The New York Yankees may own a lot of World Championships, but there is one team they certainly do not own - the 2002 World Champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Angels are the only team in all of baseball to sport a winning record against the Yankees over the past 10 seasons. Since Mike Scioscia took over As their manager before the start of the 2000 season, the Angels owned a 44-36 record against the pinstripes going into today's contest.
This afternoon, the Angels and Yankees played the rubber game of their three game series at Angels Stadium. Dustin Moseley pitched a strong five innings and Francisco Rodriguez struck out Hideki Matsui to record his 56th save in a 4-2 Angels victory. With the win, the Angels clinched a tie for the American League West crown. They then watched in the lockerroom as Seattle Mariners closer J.J. Putz struck out Texas Rangers shortstop Michael Young in a 4-3 win to clinch the title for the second straight season and 4th time in the past five years.
Congratulations to the Angels on clinching, and here's hoping that the crosstown Dodgers (who lead the N.L. West by three games as of this writing) can join them in the post season. Maybe that Freeway World Series isn't such a farfetched thought after all!
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Showing posts with label Angels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Angels. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Angels Land Big Teix!
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim won the "Big Teix Sweepstakes" this afternoon, landing superstar Mark Teixiera from the Atlanta Braves for first baseman Kasey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steve Marek. The Angels have baseball's best record at 66-40, but at have times have struggled offensively. The addition of "Big Teix" assures Vladimir Guerrero some protection in the three spot, while it should also give Torii Hunter and Garret Anderson lots of RBI opportunities behind him.
Well known as a big second half performer, Teixiera already has 20 home runs and 78 RBI's to go with a .283 batting average. The Angels celebrated his acquisition by polishing off defending World Champion Boston Red Sox for the second straight night in Fenway Park, 6-2. Angels starting pitcher John Lackey took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Dustin Pedroia broke up the no-no with a one out single. Kevin Youkilis then followed with a two-run homer to take away the shutout.
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Well known as a big second half performer, Teixiera already has 20 home runs and 78 RBI's to go with a .283 batting average. The Angels celebrated his acquisition by polishing off defending World Champion Boston Red Sox for the second straight night in Fenway Park, 6-2. Angels starting pitcher John Lackey took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Dustin Pedroia broke up the no-no with a one out single. Kevin Youkilis then followed with a two-run homer to take away the shutout.
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Saturday, June 28, 2008
Dodgers get no-hit but WIN!
It was definitely one of the most bizarre major league baseball games I've ever witnessed. Game two of this weekend's three game interleague freeway series between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Los Angeles Dodgers took place at Chavez Ravine tonight. Not surprisingly, it was your classic pitcher's duel... what was surprising was the result of the game and how it all came about.
Jeff Weaver of the Angels was unhittable in his six innings of work, allowing only three walks to the Dodgers. However, Weaver made one crucial error, botching a little dribbler by the speedy Matt Kemp in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kemp attempted to steal second a couple of pitches later, and Angels catcher Jeff Mathis' attempt to catch him was way off, sailing into center field for another error to put Kemp on third. A fly ball to right field by Blake DeWitt was far enough to score Kemp and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Reliever Jose Arredondo pitched a perfect 7th and 8th inning to preserve Weaver's no-hitter. The Angels could do nothing though with the Dodgers pitching either. Chad Billingsley only allowed three hits and three walks while striking out seven in his seven innings of work.
Jonathan Broxton held the lead while giving up a harmless single in the eighth. Takeshi Saito got two quick outs before allowing a double to Howie Kendrick and a walk to Mike Napoli to make things interesting. Saito then closed the door, striking out pinch hitter Reggie Willits to end the game. The box score for the Dodgers: ONE RUN, NO HITS, TWO ERRORS... How bizarre! Not even legendary announcer Vin Scully could remember seeing such a feat. What a game!
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Jeff Weaver of the Angels was unhittable in his six innings of work, allowing only three walks to the Dodgers. However, Weaver made one crucial error, botching a little dribbler by the speedy Matt Kemp in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kemp attempted to steal second a couple of pitches later, and Angels catcher Jeff Mathis' attempt to catch him was way off, sailing into center field for another error to put Kemp on third. A fly ball to right field by Blake DeWitt was far enough to score Kemp and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Reliever Jose Arredondo pitched a perfect 7th and 8th inning to preserve Weaver's no-hitter. The Angels could do nothing though with the Dodgers pitching either. Chad Billingsley only allowed three hits and three walks while striking out seven in his seven innings of work.
