodgers catcher do what he usually does, firing one to 1st base to pick off Mark Trumbo, on another dumb careening error, for the 2nd out of the inning. The Dodgers still chose to pitch to Mathis, with first base open and the pitcher on deck, but they walked him nonetheless. The reason they didn’t immediately just walk him to face Haren is his career .225 batting average, and his near.400 average last year when he played in the NL. Haren helped himself, since someone had to do it, hitting a line drive into right field to score Callaspo from 2nd. That almost didn’t happen, as Jeff Mathis made another dumb base running attempt, going for 3rd on the single to right, even though Ethier was playing shallow, charging the ball and has a good arm (not to mention Mathis is a catcher). He was thrown out at 3rd but luckily the out was recorded just after the run scored, so it still counted. It was a risky move that nearly backfired completely and cost them a run, and did cost them a chance to score more, with two men on and their leadoff hitter up, but the score was 2-1 now, and that was the important thing.
Former Yankee and Tiger, LF Marcus Thames led off the bottom of the 2nd, hitting a high mistake slider deep into left field, that should have been caught, but Kendrick turned the wrong way as he went back to the fence, and the ball bounced off of it, and rolled away for a double. Something happened to Thames as he rounded the bases, hurting himself to the point that he had to be immediately replaced by pinch-runner Tony Gwynn, Jr. Catcher Dioner Navarro pulled an outside slider to 2nd for the out, but it moved Gwynn over to 3rd which was his primary objective. The Angels infield played in as 2B Jamey Carroll, a very good contact hitter, came up to hit. He punched a grounder to Aybar at SS, who quickly threw the ball home, to get the Gwynn out at home, as Mathis blocked the plate, and tagged him as he tried to tag the base with his hand as he slid around him. De La Rosa is no slouch at the plate either, and he returned the favor, hitting a hard grounder towards Aybar, that went off his glove into left for a two-out hit. With runners at 1st and 2nd, lead off man SS Dee Gordon hit a sinking liner into left, and Kendrick ran in and made a good sliding catch to rob him of a hit, save a run, and make up for his blunder to start the inning, all at once.
Izturis started the 3rd by striking out on a high fastball, then Aybar hit a low and away 97 MPH fastball back up the middle for a clean single. Abreu struck out on a 2-2 slider in the dirt, and Aybar was picked off at 1st, as yet another Angels player had their head up their butt on the base paths. They found another way to end an inning with a double play, but it wasn’t all that surprising given the way they played up until that point.
… Dan Haren faced some more adversity in the 3rd, and managed to squeeze out of another jam, with little luck on his side, this time. After striking out 3B Juan Uribe to start the inning, but Ethier pulled another outside off-speed pitch (that stayed straight) for a single into right. Kemp followed with a single, taking an inside out swing to hit a line drive single into right, moving Ethier up one base. Loney blooped a 1-2 low splitter into LF, that Kendrick got a late jump on it and tried to make another sliding catch but was way too late, and the ball rolled past him. I was waiting for the score to change, assuming that Ethier must have scored on the play, since Kendrick the ball rolled a few feet away from Kendrick as he sat on the ground and it seemed like forever before the ball was thrown back into the infield, but Ethier stopped at 3rd base, for some reason. It was a lucky break for the Angels and they kept him at 3rd, as Haren struck out Gwynn on a good 1-2 splitter down and out of the zone, and then induced an easy groundout to 1st by Navarro to end the inning, and leave the bases loaded.
The Angels didn’t take the momentum right away, going down 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th, as Wells and Kendrick each hit fly outs, book ending the strikeout by Callaspo. That quick inning set the stage for another scoring chance by the Dodgers in the bottom half of the inning, who got another leadoff double, this time by Jamey Carroll who used his short contact swing approach to punch a 1-2 high slider (another high mistake by Haren) down the right field line for an easy double. De La Rosa laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt down the 1st base line to move another runner to 3rd with one out. Gordon hit a 1-1 low splitter on the ground to 2B Izturis, and he made a quick throw home and Mathis blocked the plate again and tagged out Carroll for another out made at home plate, to keep the score close. Uribe ended the inning with a groundout to 3rd, and once again Haren squeezed out of the inning, with just a 2-1 deficit.
The Angels put together some two-out magic, in the 4th to finally get to the Dodgers’ rookie phenom, taking advantage of the fact he hasn’t perfected his breaking pitch yet. Trumbo led off hitting the first pitch changeup for a hard groundout to 3rd, as Uribe went to one knee to stop the one hop scorcher. De La Rosa’s first mistake of the inning was walking the light-hitting catcher, Mathis, on four straight balls, and Haren sacrificed him up to 2nd with a good bunt. Izturis came up with two outs and a runner in scoring position, and took advantage of De La Rosa’s 2nd mistake of the inning, a 1-2 high slider, hitting a line drive over Loney’s head, down the right field line, for an RBI-double. De La Rosa was ahead of Aybar 1-2, then the count went full after two pitches no where close, and Aybar yanked an inside 94 MPH fastball deep, down the right field line, for a 2-run homerun, a few rows beyond the short fence near the foul pole. Abreu struck out on a 3-2 changeup but the score was now 4-2 in the Angels favor, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. De La Rosa’s best pitches are the fastball and changeup, but he went to the slider too often and he paid for it, even though the homer came on a fastball.
The lead stayed in tact, but the Angels were lucky it did, after what happened in the bottom of the 5th. Ethier connected for his third hit off Haren, on another outside pitch (try a new tactic, Dan!), whacking a double to the wall in right center. After the Dodgers’ third leadoff double in five tries, Kemp took a mighty swing at a hanging 1-2 high slider and hit a hard line drive deep into left field that was caught by Kendrick. Haren was lucky that pitch wasn’t hit farther than his first homerun, but it was still just another out in the box score, and he was due some luck. Loney saw another hanging 83 MPH off-speed pitch and hit a hard line drive into center, and the Angels had some luck on their side again, as Ethier stopped at 3rd after getting a late break going to 3rd when he hesitated and watched the ball go into the outfield thinking it might be caught by an infielder. Gwynn hit a grounder heading for right field, but Izturis made a diving stop going to his left, and threw to 2nd to get the force out. The run scored to make it 4-3, but it could have been so much worse, especially considering the strange play that happened right after. Gwynn ran to 2nd on a steal attempt, and Mathis fired a strike…to 1st base, as Gwynn slid in at 2nd base- a play I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Obviously Mathis already had his pick off throw to 1st planned out, but it fit right in with the bone-headed plays they made throughout this game, so it wasn’t all that surprising. Thankfully, Navarro popped up to record the final out, and the Dodgers only scored one run despite it all.
Vernon Wells led off the 6th with a single, lining the first pitch fastball right back up the middle. Callaspo made the first out, flying out to center, and then Wells tried to steal 2nd and was thrown out by another one-hop throw from Navarro (and a good short hop catch and tag by Carroll). It wasn’t a surprise they made another out on the base paths, and it almost makes sense that Kendrick clobbered the very next pitch- a 1-1 hanging slider, deep into left field for a solo homerun, and push the lead back to two runs. Of course they would hit a homer right after a runner gets himself out trying to steal, but at least they got the run back, although it felt like more could be had.
Haren had his best inning in the bottom of the 6th, working around a one-out walk to the pinch-hitter Casey Blake- Haren’s first of the game. After Gordon hit a weak fly ball to left, Blake made it to 2nd on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there when Uribe grounded out to 2nd, for Haren’s last out of the game….Mike MacDougal came in to pitch the top of the 7th, and retired the Angels in order, and another oddity happened in that inning too. Haren was due up 2nd and hit for himself, grounding out to the SS just like Mathis did before him, even though he wasn’t going to go out and pitch the next inning. That was a rarity unto itself, but it just added to the abnormalities that sprouted throughout this game, as the Angels carried a 5-3 lead into the 7th inning stretch.
