AAR: Aston’s Angels Report April 16, 2012
Game 7-9: Slow Starters Vol. 2, Issue 5
Series #3 (L, W, L @ New York Yankees), Season Record 3-6
After losing the first two series of the season, the Angels traveled to New York to play in their third home opener of the season, in the Yankees first home game of the season in the New Yankee Stadium. Game 1 of this series on Friday, April 13th, started off just about the same way that the last series (in Minnesota) ended, allowing multiple runs in one inning to fall behind in what would become an eventual loss.
The Angels sent out Ervin Santana while the Yankees used one of their new additions, Hiroki Kuroda, formerly of the LA Dodgers, and both were looking to improve upon their poor opening starts to the season. The Angels changed up their lineup compared what has been their typical lineup thus far, putting Bobby Abreu in right field, and batting 2nd, Mark Trumbo got the start at 3rd base, and Maicer Izturis was at 2nd base after his good game against the Twins as the shortstop, so Kendrick and Hunter were given the day off. The Yankees used what has been their standard lineup for a while now, with the one change being their new addition, former Philly, Raul Ibanez appearing as the designated hitter.
SCORING INNINGS
After the Angels failed to score in their first at-bat, Santana looked like he was going to get off to a good start in the bottom of the 1st, when he struck out the first two batters he faced (Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson). He couldn’t finish the inning, and it cost his team dearly, as he allowed a single to Alex Rodriguez, walked Robinson Cano on four straight pitches, and then walked Mark Teixeira to load the bases. Nick Swisher took advantage of Santana’s wildness, getting into a good hitters count, at 2 balls-1 strike, and walloped a deep flyball off of the wall in right center, to knock in all three runs to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead right out of the gate.
Alex Rodriguez homered leading off the bottom of the 3rd, to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead, and giving him 69 career homeruns against the Angels, the most for him vs. any team. I’ve seen him torch the Angels for too many years now, even when he was a rookie with the Mariners, and of course through his career with the Rangers and now the Yankees, and maybe that’s the reason why I despise him so much…. Or maybe it’s just because he’s arrogant, a proven admitted cheater, and a complete douche bag who doesn’t deserve to be in the hall of fame no matter how many homeruns he hits (but that’s just my- and about every other baseball fan who isn’t in New York- opinion)
The Yankees tacked on one more run off of Santana with another homerun, this time off the bat of CF Curtis Granderson, who benefited once again from the short right field ’porch’ in Yankee Stadium, barely hitting the ball over the fence on what would have been a fly out in almost any other ball park. The score was now 5-0 and that would be the final score.
IN ADDITION
The Angels were held in check by Kuroda, who went 8 innings, allowing just 4 hits, and striking out 6 hitters, while throwing 104 pitches in a dominant performance. He came out for the 9th and was pulled out when he allowed an infield single to Abreu to start the inning (a dribbler that Jeter couldn’t make the play on), and David Robertson came in to finish it off. The Angels had a total of 5 hits in the game, and they erased most of those from the base paths when they hit into three double plays, so they basically had no chance in this one. Kuroda pitched ahead of the batters he faced, while the Angels’ pitchers were pitching from behind in the count against the Yankees’ patient hitters, and the result was what would be expected in that scenario.
Santana did pitch through the 6th inning, ending his night with his only 1-2-3 inning of the game, but the only plus for the Angels in this one was the performance of their bullpen. It could be (reasonably) argued that the Yankees offense didn’t exactly try as hard once the score was 5-0 and they were in complete control of the game, so the bullpen performance becomes a little less impressive. The most notable part of the game from the Angels standpoint was the debut of the recently called up (from the minors) David Robertson. You may remember one of my initial Angels Reports, admiring the spring training performance of this youngster, and I guess I can take some pride in the fact that I was right to think he could make the major league roster. He pitched well against some imposing Yankee hitters, allowing just one hit in his inning of work in the 8th, and he could help out the bullpen with Downs injured and others struggling.
