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 .
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