AAR: Aston’s Angels Report July 2, 2011
Game 84: Battle of LA’s Aces Vol. 1, Issue 86
Win 7-1 Record: 43-41
The first game of the series between the LA teams, was a one-sided affair, as Angels offense remained dormant on Friday, perhaps as a product of their off-day on Thursday, or maybe another example of their offensive struggles at home. It marked the 10th time they have been shut out this season, and ended their 3 game winning streak. Both teams figured to have a tough time at the plate, as each sent out their ace starters for a re-match of their low-scoring pitching duel last weekend in Dodger Stadium, which should have ended with an Angels victory, except for a terrible call by the umpire that turned the last out of the game into the tying run for the Dodgers and cost the Angels a victory. Jared Weaver was 9-4, with a spectacularly low 1.97 ERA (and other crazy-good numbers along his stat line) through 17 starts. He battled the Dodgers’ left-handed dynamo, Clayton Kershaw, who came in 8-3, with a 2.94 ERA, and leads the National League in strikeouts. I’m going with a little less detail because I’m behind a few games, and maybe it’s better off if I do anyway, if I expect people to read more than one of these.
Weaver pitched masterfully throughout the game, and was emotionally involved from the very start. In the 1st inning, he threw a 0-2 fastball to RF Andre Ethier that was called a ball and Weaver was obviously upset, and then when he struck him out with fastball over the outside corner, he was yelling and looking at the umpire as he walked back to the dugout. He retired the side in order in the 1st, with two strikeouts, then again in the 2nd, striking out CF Matt Kemp to lead off, before two fly outs ended the inning. In the 3rd, he struck out DH Trent Oeltjen, then allowed his first hit of the game, to the catcher, Dioner Navarro, who hit a 1-2 curveball on the ground through the right side. After SS Dee Gordon reached on a fielder’s choice (an out at 2nd), he was picked off of 1st by Weaver, to end that inning.
The Angels’ first couple of innings didn’t go much differently, against the Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw. SS Erick Aybar hit a grounder towards 2nd, but 1B James Loney went way over to get the ball, but Kershaw didn’t go to cover 1st, so it was a one-out infield hit. DH Bobby Abreu and Vernon Wells struck out to end that inning. In the 2nd, 3B Alberto Callaspo hit a two-out single, but Bourjos struck out, for Kershaw’s 4th strikeout victim. and end the inning. Things were different in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and Jeff Mathis got the ball rolling, with a leadoff double, hitting the 1st pitch fastball into the left field corner (much like he did against Kershaw in the previous game). 2B Maicer Izturis hit a groundout to 2nd, moving Mathis to 3rd, and drawing in the infield. Aybar hit a grounder to the SS, and Gordon took a few steps to his right to get to it, and then decided to throw home still. Mathis slid in safely as the throw sailed over the catcher’s head, for an error, so the score was 1-0 and Aybar was now at 2nd base. Abreu struck out looking this time, on a full count pitch that was borderline, for the 2nd out (it was a surprise to even see him in the lineup against such a tough lefty, and he showed why). Vernon Wells took the first two balls, and was waiting on a 2-0 fastball, and knew what to do with it when he got it, slamming it deep into left center field, for a two-run homerun. He homered against Kershaw (on a slider) to give the Angels the lead in the last game he pitched (before the umpire handed the Dodgers the game in the 9th) and this blast gave them a 3-0 lead. LF Howie Kendrick hit a groundball that hit off of Kershaw and bounded away for an infield single, to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Trumbo ended the inning with a groundout, but Weaver had a 3-0 lead heading into the 4th.