Hisanori Takahashi came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th, and continued his string of strong recent performances, plowing through the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup. Peter Bourjos was put in the game to play CF, shifting Wells over to RF, kicking Abreu out of the game and giving a little more defensive stability. Kendrick was still out in LF, but he made another great play, to save a hit by the first hitter, Ethier, who hit a slicing dipping line drive into shallow left, and Howie tracked it as he ran in, and made a diving catch. He evened things out, with his second very good catch, to cancel out the two bad plays that allowed base runners earlier in the game. Takahashi then struck out Kemp swinging, with his fastball/ changeup combination, to go along with his hesitation leg-kick that all worked to keep Kemp off-balance. That changeup seems to be the pitch that has enabled Takahashi to get more hitters out recently, and his control has been much better, locating his fastball much better, to make that changeup more effective. He retired the other left-handed batter, Loney on an easy groundout to 1st.
The Angels had a little more luck, and some help from the Dodgers defense in the top of the 8th. Left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo came in to pitch, coming off his battle with an anxiety disorder (which is odd, but at least it’s better than what normally puts him on the DL- an arm injury). Erick Aybar hit right-handed, and hit the first-pitch fastball into right, with a line drive that tipped off of the Carroll’s glove as he leapt to try and snag it. Peter Bourjos hit in Abreu’s spot, so he was next, and up there to bunt. Kuo threw a high inside fastball- a good pitch when the hitter is bunting- and Bourjos bunted the ball into the air between the pitcher and 1st base, but it wasn’t a pop up high in the air, so it turned out even better than a grounder. The ball was placed perfectly, as it got past Kuo who made diving attempt as he came off the mound, and once it hit the ground it was an easy base hit for Bourjos. The 1st baseman, James Loney, made matters much worse, by picking up the ball and trying to throw Bourjos out at 1st, even though he had no real play, and fired the ball past Carroll covering 1st, into right field. Aybar was already heading to 3rd when Loney was making the throw to 1st, with some excellent base running, which was atypical for this game, and he sprinted all the way home, scoring way ahead of the throw from Ethier near in shallow right. Bourjos also did a good job, racing all the way to 3rd, as the throw went home. A sacrifice bunt, turned into an infield hit and a two base error, resulting in a run. This fortuitous turn of events made the score 6-3, and put Bourjos at 3rd with no outs, still. Kuo struck out Wells looking on a 3-2 fastball, as Wells picked an odd time to take a pitch, and then he was pulled from the game. Right-hander Blake Hawksworth was brought in, and the Angels wasted no time at all agasint him. Callaspo reached out for a first-pitch outside changeup, and pulled it through the drawn-in infield, into right field, for an RBI single and a 7-3 lead. Kendrick grounded into a double play to end the inning, probably because they were due for one, to meet their game quota.
Takahashi came back out to pitch the 8th, and was even more impressive than the last inning, setting the Dodgers down in order again, including two strikeouts. Gwynn struck out on a slider in the dirt, then Navarro grounded out to the SS, and even the contact hitter Carroll struck out on a 1-2 changeup, to end the inning. It looks like the Angels may have found the way to fill the void in the bullpen leading up to their closer, left by Rodney being on the DL. They may just have to use their two lefties, Takashashi and Downs, who have proven to be the best relievers in their bullpen so far, since the right-handers (with the possible exception of Thompson) haven't performed that well.
The Angels added one more run in their last at-bat, in the 9th, just for good measure, as they manufactured a run after another Dodger error provided a base runner. Trumbo led off and hit a grounder to Uribe at 3rd base, but he hesitated, then moved back and tried to side step and make the grab as his body turned, but he failed, allowing Trumbo to reach on his fielding error. Trumbo stole 2nd, even though it was a hit-and-run play and Mathis missed the ball, and then Mathis put down a sacrifice bunt that the pitcher fielded, to move Trumbo to 3rd. Russell Branyan was announced as the pinch-hitter, so the Dodgers brought in their lefty reliever, Scott Elbert to pitch, and then the Angels countered that by putting in Bobby Wilson, as the pinch hitter instead. I wonder if Branyan gets credit for playing in the game, even though he was only announced, and never even stepped to the plate before he was replaced by a right-handed batter… Wilson came through with a fly ball deep enough to right, to allow Trumbo to score on the sacrifice fly, and the score was now 8-3. Izturis ended the inning, popping up to right, and the game was nearly over.
Michael Kohn was called upon to finish the game for the Angels. He continued the dominance by the bullpen, finishing the game with another 1-2-3 inning, so, between he and Takahashi, all 9 hitters were set down in order to end the game. It was a fitting end to a very strange game, that ended with a blowout score, after it looked like the Angels were going to run themselves right into a loss, the way they played in the first 4 innings. Now they are one game closer to the .500 mark they have been chasing for about a month now, one win away from guaranteeing their fourth series win in a row, and one win away from a legitimate winning streak (three games in a row is a big step for some teams, okay!) They were very lucky to keep the game close and eventually pull away with a victory, despite all the mental errors, base running mistakes, and misplays in the outfield, so they probably should try to put a better defensive lineup in the field in the last couple of interleague games. We shall what Saturday brings, but it will be hard to top the entertaining and unexpected occurrences of this game … and it was of course even more satisfying, because they beat the stinkin’ Dodgers, but that‘s my anti-Dodger bias talking.
Game 77: Crazy Game Vol. 1, Issue 79
Win 7-3. Record: 38-39
Technically, the road trip was still going, even though the Angels had the day off on Thursday to travel back home, because Friday’s series was being played about 30 miles from their home ball park vs. the hometown rivals LA Dodgers. Those who know my sports tendencies know I don’t like the Dodgers- I would rank them just ahead of the Yankees of teams I hate the most. It all stems from what could be termed as an example of nurture vs. nature shaping my thought processes; my Dad was born and raised in northern California, growing up disliking the Dodgers from their time in Brooklyn and even more when they moved to LA and became the main rival for the San Francisco Giants, the home team in his neck of the woods. That anti-Dodger sentiment was bestowed to me from the onset of my baseball watching times, as we rooted against the Dodgers together, while watching my first World Series in 1988- when the Dodgers beat the (nor-Cal) Oakland Athletics. It helped also that the Dodgers won, because my Mom also preferred to cheer for the underdog and the Dodgers were anything but, especially compared to the Angels teams of the late 80s and early 90s …. Back to the present, this was an odd game, to say the least, with a bunch of base running mistakes (by the Angels), including two runners picked off of first by the carcher, then there was a play where another catcher tried the same thing but no one was there, along with some other unusal occurrences (some of which I have never seen before), but it was certainly entertaining.
Dan Haren took the mound for the Angels, sporting knee-high stirrups , to go along with some white-tongued black shoes, going with an old-school look out there. He looked different all the way around, allowing 10 hits in 6 innings of work, allowing at least two base runners in each of the first five innings, as he was forced to throw a lot of pitches early. It didn’t help that the Angels elected to go to a more-offensive lineup, sacrificing some defensive stability, with Howie Kendrick in left field instead of using Bourjos in center (and Wells in LF). The move was partly due to the absence of Torii Hunter, who suffered bruised ribs on Wednesday, but it also revolved around wanting Alberto Callaspo at 3B, while keeping Izturis and Kendrick in the lineup. It was yet another example of how managing in the National League is much more difficult, without the DH spot to help keep your better offensive players in the lineup. I don’t agree with it, because I’d rather have a better defense in the outfield, with Bourjos playing CF instead of forcing Callaspo into the lineup, when Izturis is at least as good at 3B and is a better overall hitter. Bobby Abreu played RF, so Vernon Wells would need to cover a lot of ground as CF in this one (another reason to have a more experienced outfielder in LF).
The Dodgers had their rookie fire-baller Rubby De La Rosa, making his 4th start of his major league career, after spending some time in the bullpen earlier in the season. The Angels lineup put together quite a few hits early, but had just as many base running mistakes to take themselves out of a number of scoring opportunities. Izturis led off the game with a line drive single up the middle, on an 86 MPH off-speed pitch. With Erick Aybar up, Izturis ran to 2nd as part of a hit-and-run play, but Aybar swung and missed and Izturis was thrown out on a one-hop throw by Dodger catcher Dioner Navarro, Aybar eventually struck out on a 3-2 fastball, then Abreu drew a two-out walk and stole 2nd base on the first pitch to Wells. He then whacked the next pitch back up the middle, and for some reason Abreu was held up at 3rd as the throw from CF Matt Kemp came in. That wasn’t the worst part, as Vernon Wells made a bone-headed base running play, heading for 2nd on the throw, but it was cut off and he was now in a run down that would end the inning. I have no idea why Abreu was held at 3rd with two outs and I have even less idea why Wells decided to try for 2nd. Wells stayed in the rundown for a couple of throws, and Abreu ran home to try and squeeze a run in since an out was inevitable, but the throw went home to get him out easily and end the inning. With that result, it brings on even more second-guessing, as they should have just sent the runner home on the hit, if the worst outcome could be the out at home (that happened anyway).