FANTASY WATCH
The only notable fantasy players in this one wore the pinstripes, highlighted by Kuroda whose stat line I mentioned earlier (also add the W and quality start), along with Granderson’s HR and (oh, how I hate to say it) Rodriguez who was 3-for-4 with the homerun.
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So far this season, the Angels starting pitcher CJ Wilson has turned into the club’s stopper, putting an end to an Angels losing streak. They came into the game with a three-game losing streak, and Wilson helped them get back in the win column with another positive performance, earning his first career win against the Yankees. The Yankees sent out Phil Hughes, who they hoped would revert back to his stats from 2010 and help improve their rotation when the season began, but could end up in the bullpen if he continues to pitch as poorly as he did on Saturday against the Halos.
The Angels went back to their more standard defense, with Torii Hunter back in RF and Howie Kendrick back in at 2nd base, along with Alberto Callaspo as 3rd baseman, while also shifted their lineup a little, moving Vernon Wells into the 7th spot behind Callaspo. The Yankees put Andruw Jones in LF, Eduardo Nunez at 3rd base, and used Alex Rodriguez as their DH, to add more right-handed hitters to the lineup. They also shifted their right fielder Nick Swisher into the 2nd spot and moved back the CF Granderson to the 6th spot against the left-handed pitcher Wilson, which I assume will be a common move for them for the rest of the season.
SCORING INNINGS
After blowing a possible scoring chance in their first at bat when they had runners at 1st and 3rd with one out (Morales and Hunter both struck out), they got on the board in the 2nd inning. After Callaspo led off the inning with a strikeout (after the umpire called ball four a strike earlier in the at-bat), Vernon Wells hit a sharp single up the middle (a pleasant sight when he doesn’t try to pull everything), and then the catcher Chris Iannetta hit an opposite field homerun, down the right field line, just inside of the foul pole, taking advantage of that short field in right.
The Angels took that 2-0 lead into the 3rd inning, and added one more run with back-to-back hits to open the inning. Kendrick opened it with another patented line drive single to right, and then 1B Albert Pujols hit a deep flyball to center, that looked like possibly his first homerun of the season when he hit it, but it hit off the wall and went for an RBI double, giving them a 3-0 lead. They failed to push across another in that inning, despite the runner in scoring position.
They made up for that when they came up again in the top of the 4th, and knocked Phil Hughes out of the game. Iannetta continued his impressive and patient season, drawing a lead off walk, which was followed by a strikeout by CF Peter Bourjos. Erick Aybar hit a grounder to Teixiera at 1B, that went off his body, and Aybar hustled from the start, beating out the infield single, diving head first into 1st. It looked like the Yankees might change pitchers, since Kendrick was already 2-for-2 against Hughes, but they left him in and Kendrick made them pay, as he clobbered a 3-run homerun to deep left field to give them a 6-0 lead. Hughes tried to throw the same inside “front door” slider that he caught Bourjos with earlier in the inning, but Kendrick was ready for it, and that turned out to be the last pitch Hughes threw, as his manager, Joe Girardi, made his way out to the mound to remove him from the game. They replaced him with rookie David Phelps, who actually pitched well for them, allowing just one hit in over 5 innings of relief work (making the possibility of Hughes eventually going to bullpen more likely still)
The Angels made it four scoring innings in a row, when Vernon Wells hit a solo homerun with two outs in the top of the 5th, to make the score 7-0 Angels. That was the only hit and run allowed by the rookie reliever, Phelps (and his first hit allowed as a major leaguer, I think) who was impressive throughout the rest of the game, although it could be argued that the Angels offense was in cruise control like the Yankees offense was in the previous game.
The Yankees only scored one run, in the bottom of the 5th, to make the score 7-1, when Nunez and Jeter singled to start the inning, and Cano drove in a run with a one-out single. Wilson battled back like he did from the get-go, and retired the next two batters to keep the Yankees from turning it into a big inning.