After retiring Tony Gwynn, Jr on a groundout, Weaver issued his first walk of the game, to 3B Casey Blake, after a 2-2 slider that looked like a strike was called a ball, which infuriated Weaver, before firing a fastball way too high for ball four. Etheir pulled an outside curveball, on the first pitch he saw, for a line drive single into right. Weaver got out of this jam, inducing a double play grounder from the National League’s best hitter, Matt Kemp, to end the top of the 4th… In the bottom half, the Angels looked like they were going to blow a scoring opportunity, and were lucky to get a bad call by an umpire in their favor. Callaspo led off with a walk, then Bourjos bunted back to Kershaw, and he soft-tossed the ball, leading the 2B Aaron Miles to 1st base, but he couldn’t get his foot to the base as he caught the ball, so Bourjos was safe. Mathis tried to sacrifice bunt but popped it into the air, to the pitcher, and for some reason Callaspo went about half-way to 3rd (duh!) before going back to 2nd. Luckily for him, Kershaw didn’t set his feet and threw off-balance to 2nd, but it was high and took Dee Gordon off the base as he went for the catch, and went back to tag the runner, but he was called safe. The umpire was in the exact wrong position to see the tag, with the runner directly in between him and the fielder so he couldn’t that Gordon tagged him on the back of the shirt, but still called him safe. Izturis struck out on a changeup in the dirt, so it looked like the Angels were still going to blow an opportunity. Because they got that extra out on the blown call by the umpire, Aybar got a chance to hit with the same two runners on and two outs, and came through with an RBI single into left, scoring Callaspo and moving Bourjos to 3rd, making the score 4-0. Abreu came up again, and Aybar stole 2nd base easily before Abreu blooped in a single on a 1-2 changeup, to score both runners, for the 6-0 lead., in a surprise outcome, considering the pitchers duel that transpired last time these two pitched.
The Dodgers were able to get on the scoreboard in the 5th, when Loney doubled to left center, leading off the inning, and Miles moved him over to 3rd with a grounder to 2nd. Oeltjen earned the RBI, with a sacrifice fly into center, to make the score 6-1, but that would be the extent of it, as Navarro ended the inning with a strikeout, and the Dodgers failed to do much else on offense…. Kershaw came out in the bottom of the 5th, and retired the side in order, and more impressively with three strikeouts, but it was too little too late from the Dodgers’ point of view…. Weaver pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 6th, highlighted by a great play from Jeff Mathis, on a bunt attempt by Gordon that appeared to bounce foul first, but he hopped up from behind the plate and grabbed it as spun into fair territory and Gordon didn’t even run so it was an easy out…. The Angels tacked on their last run of the game in the bottom of the 6th, starting with a leadoff single from Bourjos, on a liner into left. With Mathis up to bunt again, Bourjos stole 2nd, and Mathis fouled off the first two, but stuck with it (probably still angry about the last at bat and the poor bunt attempt) and laid down a bunt to move Bourjos to 3rd with one out. Izturis lined out for the 2nd out, and Aybar hit a chopper to the SS, but Gordon made his 2nd error of the game, with another bad throw, allowing Aybar to reach safely and the 7th run to score.
Waver allowed two runners to reach in the 7th. When Kemp walked with one out, and after Loney hit a fly out for the 2nd out, Miles golfed a curveball over the 1B Mark Trumbo’s head, into left field, to put runners at 2nd and 3rd. Weaver struck out Oeltjen on a sharp 2-2 curveball, for his 7th strikeout of the game, and send the game into the 7th inning stretch. The Angels went down in order in their at bat in the 7th, against new Dodger pitcher Kenley Jansen, with three fly ball outs in a row….In the 8th. the Dodgers went down in order, as Weaver came back out, and continued his dominance, making it look easy, with two weak groundouts and a strikeout to quickly end his last inning of work… The Angels did a little damage against Dodger left-hander Hong Chih Kuo in the bottom of the 8th, when Bourjos walked and Mathis followed with a single, but Izturis struck out again, and Aybar hit a fly out to left to end the inning…. Weaver was up over 120 pitches thrown, so Hisanori Takahashi finished off the game for the Angels, allowing a double to Ethier, but stranding him there, after striking out Kemp and getting Loney to groundout for the final out.
With the Texas Rangers loss on Saturday, the Angels gained a game in the standings, and are back within one game of the American League west lead. They actually have a chance to win the division, mainly thanks to the sub-par division they are a part of, but a chance to get into the playoffs shouldn’t be taken lightly. I’m sure not many expected the Giants to win last year, but they were able to score just enough runs with a limited offense to give their supreme pitching staff enough to squeak out victories in games (and series) they were expected to lose. Now that we are in July- the month that ends with the trade deadline, and they are still in major contention, it might be about time to look at the trade market for a player who could improve the team (offensive and bullpen seem to have room for improvement) and boost them into the playoffs, with a good chance to win.
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