The Dodgers got on the board early even though Haren got the first two hitters out in the 1st. RF Andre Ethier has hit well against Haren in the past, from his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it continued in this game, starting with a line drive single into right, pulling an outside off-speed pitch. Now Haren had to face Matt Kemp who is probably the best player in the National League so far this season (.333, 20+ HR, 20+ SB already), and Kemp showed why, launching the first pitch he saw- a 90 MPH fastball over the outer edge- into deep right center field for a 2-run homer. 1B James Loney lined out to 2nd to end the inning, but it was a 2-0 lead after one inning.
3B Alberto Callaspo led off the 2nd, taking a 3-2 fastball outside for the free pass to 1st, but Kendrick struck out on three pitches. 1B Mark Trumbo was jammed by an inside fastball, and hit a soft line drive into right field, but Callaspo didn’t even round 2nd base with the thought of going to 3rd, and stopped at 2nd on a play that the Angels are famous for making a 1st-to-3rd run around the bases on. Either Callaspo was not hustling or he is still favoring his hamstring that was injured a couple of weeks ago, but either way he shouldn’t be in the lineup if he can’t do what is expected of him, in my opinion. Catcher Jeff Mathis came up to the plate, to watch the Dodgers catcher do what he usually does, firing one to 1st base to pick off Mark Trumbo, on another dumb careening error, for the 2nd out of the inning. The Dodgers still chose to pitch to Mathis, with first base open and the pitcher on deck, but they walked him nonetheless. The reason they didn’t immediately just walk him to face Haren is his career .225 batting average, and his near.400 average last year when he played in the NL. Haren helped himself, since someone had to do it, hitting a line drive into right field to score Callaspo from 2nd. That almost didn’t happen, as Jeff Mathis made another dumb base running attempt, going for 3rd on the single to right, even though Ethier was playing shallow, charging the ball and has a good arm (not to mention Mathis is a catcher). He was thrown out at 3rd but luckily the out was recorded just after the run scored, so it still counted. It was a risky move that nearly backfired completely and cost them a run, and did cost them a chance to score more, with two men on and their leadoff hitter up, but the score was 2-1 now, and that was the important thing.
Former Yankee and Tiger, LF Marcus Thames led off the bottom of the 2nd, hitting a high mistake slider deep into left field, that should have been caught, but Kendrick turned the wrong way as he went back to the fence, and the ball bounced off of it, and rolled away for a double. Something happened to Thames as he rounded the bases, hurting himself to the point that he had to be immediately replaced by pinch-runner Tony Gwynn, Jr. Catcher Dioner Navarro pulled an outside slider to 2nd for the out, but it moved Gwynn over to 3rd which was his primary objective. The Angels infield played in as 2B Jamey Carroll, a very good contact hitter, came up to hit. He punched a grounder to Aybar at SS, who quickly threw the ball home, to get the Gwynn out at home, as Mathis blocked the plate, and tagged him as he tried to tag the base with his hand as he slid around him. De La Rosa is no slouch at the plate either, and he returned the favor, hitting a hard grounder towards Aybar, that went off his glove into left for a two-out hit. With runners at 1st and 2nd, lead off man SS Dee Gordon hit a sinking liner into left, and Kendrick ran in and made a good sliding catch to rob him of a hit, save a run, and make up for his blunder to start the inning, all at once.
Izturis started the 3rd by striking out on a high fastball, then Aybar hit a low and away 97 MPH fastball back up the middle for a clean single. Abreu struck out on a 2-2 slider in the dirt, and Aybar was picked off at 1st, as yet another Angels player had their head up their butt on the base paths. They found another way to end an inning with a double play, but it wasn’t all that surprising given the way they played up until that point.
… Dan Haren faced some more adversity in the 3rd, and managed to squeeze out of another jam, with little luck on his side, this time. After striking out 3B Juan Uribe to start the inning, but Ethier pulled another outside off-speed pitch (that stayed straight) for a single into right. Kemp followed with a single, taking an inside out swing to hit a line drive single into right, moving Ethier up one base. Loney blooped a 1-2 low splitter into LF, that Kendrick got a late jump on it and tried to make another sliding catch but was way too late, and the ball rolled past him. I was waiting for the score to change, assuming that Ethier must have scored on the play, since Kendrick the ball rolled a few feet away from Kendrick as he sat on the ground and it seemed like forever before the ball was thrown back into the infield, but Ethier stopped at 3rd base, for some reason. It was a lucky break for the Angels and they kept him at 3rd, as Haren struck out Gwynn on a good 1-2 splitter down and out of the zone, and then induced an easy groundout to 1st by Navarro to end the inning, and leave the bases loaded.
The Angels didn’t take the momentum right away, going down 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th, as Wells and Kendrick each hit fly outs, book ending the strikeout by Callaspo. That quick inning set the stage for another scoring chance by the Dodgers in the bottom half of the inning, who got another leadoff double, this time by Jamey Carroll who used his short contact swing approach to punch a 1-2 high slider (another high mistake by Haren) down the right field line for an easy double. De La Rosa laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt down the 1st base line to move another runner to 3rd with one out. Gordon hit a 1-1 low splitter on the ground to 2B Izturis, and he made a quick throw home and Mathis blocked the plate again and tagged out Carroll for another out made at home plate, to keep the score close. Uribe ended the inning with a groundout to 3rd, and once again Haren squeezed out of the inning, with just a 2-1 deficit.
The Angels put together some two-out magic, in the 4th to finally get to the Dodgers’ rookie phenom, taking advantage of the fact he hasn’t perfected his breaking pitch yet. Trumbo led off hitting the first pitch changeup for a hard groundout to 3rd, as Uribe went to one knee to stop the one hop scorcher. De La Rosa’s first mistake of the inning was walking the light-hitting catcher, Mathis, on four straight balls, and Haren sacrificed him up to 2nd with a good bunt. Izturis came up with two outs and a runner in scoring position, and took advantage of De La Rosa’s 2nd mistake of the inning, a 1-2 high slider, hitting a line drive over Loney’s head, down the right field line, for an RBI-double. De La Rosa was ahead of Aybar 1-2, then the count went full after two pitches no where close, and Aybar yanked an inside 94 MPH fastball deep, down the right field line, for a 2-run homerun, a few rows beyond the short fence near the foul pole. Abreu struck out on a 3-2 changeup but the score was now 4-2 in the Angels favor, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. De La Rosa’s best pitches are the fastball and changeup, but he went to the slider too often and he paid for it, even though the homer came on a fastball.
The lead stayed in tact, but the Angels were lucky it did, after what happened in the bottom of the 5th. Ethier connected for his third hit off Haren, on another outside pitch (try a new tactic, Dan!), whacking a double to the wall in right center. After the Dodgers’ third leadoff double in five tries, Kemp took a mighty swing at a hanging 1-2 high slider and hit a hard line drive deep into left field that was caught by Kendrick. Haren was lucky that pitch wasn’t hit farther than his first homerun, but it was still just another out in the box score, and he was due some luck. Loney saw another hanging 83 MPH off-speed pitch and hit a hard line drive into center, and the Angels had some luck on their side again, as Ethier stopped at 3rd after getting a late break going to 3rd when he hesitated and watched the ball go into the outfield thinking it might be caught by an infielder. Gwynn hit a grounder heading for right field, but Izturis made a diving stop going to his left, and threw to 2nd to get the force out. The run scored to make it 4-3, but it could have been so much worse, especially considering the strange play that happened right after. Gwynn ran to 2nd on a steal attempt, and Mathis fired a strike…to 1st base, as Gwynn slid in at 2nd base- a play I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Obviously Mathis already had his pick off throw to 1st planned out, but it fit right in with the bone-headed plays they made throughout this game, so it wasn’t all that surprising. Thankfully, Navarro popped up to record the final out, and the Dodgers only scored one run despite it all.