WINNING WILSON
The Yankees got off to a good start against Wilson in the 1st inning, with the first two hitters reaching with singles, and they were given a gift when the Angels failed to turn what should have been a double play (Kendrick inexplicably made a high throw to 1st), but Wilson managed to get out of the jam, and he held the Yanks in check throughout the duration. He allowed just one run despite getting himself into a couple other jams later in the game.
After averting the potential danger in the 1st, he mowed through the NY lineup in the 2nd and 3rd, but faced more adversity in the 4th when he allowed two runners with one out. He helped himself with a great defensive play on a swinging bunt from Jones that dribbled up the 3rd base line, and then jammed the catcher Russell Martin to induce a weak pop out to right to end the innings and strand runners on 2nd and 3rd.
After getting out of the jam in the 5th (when the Yankees scored their first run), Wilson had to squeak out another one in the 6th that was mainly caused by his own bad defense. He retired the first two batters, then accidentally hit Martin with a pitch, and then forced Nunez to hit a chopper back to him, but he made the mistake of looking to 2nd for some reason instead of throwing the ball to 1st immediately, and then rushed the throw and fired it into the dirt, past Pujols. The error put runners at 2nd and 3rd with two outs again, but he threw some great pitches to Jeter and eventually forced a weak pop fly to right to end the inning, and finish his night’s work.
DEFENSE AND PITCHING
After Wilson’s good outing, the Angels’ relievers continued their improved pitching (in this series that is), as Kevin Jepsen, LaTroy Hawkins, and Jordan Walden each pitched consecutive 1-2-3 innings to silence the Yankees and hold on to the 7-1 victory.
The best defensive play of the game was turned in by the Angels centerfielder (and who I term as a gold glove outfielder even though he was robbed last year) Peter Bourjos in the 2nd inning. Andruw Jones belted a line drive to deep center field that probably would have been a double against nearly anyone else, but Bourjos sprinted back to the wall and reached out to rob him of an extra base hit, and help Wilson and his team hold on to the early 2-0 lead.
FANTASY WATCH
Howie Kendrick had a great game, going 3-for-5 with a homerun and 3 RBI, Albert Pujols had one of his best games as an Angel, going 2-for-5 with a double and RBI. Even Vernon Wells got into the mix, getting 2 hits, including a homer and he appears to be hitting the ball hard, while not pulling off on everything like he was last year. Chris Iannetta has impressed me since spring training with great patience and the ability to hit the ball hard to the opposite field, and he added a 2-run homerun to right field, along with two walks, adding to his team-leading RBI totals. Of course I can’t omit, CJ Wilson who once again put an end to an Angel losing streak, with 6 quality innings, allowing 6 hits, and just one run, while striking out 2, while earning the all-important victory.
The only notable player on the Yankees (or at least the only one I want to mention) was the rookie pitcher David Phelps, who pitched 5 1/3 innings in relief, and allowed just one hit and one run (Wells’ homer), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds his way into the starting rotation soon.
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GAME 3
Sunday April 15th did mark the rubber game of the series, but there was a much greater significance to this day, not only in baseball history, but in American history. April 15th is Jackie Robinson day, a celebration the first African American player to wear a major league uniform. Not only is Robinson a baseball hero, he was an American civil rights icon, who played one of the most pivotal roles in American history, helping shape our society for the better forever. All the players wore Robinson’s number 42 on their uniform, and every game in the majors paid tribute to one of the most important people in American history, not just sports history.
The Angels sent out Jerome Williams, making his first start of the season (as the Angels didn’t need a 5ht starter until now) after a good season last year in his sort stint with the team. The Yankees starter was Ivan Nova, who had an outstanding rookie season for the Yankees last season, going 16-4 with a very good ERA of 3.70, especially considering he pitches in the AL East division. The Angels lineup changed once again, as Morales (in a 1-for-23 slump), Bourjos, and Callaspo were given the day off. Wells took over in CF and hit 5th, Mark Trumbo got the nod as the DH, Bobby Abreu took over in left, and Izturis got the start again at 3rd base. The Yankees put Ibanez in left field and used Gardner as the DH for this game, interchanging the two from their game 1 lineup.