Jonathan Broxton held the lead while giving up a harmless single in the eighth. Takeshi Saito got two quick outs before allowing a double to Howie Kendrick and a walk to Mike Napoli to make things interesting. Saito then closed the door, striking out pinch hitter Reggie Willits to end the game. The box score for the Dodgers: ONE RUN, NO HITS, TWO ERRORS... How bizarre! Not even legendary announcer Vin Scully could remember seeing such a feat. What a game!
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Monday, April 7, 2008
Hunter Leads Angel Walk-Off!
It was a strange night at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. The Angels went into the top of the ninth with a 2-1 lead over the visiting Cleveland Indians courtest of a Torii Hunter solo home run in the eighth inning. Francisco Rodriguez (aka: K-Rod) came in to close the game for the Halos and clearly wasn't right. K-Rod quickly gave up the lead, and left the game with ankle soreness. Scot Shields allowed another run to score, and the Angels trailed 4-2 headed to the bottom of the ninth.
As any fantasy baseball player will tell you, Cleveland Indians closer Joe Borowski is about as shaky as you get (I own him in one league, and I have him benched this week). Well, Borowski was his usual rocky self, and loaded the bases with one out. Hunter came up again, and for the second time in as many innings deposited a shot deep into the left field seats. A walk-off Grand Slam home run for Torii Hunter and the Angels and a dramatic 6-4 win! WOW!!! Welcome to California, Torii!
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As any fantasy baseball player will tell you, Cleveland Indians closer Joe Borowski is about as shaky as you get (I own him in one league, and I have him benched this week). Well, Borowski was his usual rocky self, and loaded the bases with one out. Hunter came up again, and for the second time in as many innings deposited a shot deep into the left field seats. A walk-off Grand Slam home run for Torii Hunter and the Angels and a dramatic 6-4 win! WOW!!! Welcome to California, Torii!
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Sunday, October 7, 2007
Red Sox Sweep Out Angels
On Friday night, the Angels pitched around David "Big Papi" Ortiz one too many times. Five at bats, a hit and four walks. His "big brother" Manny Ramirez made him pay that final time, hitting a prodigious 3-run shot out of Fenway Park off of Francisco Rodriguez to give the Red Sox a stunning 6-3 victory in game two of their American League Divisional Series. Perhaps the best strategy may have been to just pitch around both of them!
In game three of their best-of-five series against the Red Sox, the Angels Jered Weaver faced Curt Schilling (aka: the pitcher with the best post-season winning percentage in major league history). For three innings, the pitchers dueled without allowing a run. Then, in the blink of an eye, the Red Sox had a quick two run lead courtesy of Big Papi and Manny, each of whom deposited balls deep into the seats off of Weaver for solo home runs. The game and series for all intents and purposes was over at that point as there's not a better "big game" pitcher in baseball today than Schilling. The post-season master would pitch to form, shutting out the Angels for seven innings, giving up only six hits and a walk, while striking out four.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Red Sox would put the game completely out of reach, as they tallied seven runs off of Scot Shields, Justin Speier and Darren Oliver. With a 9-0 lead, the Sox felt safe in pulling Schilling... Howie Kendrick would plate Maicer Izturis in the bottom of the ninth off of Eric Gagne to spoil the Red Sox shut out, but that would be the only blemish on their parade today. Robb Quinlan's fly out to right fielder J.D. Drew ended the game and the Angels' season.
The Red Sox now await the winner of the series between the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees for a chance to play in the 2007 World Series. The Indians lead the series two games to none going into tonight's game three of that series.