Vernon Wells led off the 6th with a single, lining the first pitch fastball right back up the middle. Callaspo made the first out, flying out to center, and then Wells tried to steal 2nd and was thrown out by another one-hop throw from Navarro (and a good short hop catch and tag by Carroll). It wasn’t a surprise they made another out on the base paths, and it almost makes sense that Kendrick clobbered the very next pitch- a 1-1 hanging slider, deep into left field for a solo homerun, and push the lead back to two runs. Of course they would hit a homer right after a runner gets himself out trying to steal, but at least they got the run back, although it felt like more could be had.
Haren had his best inning in the bottom of the 6th, working around a one-out walk to the pinch-hitter Casey Blake- Haren’s first of the game. After Gordon hit a weak fly ball to left, Blake made it to 2nd on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there when Uribe grounded out to 2nd, for Haren’s last out of the game….Mike MacDougal came in to pitch the top of the 7th, and retired the Angels in order, and another oddity happened in that inning too. Haren was due up 2nd and hit for himself, grounding out to the SS just like Mathis did before him, even though he wasn’t going to go out and pitch the next inning. That was a rarity unto itself, but it just added to the abnormalities that sprouted throughout this game, as the Angels carried a 5-3 lead into the 7th inning stretch.
Hisanori Takahashi came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th, and continued his string of strong recent performances, plowing through the heart of the Dodgers’ lineup. Peter Bourjos was put in the game to play CF, shifting Wells over to RF, kicking Abreu out of the game and giving a little more defensive stability. Kendrick was still out in LF, but he made another great play, to save a hit by the first hitter, Ethier, who hit a slicing dipping line drive into shallow left, and Howie tracked it as he ran in, and made a diving catch. He evened things out, with his second very good catch, to cancel out the two bad plays that allowed base runners earlier in the game. Takahashi then struck out Kemp swinging, with his fastball/ changeup combination, to go along with his hesitation leg-kick that all worked to keep Kemp off-balance. That changeup seems to be the pitch that has enabled Takahashi to get more hitters out recently, and his control has been much better, locating his fastball much better, to make that changeup more effective. He retired the other left-handed batter, Loney on an easy groundout to 1st.
The Angels had a little more luck, and some help from the Dodgers defense in the top of the 8th. Left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo came in to pitch, coming off his battle with an anxiety disorder (which is odd, but at least it’s better than what normally puts him on the DL- an arm injury). Erick Aybar hit right-handed, and hit the first-pitch fastball into right, with a line drive that tipped off of the Carroll’s glove as he leapt to try and snag it. Peter Bourjos hit in Abreu’s spot, so he was next, and up there to bunt. Kuo threw a high inside fastball- a good pitch when the hitter is bunting- and Bourjos bunted the ball into the air between the pitcher and 1st base, but it wasn’t a pop up high in the air, so it turned out even better than a grounder. The ball was placed perfectly, as it got past Kuo who made diving attempt as he came off the mound, and once it hit the ground it was an easy base hit for Bourjos. The 1st baseman, James Loney, made matters much worse, by picking up the ball and trying to throw Bourjos out at 1st, even though he had no real play, and fired the ball past Carroll covering 1st, into right field. Aybar was already heading to 3rd when Loney was making the throw to 1st, with some excellent base running, which was atypical for this game, and he sprinted all the way home, scoring way ahead of the throw from Ethier near in shallow right. Bourjos also did a good job, racing all the way to 3rd, as the throw went home. A sacrifice bunt, turned into an infield hit and a two base error, resulting in a run. This fortuitous turn of events made the score 6-3, and put Bourjos at 3rd with no outs, still. Kuo struck out Wells looking on a 3-2 fastball, as Wells picked an odd time to take a pitch, and then he was pulled from the game. Right-hander Blake Hawksworth was brought in, and the Angels wasted no time at all agasint him. Callaspo reached out for a first-pitch outside changeup, and pulled it through the drawn-in infield, into right field, for an RBI single and a 7-3 lead. Kendrick grounded into a double play to end the inning, probably because they were due for one, to meet their game quota.
Takahashi came back out to pitch the 8th, and was even more impressive than the last inning, setting the Dodgers down in order again, including two strikeouts. Gwynn struck out on a slider in the dirt, then Navarro grounded out to the SS, and even the contact hitter Carroll struck out on a 1-2 changeup, to end the inning. It looks like the Angels may have found the way to fill the void in the bullpen leading up to their closer, left by Rodney being on the DL. They may just have to use their two lefties, Takashashi and Downs, who have proven to be the best relievers in their bullpen so far, since the right-handers (with the possible exception of Thompson) haven't performed that well.
The Angels added one more run in their last at-bat, in the 9th, just for good measure, as they manufactured a run after another Dodger error provided a base runner. Trumbo led off and hit a grounder to Uribe at 3rd base, but he hesitated, then moved back and tried to side step and make the grab as his body turned, but he failed, allowing Trumbo to reach on his fielding error. Trumbo stole 2nd, even though it was a hit-and-run play and Mathis missed the ball, and then Mathis put down a sacrifice bunt that the pitcher fielded, to move Trumbo to 3rd. Russell Branyan was announced as the pinch-hitter, so the Dodgers brought in their lefty reliever, Scott Elbert to pitch, and then the Angels countered that by putting in Bobby Wilson, as the pinch hitter instead. I wonder if Branyan gets credit for playing in the game, even though he was only announced, and never even stepped to the plate before he was replaced by a right-handed batter… Wilson came through with a fly ball deep enough to right, to allow Trumbo to score on the sacrifice fly, and the score was now 8-3. Izturis ended the inning, popping up to right, and the game was nearly over.
Michael Kohn was called upon to finish the game for the Angels. He continued the dominance by the bullpen, finishing the game with another 1-2-3 inning, so, between he and Takahashi, all 9 hitters were set down in order to end the game. It was a fitting end to a very strange game, that ended with a blowout score, after it looked like the Angels were going to run themselves right into a loss, the way they played in the first 4 innings. Now they are one game closer to the .500 mark they have been chasing for about a month now, one win away from guaranteeing their fourth series win in a row, and one win away from a legitimate winning streak (three games in a row is a big step for some teams, okay!) They were very lucky to keep the game close and eventually pull away with a victory, despite all the mental errors, base running mistakes, and misplays in the outfield, so they probably should try to put a better defensive lineup in the field in the last couple of interleague games. We shall what Saturday brings, but it will be hard to top the entertaining and unexpected occurrences of this game … and it was of course even more satisfying, because they beat the stinkin’ Dodgers, but that‘s my anti-Dodger bias talking.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Aston’s Angels Report [Game 76 @ FLA- Win]
AAR: Aston’s Angels Report June 22, 2011
Game 76: Extra Inning Manager’s Delight Vol. 1, Issue 78
Win 6-5, 10 inn. Record: 37-39
Luckily for the Angels, the season is so long, that the team can put aside a bad game and look forward to the next day and the next game to get back on track. They failed in over a dozen opportunities to get a hit with a runner in scoring position during a close game on Tuesday, and paid the penalty with a loss, but still had the chance for redemption and a series victory, if they could rebound with a win on Wednesday. The Marlins broke their 11-game losing streak, and their new interim manager, Jack McKeon was able to celebrate his first victory as their manager this season, giving their few fans in the stands reason to celebrate. After this one, his record as manager dropped under .500, as the Angels season record inched closer to that elusive mark, once again. This game had nearly everything; an offensive outburst of historic proportions, a few blown leads, numerous pitching changes, and even a couple double switches on both sides.
Joel Pineiro took his 3-3 record and the respectable 3.92 ERA that accompanied it on the stat sheet, to the mound for the Angels, and his opponent for the Marlins was making just his 2nd career start. Brian Sanchez has pitched in the majors for six years, but all as a reliever, and he had an excellent record so far this season with a 1.93 ERA in 37 innings out of the bullpen. The Angels put a couple of their regulars back in the lineup, with Maicer Izturis returning to 3B, and Mark Trumbo at 1B. The odd men out were Callaspo in the infield and Bourjos in the outfield, as Vernon Wells took over CF to make room for Bobby Abreu in LF. Hank Conger was rewarded for a good offensive game on Tuesday with another start behind the plate in the series finale, and he rewarded Scioscia for putting him in with a clutch go-ahead RBI late in the game (but not the game-winner). The Marlins used the same lineup they did in game 2, and I might have to change my vote for best Marlins hitter to RF Mike Stanton[ instead of Gaby Sanchez], after watching him play for the first time, collecting 3 hits in each of the two games he played.