SCORING INNINGS
There was a lot of scoring in this game, but unfortunately for the Angels fans, most of it was done by the home team. The Angels did score first, when Mark Trumbo hit a solo homerun to left to give them a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2nd, but that lead didn’t last long. The Yankees tied the score in the bottom of the 2nd, when Cano singled to lead off, Teixeira drew a walk, and Ibanez singled to center to score Cano from 2nd, to make it 1-1.
The game turned for the worst in the bottom of the 3rd, when the Yankees strung together some good at-bats to score 4 runs and knock Williams out of the game very early. It started with the dreaded lead-off walk to the speedy Brett Gardner (on four pitches), then Jeter doubled to right field and Granderson made productive out, grounding out to 2nd, to score the run and move Jeter over to 3rd with one out. Rodriguez singled to left to score Jeter and make it 3-1, Cano drew another four-pitch walk, and Teixeira doubled to right to score another run, making it 4-1, and putting runners at 2nd and 3rd, still with just one out. Swisher hit a sacrifice fly to left, for another productive out, to score another, making it 5-1 Yankees, and that was the end of Jerome Williams’ very short night, as Hisanori Takahashi was brought in.
The Yankees added more runs in their next at bat, again jumpstarted by a leadoff walk, this time to Russell Martin. Gardner followed with a single, and Jeter capped it off with a three-run homer to right field, to make the score 8-1.
The Angels tried to make it a close game, scoring 2 in the top of the 5th, when Chris Iannetta hit another 2-run homerun to right field, following a lead off walk by Izturis, making the score 8-3. Kendrick hit a one-out double, but Pujols and Hunter made outs, failing to add any more runs, so it still looked like a blow out in the making.
They tried to further the comeback attempt in the top of the 6th, when Trumbo drew a 2-out, four-pitch walk (Trumbo was one of very few who hit the ball well off of Nova, so it was understandable), and Izturis drove one off the wall, over the jumping attempt by Swisher, to make the score a little more respectable at 8-4. Iannetta followed with a hard groundball to 3rd, and Rodriguez made a good diving stop, then got up and threw him out, saving what would have been an RBI single, to keep the Angels from making it a big inning.
The Angels last chance to get back into the game came in the 7th, after the Yankees brought in their first reliever, Rafael Soriano, and he proceeded to allow the first three batters to reach base. Aybar led off with a [rare] walk, Kendrick surprised them with a bunt single that dropped in between the pitcher and catcher, and Pujols singled home a run with a soft line drive single to left, to make the score 8-5. With runners at 1st and 2nd, and no outs, Hunter flew out to center, and Wells hit a sharp line drive right to 3rd base (tough luck, but hard hit). Abreu showed his typical patience and drew a walk, to load the bases with two outs for Trumbo, but he failed to take advantage as he hit a fly out to right to end their last chance to get back in the game.
The Yankees scored in the bottom half of the 7th, when Swisher knocked in a run with a single to center, scoring Cano from 2nd after he had walked and stolen 2nd. That gave the Yanks a 9-5 lead, and then Raul Ibanez put the finishing touches on the game with a 2-run homerun later in the inning, to make it 11-5, which ended up being the final score.
FANTASY WATCH
Kendrick had another 3-hit game for the Angels, including a triple (where he was stranded at 3rd in the 1st inning), double and single. Iannetta and Trumbo each hit homeruns, and Maicer Izturis had another good game, going 3-for-3 with a stolen base included.
The Yankees had a few players with hits and RBIs, but the two standouts were Ibanez with 2 hits, including a homerun and 3 RBI, along with Jeter, who had a double plus a 3-run homer.
The Angels travel back home now to face off with the western rival Oakland Athletics, and hopefully they can turn the season around. It’s still early obviously, as it isn’t even 1/16 (6 %) of the way into the 2012 season, but at some point you have to wonder how long can you use that excuse. They need to pitch better and start winning series, and hopefully get on a winning streak, because the Rangers look like they are playing just as well as they did the past two seasons, where they made the world series in both, so the Angels have their work cut out for them….even if it is still early.
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