The Angels went down in order to start the game, when the first two batters, Izturis and SS Erick Aybar popped up for easy outs, and RF Torii Hunter struck out swinging at a split finger pitch that looked like a screwball the way it dipped as it moved into the right handed batter…. It didn’t start out well on the defensive end either, as the Marlins leadoff man CF Emilio Bonifacio hit a line drive into left center, and he saw that Bobby Abreu had to come a long way from left to get it, and spin to make the throw, so he used his speed to stretch it to a double. LF Logan Morrison hit a fly ball to center, moving the runner to 3rd on the sacrifice fly. 1B Gaby Sanchez hit a chopper to 3rd and Bonifacio stopped half way home, just as Izturis was about to throw it, but he got into a rundown instead. It looked like a bad play by Bonifacio at first, because he would have at least had a chance (although a small one) to score if he had continued running home, but it worked out because getting caught in a rundown that lasted a couple of tosses allowed Sanchez to move up to 2nd. Their all-star SS Hanley Ramirez knocked him in with a simple single up the middle, to give his team the 1-0 lead. 3B Greg Dobbs hit a grounder back to Pineiro for the final out, but the Marlins scored first again just like in the first two games of the series.
It looked like the Angels may fall back into their anti-offensive habits, the way the top of the 2nd inning turned out. LF Bobby Abreu led off with a clean single back up the middle, not trying to do to much with a 2-2 outside fastball, then he stole 2nd base on the first pitch to Vernon Wells. Unfortunately, he didn’t try to go the other way for a productive out, pulling an outside off-speed pitch for an easy groundout to the SS for a very unproductive at bat. Howie Kendrick then hit a top spinner into center field but Abreu didn’t realize it was going to fall in for a hit right away, so he could only move up one base. With runners at 1st and 3rd, and a failure to score the run when they probably should have, I was smelling the onset of a double play. Apparently the Angels manager, Mike Scioscia, was thinking the same thing, and had Kendrick steal 2nd with Mark Trumbo up to bat. Trumbo had flailed at an 0-2 split finger that sunk low and into an unhittable zone, and the Marlins walked Conger, to bring up the pitcher, Pineiro. Of course the move paid off, as the career .103 hitter struck out to end the inning. This game had a lot of National League strategy throughout, and the game changes completely when they play in those ballparks, allowing more players to get into the game, and putting more pressure on the managers to calculate their strategy a few moves ahead of time.
Mike Stanton hit another ball hard, whacking an inside sinker into left field for a leadoff single, but Pineiro retired the next three in order, including two strikeouts of the catcher John Buck and the pitcher Sanches, to send the game into the 3rd… The Angels did something for the first time in franchise history since 1977, and their offense exploded all of a sudden, after laying dormant for the last couple games or so. They started the 3rd inning, with four consecutive extra base hits, as the Angels hitters showed why Sanches is primarily a relief pitcher who doesn’t normally face a hitter more than once in an appearance. Sanches threw a 1-2 fastball that went right down the middle, instead of the intended inside target, to Izturis, who clobbered it about 10 rows deep into the stands in right, for a solo homerun, and a tie score. Aybar took an outside high fastball into left field with a good opposite field swing, and challenged Dobbs who had to get to the ball near the line, hustling it into a double. Torii Hunter took a similar approach, from the right handed batter’s box, once he had a two-strike count, and hit a 1-2 fastball into right for a double, and an RBI, making it 2-1. Bobby Abreu provided the big blow, when he went against his normal M.O. and swung at a 3-0 pitch, crushing the fastball deep into bleachers in right for a 2-run homerun, that was launched so far the right fielder didn’t even budge as it sailed over his head. It was their first time performing that act in nearly 35 years, and just to show how rare that swing was for Abreu, it was the first time He has gotten a hit on a 3-0 pitch in 12 years (since 1999), which may be an even more blind-blowing stat (but then again I’m a baseball nerd, so maybe you‘re not as impressed). Vernon Wells popped out to 2nd for the first out, to end that slugging streak, and then Howie Kendrick was involved in a controversial call, that ended up having no real impact on the game. Kendrick appeared to strike out, swinging at a pitch that bounced on or near the plate, but the home plate umpire heard something (probably the ball hitting the plate or bouncing on the dirt) and called it a foul tip, allowing Kendrick to stay at the plate. After Jack McKeon had his first argument with an umpire this year, with a gripe that was definitely warranted, as replay showed that swing was no where near the ball, and he gave him a free strike basically. Kendrick hit a 1-2 fastball that was another mistake down the middle, and Kendrick took it the opposite way like usual, hitting one to the wall in right center, and running all way to 3rd with a one-out triple. McKeon came back out of the dugout, this time to remove his pitcher, but I’m sure he had a few choice words for the umpire on his to and from the field, and I don’t blame him. He brought in the lefty, Mike Dunn to complete the inning, and he forced Trumbo to pop up a 94 MPH fastball to Sanchez at 1B, as he failed with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs for the second time in this game. They walked the catcher, to get to the pitcher again, and he struck out again, so that phantom triple didn’t turn into a run, and was a dead issue now, but the score was still 4-1 in the Angels favor, after that sudden eruption.
Pineiro had a shaky start to the 3rd, falling behind 3-0 to the leadoff man, Bonifacio, and eventually walking him on a 3-2 high fastball, allowing the speedy man on base and possible trouble. Morrison tapped an outside sinker back to Pineiro for the easy out, then Sanchez and Ramirez both grounded out, as Pineiro worked around the meat of the order to keep the score 4-1, heading to the 4th…The Marlins bullpen kept the game close, and the Angels offensive potency fizzled away just as fast as it had popped up out of nowhere. They went down 1-2-3 in the 4th against Dunn, then Steve Cishek came in and retired them in order in the 5th and 7th, and allowed just one runner in the 6th. By the time their offensive slumber was over, the game was tied again, as the Marlins came back in that span of a few innings and the Angels had another fight on their hands.
Pineiro gave up back-to-back singles to Dobbs and Stanton to lead off the 4th, before getting Buck to pop up for the first out. Omar Infante hit a hard grounder towards Izturis at 3rd, but he tried to backhand it instead of getting in front of it, so the ball nicked off his glove and went into left field, allowing Dobbs to score. The ball was hit pretty hard, so I can understand why it wasn’t called an error, sort of, but it was a potential double play ball nonetheless, and Izturis could have prevented a run (and probably gotten an out) if he had blocked the ball better. Instead it was 4-2 now, and runners were on 1st and 2nd with one out again. Jose Lopez pinch hit [for Dunn] and popped up to Trumbo, but Pineiro couldn’t seal the deal, and gave up another hit to Bonifacio, who lined a single into left, and Stanton beat Abreu’s throw home, to make the score 4-3. Morrison grounded out to finally end the inning, but that lead shrunk pretty fast.
The 5th was the Angels’ first 1-2-3 inning against Cishek, who made up for allowing the game-winning run in the first game of the series, with a stellar performance in three innings of shutout ball in this one… The Marlins did the same thing in their half of the 5th, but it came at a price. Hunter chased down a flyball off of Sanchez’ bat, and ran into the fence as he caught the ball, then fell to the ground and squirmed around in obvious pain for a few minutes. A few players, the trainer and Scioscia surrounded him as he eventually got to his feet and tried to convince Scioscia to leave him in the game, but he was removed, and it was later revealed that he had a rib bruise. Vernon Wells shifted over the right, and Peter Bourjos came in to play center, and the inning continued. Pineiro struck out Ramirez, who took a good slider over the outer edge on a 3-2 pitch, and then Dobbs grounded out to 2nd for the last out.
The Angels lone runner against the right-handed side-arm slinger Cishak was a leadoff single by Trumbo, who hit a hard grounder back up the middle. Conger struck out swinging, then Pineiro bunted the runner to 2nd, but Izturis stranded him there, after swinging at the first pitch and popping it up to the SS for the easy last out…. Pineiro only needed five pitches to get through the bottom of the 5th, retiring Stanton, Buck and Infante in no time as the game moved rapidly along… The Angels kept that going, as Cishak polished off abother 1-2-3 inning in the 7th, including strikeouts by Aybar and Abreu.
The Marlins called upon Wes Helms to pinch-hit and lead off the bottom of the 7th, and he pulled a grounder deep in the hole on the left side, for an infield hit as Aybar got to it but had no play. That was Pineiro’s last hitter, as Scioscia came to pull him out, bringing in Hisanori Takahashi to try and preserve the lead. Bonifacio tried to bunt but fouled a couple off, and tried again on the 0-2 pitch and popped it up to Conger, out in front of the plate. Morrison worked the count full, but could only hit a fly out to center on the slider, for the 2nd out of the inning. With the right-handed batter, Sanchez coming up, Scioscia elected to bring in a right hander from the bullpen. Now that Fernando Rodney is out with an injury, there is a void in the bullpen now. at least in regards to right-handers, and Trevor Bell was called upon to pitch. He got ahead of Sanchez 1-2, then threw about five straight sliders low and away and Sanchez fouled each one off, and when he went back out there again, and Sanchez hit it into right center field for a single. I have no idea why he [and Conger] decided to keep throwing that pitch, instead of throwing a high fastball or an inside pitch to change his eye level and make him less comfortable in the box, since he was ahead 1-2 and could afford to waste a pitch, but it’s too late now. Hanley Ramirez came through with another RBI single, back up the middle, on another slider by Bell, tying the score 4-4. Scioscia came back out to make another change, and performed a double switch to change what positions the players hit in, bringing in Scott Downs to pitch and bringing in Callaspo to play 3rd, and electing to shift Izturis over to SS and remove Aybar from the game. Downs made quick work of Greg Dobbs, and struck him out on three pitches as he took the 0-2 curveball, to send the game into the 8th.
Edward Mujica came in to pitch the 8th for the Marlins (and Helms came in to play 3B), and ended their bullpen’s scoreless streak, as the Angels offense finally showed some more signs of life. After Wells and Kendrick both hit easy fly outs, Mark Trumbo scorched a line drive into left, for a two out double. This is when Conger came through with his afore mentioned clutch hit, taking a good swing at an outside fastball to line one the other way into left center, for an RBI single, to give his team the lead, 5-4. Callaspo struck out in his first at bat of the game, after coming in as part of the double switch, and struck out to end the inning.
Scott Downs remained in the game, but he was unable to get Mike Stanton out, like most of the rest of the Angels’ pitchers. He hit one off the end of the bat into right field, but the ball still found its way into the corner, and since Wells was playing so far off the line and couldn’t cut the ball off before it rolled to the wall, Stanton made it to 3rd easily. With the infield in after that leadoff triple, John Buck tapped a 1-2 curveball back to Downs, who hopped up to catch it, held the runner at 3rd and threw to 1st for the out. The pitching coach came out to talk with Downs and Conger, and it looked like they decided to pitch around Omar Infante, falling behind in the count, and throwing a 3-1 slider to walk him. Scioscia then decided to bring in his closer, Jordan Walden, in another questionable decision, asking him to get a scarce 5-out save. So instead of letting Downs pitch to Wes Helms, with a possible double play in order with the runner at 1st and a slow hitter, he instead brought in Walden, and the Marlins countered with left-hand hitting DeWayne Wise. He made the Angels pay for the decision, and rewarded his manager for going to him, hitting the first pitch fastball for a line drive single into centerfield, scoring the tying run, and blowing the save for Walden in just one pitch. Bonifacio hit with runners at 1st and 2nd, and slapped one along the ground up the 3rd base line, which led Callaspo to the 3rd base bag, so he touched it with his foot as he threw to 1st to get the speedy runner out by half a step, for the inning ending double play.
The Marlins sent Wise out to CF, shifting Bonifacio over to 3B, and brought in their closer to keep the game ties in the top of the 9th. He continued the mostly dominant performance by their bullpen up to that point, and set the Angels down in order, setting up their chance to win it in the bottom of the 9th…. Walden stayed out there to pitch the 9th and preserve the tie and send the game into extra innings. He set the Marlins down in order, but it was a little scary when Sanchez and Ramirez both hit fairly deep fly balls to right, but both caught by Wells, to send the game into the 10th, and forced the managers to work overtime.
Burke Badenhop was called upon to pitch the 10th for the Marlins, and he allowed the ominous lead off walk to the ever-patient Bobby Abreu who watched another one of his fluttering sinkers run away from the strike zone on the 3-2 pitch. Bobby Abreu had a great jump, and would have stolen 2nd easily, but Vernon Wells turned it into a hit-and-run play, hitting a sharp grounder to the SS spot. Ramirez was on his way to cover 2nd, and had to double back and dive to catch the ball, then he made a strong throw from one knee to get Wells out at 1st on a great play, that could have been a game-saver. Kendrick struck out on a low slider, for the second out, but Trumbo came through with the runner in scoring position this time, hitting a hard grounder up the middle, that bounced over the head of Ramirez into center field. I’m not sure if it was bad hop or just the product of another scolded ball off Trumbo’s bar, but it zoomed past Ramirez, and Abreu slid in safely ahead of the throw by Wise, to make it 6-5. Once Russell Branyan was announced as the pinch-hitter, the Marlins went to Randy Choate to pitch his regular 1/3 of an inning, and he induced an easy fly out to right, to end the inning.
The recently called up hard-throwing righty, Michael Kohn was called in to close the game out for the Angels, and he did very well in the pressure packed situation. Brett Hayes pinch hit (in the pitcher’s spot in the lineup) and popped up to Trumbo in foul territory for the all-important first out. Then he had to face the powerful Mike Stanton, who already had three hits (again) in this game. Kohn threw all fastballs, and in a strange turn of events, Stanton took the fastball right down the middle on a 3-2 count for a called strikeout. It was a weird at bat, where he only swung at one pitch, missing the 2-1 fastball to even the count 2-2, before taking the next two pitches without any attempt to swing. Now, John Buck stood between Kohn and his second career save, and he got ahead in the count with a slider taken for strike one, then a much harder slider that broke down and away as Buck swung over the top of it. He finished him off with another sharp slider low and away that Buck barely made contact with as he reached out with one hand, and grounded out weakly to 2nd and end the game.
This was the first time the Angels played a real National League- style game, with all the changes and strategy that rarely comes up in the American League games, which made for an entertaining game to watch and think along with. Of course, it probably helped that their offense did have their historic outburst, and came through in the end, despite a 4- inning lull in the middle. Pineiro pitched 6+ innings and allowed 4 runs in what seems to be his standard output over the last couple of months or so. Since he gave up the leadoff hit in the 7th before giving way to the bullpen, he was charged with the tying run that scored in the 7th, taking away his chance at a victory. It was Walden’s first career win, to go along with Kohn’s second save ever, and the Angels inched a little closer to that .500 plateau, despite giving up a 3-run lead and blowing the save in the 8th, before recording it for real in the 10th. The Angels took advantage of the starter Sanches’ limited repertoire and nearly every hitter clobbered the ball in their second time up against him, to build the early lead, showing off some unexpected power, and then finally came up with some clutch two-out hits when it was tied late in the game, to take the lead . It was a successful road trip, winning two games in each series, for a 6-3 record, as they head back home to face off with their cross town rival, the LA Dodgers .
Game 76: Extra Inning Manager’s Delight Vol. 1, Issue 78
Win 6-5, 10 inn. Record: 37-39
Luckily for the Angels, the season is so long, that the team can put aside a bad game and look forward to the next day and the next game to get back on track. They failed in over a dozen opportunities to get a hit with a runner in scoring position during a close game on Tuesday, and paid the penalty with a loss, but still had the chance for redemption and a series victory, if they could rebound with a win on Wednesday. The Marlins broke their 11-game losing streak, and their new interim manager, Jack McKeon was able to celebrate his first victory as their manager this season, giving their few fans in the stands reason to celebrate. After this one, his record as manager dropped under .500, as the Angels season record inched closer to that elusive mark, once again. This game had nearly everything; an offensive outburst of historic proportions, a few blown leads, numerous pitching changes, and even a couple double switches on both sides.
Joel Pineiro took his 3-3 record and the respectable 3.92 ERA that accompanied it on the stat sheet, to the mound for the Angels, and his opponent for the Marlins was making just his 2nd career start. Brian Sanchez has pitched in the majors for six years, but all as a reliever, and he had an excellent record so far this season with a 1.93 ERA in 37 innings out of the bullpen. The Angels put a couple of their regulars back in the lineup, with Maicer Izturis returning to 3B, and Mark Trumbo at 1B. The odd men out were Callaspo in the infield and Bourjos in the outfield, as Vernon Wells took over CF to make room for Bobby Abreu in LF. Hank Conger was rewarded for a good offensive game on Tuesday with another start behind the plate in the series finale, and he rewarded Scioscia for putting him in with a clutch go-ahead RBI late in the game (but not the game-winner). The Marlins used the same lineup they did in game 2, and I might have to change my vote for best Marlins hitter to RF Mike Stanton[ instead of Gaby Sanchez], after watching him play for the first time, collecting 3 hits in each of the two games he played.
The Angels went down in order to start the game, when the first two batters, Izturis and SS Erick Aybar popped up for easy outs, and RF Torii Hunter struck out swinging at a split finger pitch that looked like a screwball the way it dipped as it moved into the right handed batter…. It didn’t start out well on the defensive end either, as the Marlins leadoff man CF Emilio Bonifacio hit a line drive into left center, and he saw that Bobby Abreu had to come a long way from left to get it, and spin to make the throw, so he used his speed to stretch it to a double. LF Logan Morrison hit a fly ball to center, moving the runner to 3rd on the sacrifice fly. 1B Gaby Sanchez hit a chopper to 3rd and Bonifacio stopped half way home, just as Izturis was about to throw it, but he got into a rundown instead. It looked like a bad play by Bonifacio at first, because he would have at least had a chance (although a small one) to score if he had continued running home, but it worked out because getting caught in a rundown that lasted a couple of tosses allowed Sanchez to move up to 2nd. Their all-star SS Hanley Ramirez knocked him in with a simple single up the middle, to give his team the 1-0 lead. 3B Greg Dobbs hit a grounder back to Pineiro for the final out, but the Marlins scored first again just like in the first two games of the series.
It looked like the Angels may fall back into their anti-offensive habits, the way the top of the 2nd inning turned out. LF Bobby Abreu led off with a clean single back up the middle, not trying to do to much with a 2-2 outside fastball, then he stole 2nd base on the first pitch to Vernon Wells. Unfortunately, he didn’t try to go the other way for a productive out, pulling an outside off-speed pitch for an easy groundout to the SS for a very unproductive at bat. Howie Kendrick then hit a top spinner into center field but Abreu didn’t realize it was going to fall in for a hit right away, so he could only move up one base. With runners at 1st and 3rd, and a failure to score the run when they probably should have, I was smelling the onset of a double play. Apparently the Angels manager, Mike Scioscia, was thinking the same thing, and had Kendrick steal 2nd with Mark Trumbo up to bat. Trumbo had flailed at an 0-2 split finger that sunk low and into an unhittable zone, and the Marlins walked Conger, to bring up the pitcher, Pineiro. Of course the move paid off, as the career .103 hitter struck out to end the inning. This game had a lot of National League strategy throughout, and the game changes completely when they play in those ballparks, allowing more players to get into the game, and putting more pressure on the managers to calculate their strategy a few moves ahead of time.
Mike Stanton hit another ball hard, whacking an inside sinker into left field for a leadoff single, but Pineiro retired the next three in order, including two strikeouts of the catcher John Buck and the pitcher Sanches, to send the game into the 3rd… The Angels did something for the first time in franchise history since 1977, and their offense exploded all of a sudden, after laying dormant for the last couple games or so. They started the 3rd inning, with four consecutive extra base hits, as the Angels hitters showed why Sanches is primarily a relief pitcher who doesn’t normally face a hitter more than once in an appearance. Sanches threw a 1-2 fastball that went right down the middle, instead of the intended inside target, to Izturis, who clobbered it about 10 rows deep into the stands in right, for a solo homerun, and a tie score. Aybar took an outside high fastball into left field with a good opposite field swing, and challenged Dobbs who had to get to the ball near the line, hustling it into a double. Torii Hunter took a similar approach, from the right handed batter’s box, once he had a two-strike count, and hit a 1-2 fastball into right for a double, and an RBI, making it 2-1. Bobby Abreu provided the big blow, when he went against his normal M.O. and swung at a 3-0 pitch, crushing the fastball deep into bleachers in right for a 2-run homerun, that was launched so far the right fielder didn’t even budge as it sailed over his head. It was their first time performing that act in nearly 35 years, and just to show how rare that swing was for Abreu, it was the first time He has gotten a hit on a 3-0 pitch in 12 years (since 1999), which may be an even more blind-blowing stat (but then again I’m a baseball nerd, so maybe you‘re not as impressed). Vernon Wells popped out to 2nd for the first out, to end that slugging streak, and then Howie Kendrick was involved in a controversial call, that ended up having no real impact on the game. Kendrick appeared to strike out, swinging at a pitch that bounced on or near the plate, but the home plate umpire heard something (probably the ball hitting the plate or bouncing on the dirt) and called it a foul tip, allowing Kendrick to stay at the plate. After Jack McKeon had his first argument with an umpire this year, with a gripe that was definitely warranted, as replay showed that swing was no where near the ball, and he gave him a free strike basically. Kendrick hit a 1-2 fastball that was another mistake down the middle, and Kendrick took it the opposite way like usual, hitting one to the wall in right center, and running all way to 3rd with a one-out triple. McKeon came back out of the dugout, this time to remove his pitcher, but I’m sure he had a few choice words for the umpire on his to and from the field, and I don’t blame him. He brought in the lefty, Mike Dunn to complete the inning, and he forced Trumbo to pop up a 94 MPH fastball to Sanchez at 1B, as he failed with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs for the second time in this game. They walked the catcher, to get to the pitcher again, and he struck out again, so that phantom triple didn’t turn into a run, and was a dead issue now, but the score was still 4-1 in the Angels favor, after that sudden eruption.
Pineiro had a shaky start to the 3rd, falling behind 3-0 to the leadoff man, Bonifacio, and eventually walking him on a 3-2 high fastball, allowing the speedy man on base and possible trouble. Morrison tapped an outside sinker back to Pineiro for the easy out, then Sanchez and Ramirez both grounded out, as Pineiro worked around the meat of the order to keep the score 4-1, heading to the 4th…The Marlins bullpen kept the game close, and the Angels offensive potency fizzled away just as fast as it had popped up out of nowhere. They went down 1-2-3 in the 4th against Dunn, then Steve Cishek came in and retired them in order in the 5th and 7th, and allowed just one runner in the 6th. By the time their offensive slumber was over, the game was tied again, as the Marlins came back in that span of a few innings and the Angels had another fight on their hands.
Pineiro gave up back-to-back singles to Dobbs and Stanton to lead off the 4th, before getting Buck to pop up for the first out. Omar Infante hit a hard grounder towards Izturis at 3rd, but he tried to backhand it instead of getting in front of it, so the ball nicked off his glove and went into left field, allowing Dobbs to score. The ball was hit pretty hard, so I can understand why it wasn’t called an error, sort of, but it was a potential double play ball nonetheless, and Izturis could have prevented a run (and probably gotten an out) if he had blocked the ball better. Instead it was 4-2 now, and runners were on 1st and 2nd with one out again. Jose Lopez pinch hit [for Dunn] and popped up to Trumbo, but Pineiro couldn’t seal the deal, and gave up another hit to Bonifacio, who lined a single into left, and Stanton beat Abreu’s throw home, to make the score 4-3. Morrison grounded out to finally end the inning, but that lead shrunk pretty fast.
The 5th was the Angels’ first 1-2-3 inning against Cishek, who made up for allowing the game-winning run in the first game of the series, with a stellar performance in three innings of shutout ball in this one… The Marlins did the same thing in their half of the 5th, but it came at a price. Hunter chased down a flyball off of Sanchez’ bat, and ran into the fence as he caught the ball, then fell to the ground and squirmed around in obvious pain for a few minutes. A few players, the trainer and Scioscia surrounded him as he eventually got to his feet and tried to convince Scioscia to leave him in the game, but he was removed, and it was later revealed that he had a rib bruise. Vernon Wells shifted over the right, and Peter Bourjos came in to play center, and the inning continued. Pineiro struck out Ramirez, who took a good slider over the outer edge on a 3-2 pitch, and then Dobbs grounded out to 2nd for the last out.
The Angels lone runner against the right-handed side-arm slinger Cishak was a leadoff single by Trumbo, who hit a hard grounder back up the middle. Conger struck out swinging, then Pineiro bunted the runner to 2nd, but Izturis stranded him there, after swinging at the first pitch and popping it up to the SS for the easy last out…. Pineiro only needed five pitches to get through the bottom of the 5th, retiring Stanton, Buck and Infante in no time as the game moved rapidly along… The Angels kept that going, as Cishak polished off abother 1-2-3 inning in the 7th, including strikeouts by Aybar and Abreu.
The Marlins called upon Wes Helms to pinch-hit and lead off the bottom of the 7th, and he pulled a grounder deep in the hole on the left side, for an infield hit as Aybar got to it but had no play. That was Pineiro’s last hitter, as Scioscia came to pull him out, bringing in Hisanori Takahashi to try and preserve the lead. Bonifacio tried to bunt but fouled a couple off, and tried again on the 0-2 pitch and popped it up to Conger, out in front of the plate. Morrison worked the count full, but could only hit a fly out to center on the slider, for the 2nd out of the inning. With the right-handed batter, Sanchez coming up, Scioscia elected to bring in a right hander from the bullpen. Now that Fernando Rodney is out with an injury, there is a void in the bullpen now. at least in regards to right-handers, and Trevor Bell was called upon to pitch. He got ahead of Sanchez 1-2, then threw about five straight sliders low and away and Sanchez fouled each one off, and when he went back out there again, and Sanchez hit it into right center field for a single. I have no idea why he [and Conger] decided to keep throwing that pitch, instead of throwing a high fastball or an inside pitch to change his eye level and make him less comfortable in the box, since he was ahead 1-2 and could afford to waste a pitch, but it’s too late now. Hanley Ramirez came through with another RBI single, back up the middle, on another slider by Bell, tying the score 4-4. Scioscia came back out to make another change, and performed a double switch to change what positions the players hit in, bringing in Scott Downs to pitch and bringing in Callaspo to play 3rd, and electing to shift Izturis over to SS and remove Aybar from the game. Downs made quick work of Greg Dobbs, and struck him out on three pitches as he took the 0-2 curveball, to send the game into the 8th.
Edward Mujica came in to pitch the 8th for the Marlins (and Helms came in to play 3B), and ended their bullpen’s scoreless streak, as the Angels offense finally showed some more signs of life. After Wells and Kendrick both hit easy fly outs, Mark Trumbo scorched a line drive into left, for a two out double. This is when Conger came through with his afore mentioned clutch hit, taking a good swing at an outside fastball to line one the other way into left center, for an RBI single, to give his team the lead, 5-4. Callaspo struck out in his first at bat of the game, after coming in as part of the double switch, and struck out to end the inning.
Scott Downs remained in the game, but he was unable to get Mike Stanton out, like most of the rest of the Angels’ pitchers. He hit one off the end of the bat into right field, but the ball still found its way into the corner, and since Wells was playing so far off the line and couldn’t cut the ball off before it rolled to the wall, Stanton made it to 3rd easily. With the infield in after that leadoff triple, John Buck tapped a 1-2 curveball back to Downs, who hopped up to catch it, held the runner at 3rd and threw to 1st for the out. The pitching coach came out to talk with Downs and Conger, and it looked like they decided to pitch around Omar Infante, falling behind in the count, and throwing a 3-1 slider to walk him. Scioscia then decided to bring in his closer, Jordan Walden, in another questionable decision, asking him to get a scarce 5-out save. So instead of letting Downs pitch to Wes Helms, with a possible double play in order with the runner at 1st and a slow hitter, he instead brought in Walden, and the Marlins countered with left-hand hitting DeWayne Wise. He made the Angels pay for the decision, and rewarded his manager for going to him, hitting the first pitch fastball for a line drive single into centerfield, scoring the tying run, and blowing the save for Walden in just one pitch. Bonifacio hit with runners at 1st and 2nd, and slapped one along the ground up the 3rd base line, which led Callaspo to the 3rd base bag, so he touched it with his foot as he threw to 1st to get the speedy runner out by half a step, for the inning ending double play.
The Marlins sent Wise out to CF, shifting Bonifacio over to 3B, and brought in their closer to keep the game ties in the top of the 9th. He continued the mostly dominant performance by their bullpen up to that point, and set the Angels down in order, setting up their chance to win it in the bottom of the 9th…. Walden stayed out there to pitch the 9th and preserve the tie and send the game into extra innings. He set the Marlins down in order, but it was a little scary when Sanchez and Ramirez both hit fairly deep fly balls to right, but both caught by Wells, to send the game into the 10th, and forced the managers to work overtime.
Burke Badenhop was called upon to pitch the 10th for the Marlins, and he allowed the ominous lead off walk to the ever-patient Bobby Abreu who watched another one of his fluttering sinkers run away from the strike zone on the 3-2 pitch. Bobby Abreu had a great jump, and would have stolen 2nd easily, but Vernon Wells turned it into a hit-and-run play, hitting a sharp grounder to the SS spot. Ramirez was on his way to cover 2nd, and had to double back and dive to catch the ball, then he made a strong throw from one knee to get Wells out at 1st on a great play, that could have been a game-saver. Kendrick struck out on a low slider, for the second out, but Trumbo came through with the runner in scoring position this time, hitting a hard grounder up the middle, that bounced over the head of Ramirez into center field. I’m not sure if it was bad hop or just the product of another scolded ball off Trumbo’s bar, but it zoomed past Ramirez, and Abreu slid in safely ahead of the throw by Wise, to make it 6-5. Once Russell Branyan was announced as the pinch-hitter, the Marlins went to Randy Choate to pitch his regular 1/3 of an inning, and he induced an easy fly out to right, to end the inning.
The recently called up hard-throwing righty, Michael Kohn was called in to close the game out for the Angels, and he did very well in the pressure packed situation. Brett Hayes pinch hit (in the pitcher’s spot in the lineup) and popped up to Trumbo in foul territory for the all-important first out. Then he had to face the powerful Mike Stanton, who already had three hits (again) in this game. Kohn threw all fastballs, and in a strange turn of events, Stanton took the fastball right down the middle on a 3-2 count for a called strikeout. It was a weird at bat, where he only swung at one pitch, missing the 2-1 fastball to even the count 2-2, before taking the next two pitches without any attempt to swing. Now, John Buck stood between Kohn and his second career save, and he got ahead in the count with a slider taken for strike one, then a much harder slider that broke down and away as Buck swung over the top of it. He finished him off with another sharp slider low and away that Buck barely made contact with as he reached out with one hand, and grounded out weakly to 2nd and end the game.
This was the first time the Angels played a real National League- style game, with all the changes and strategy that rarely comes up in the American League games, which made for an entertaining game to watch and think along with. Of course, it probably helped that their offense did have their historic outburst, and came through in the end, despite a 4- inning lull in the middle. Pineiro pitched 6+ innings and allowed 4 runs in what seems to be his standard output over the last couple of months or so. Since he gave up the leadoff hit in the 7th before giving way to the bullpen, he was charged with the tying run that scored in the 7th, taking away his chance at a victory. It was Walden’s first career win, to go along with Kohn’s second save ever, and the Angels inched a little closer to that .500 plateau, despite giving up a 3-run lead and blowing the save in the 8th, before recording it for real in the 10th. The Angels took advantage of the starter Sanches’ limited repertoire and nearly every hitter clobbered the ball in their second time up against him, to build the early lead, showing off some unexpected power, and then finally came up with some clutch two-out hits when it was tied late in the game, to take the lead . It was a successful road trip, winning two games in each series, for a 6-3 record, as they head back home to face off with their cross town rival, the LA Dodgers .
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