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In game three of their best-of-five series against the Red Sox, the Angels Jered Weaver faced Curt Schilling (aka: the pitcher with the best post-season winning percentage in major league history). For three innings, the pitchers dueled without allowing a run. Then, in the blink of an eye, the Red Sox had a quick two run lead courtesy of Big Papi and Manny, each of whom deposited balls deep into the seats off of Weaver for solo home runs. The game and series for all intents and purposes was over at that point as there's not a better "big game" pitcher in baseball today than Schilling. The post-season master would pitch to form, shutting out the Angels for seven innings, giving up only six hits and a walk, while striking out four.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Red Sox would put the game completely out of reach, as they tallied seven runs off of Scot Shields, Justin Speier and Darren Oliver. With a 9-0 lead, the Sox felt safe in pulling Schilling... Howie Kendrick would plate Maicer Izturis in the bottom of the ninth off of Eric Gagne to spoil the Red Sox shut out, but that would be the only blemish on their parade today. Robb Quinlan's fly out to right fielder J.D. Drew ended the game and the Angels' season.
The Red Sox now await the winner of the series between the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees for a chance to play in the 2007 World Series. The Indians lead the series two games to none going into tonight's game three of that series.
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Saturday, September 8, 2007
Dodgers Give One Away...
A strange thing happened to me last night while flipping back and forth between the Dodgers/Giants and Angels/Indians games last night on my local stations: I fell asleep!!! I guess the day had me tired or something, but it was only around 9 pm PT when I conked out. Now maybe it was because I felt pretty secure with the 3-1 lead that Chad Billingsley was holding after he retired the Giants in order in the bottom of the sixth inning or that I felt secure in how Jon Lackey was mowing down the Indians while the Halos held a 2-1 lead. Or maybe it was some combination of both.
Regardless, when I woke up (still asleep on the couch) three hours and fifteen minutes later with the games being long over, I soon discovered that neither Billingsley or Lackey had been credited with a win. Closer inspection showed that the Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal had made a critical throwing error on a ground ball in the bottom of the 7th inning after a Barry Bonds single had ended Billingsley's night. The Furcal error ended up giving the Giants four outs in that inning and they took full advantage, putting up three runs! James Loney managed to tie the game at 4 in the top of the 9th for the Dodgers with his second home run of the game, but Jonathan Broxton would give up a walk-off homer to the unheralded Dan Ortmeier to give the Giants an improbable 5-4 win. The loss was a crucial one for the Dodgers as a win would have moved them within 1 1/2 games of the San Diego Padres for the NL Wild Card.
As for the Angels, well better news to report there. Francisco Rodriguez came in to close out things in the ninth and gave up a solo home run to Ryan Garko to tie the game at 2. For K-Rod it was his sixth blown save of the year. The game went extra innings. Scot Shields actually relieved K-Rod with two out in the ninth and pitched a scoreless 10th as well. Chone Figgins, in his first start since he was injured two weeks ago, led off a double to right (his 3rd hit of the game). Orlando Cabrera flew out and then the red-hot Garret Anderson was intentionally walked. G.A. had singled in Figgins in the first inning to extend his consecutive games string of driving in at least one run to 12. The RBI gave him 22 of them over that time. Kendry Morales was then called on to deliver a game winning hit. After an 0-for-4 night in which he had grounded into a double play and left five men on base, Kendry was feeling pretty down on himself... He got redemption though as he lined a single to right to plate Figgins and give the Angels a dramatic 3-2 win! With the victory, the Angels now own a nine game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West and have a magic number of only 14 to clinch the title.
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Regardless, when I woke up (still asleep on the couch) three hours and fifteen minutes later with the games being long over, I soon discovered that neither Billingsley or Lackey had been credited with a win. Closer inspection showed that the Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal had made a critical throwing error on a ground ball in the bottom of the 7th inning after a Barry Bonds single had ended Billingsley's night. The Furcal error ended up giving the Giants four outs in that inning and they took full advantage, putting up three runs! James Loney managed to tie the game at 4 in the top of the 9th for the Dodgers with his second home run of the game, but Jonathan Broxton would give up a walk-off homer to the unheralded Dan Ortmeier to give the Giants an improbable 5-4 win. The loss was a crucial one for the Dodgers as a win would have moved them within 1 1/2 games of the San Diego Padres for the NL Wild Card.
As for the Angels, well better news to report there. Francisco Rodriguez came in to close out things in the ninth and gave up a solo home run to Ryan Garko to tie the game at 2. For K-Rod it was his sixth blown save of the year. The game went extra innings. Scot Shields actually relieved K-Rod with two out in the ninth and pitched a scoreless 10th as well. Chone Figgins, in his first start since he was injured two weeks ago, led off a double to right (his 3rd hit of the game). Orlando Cabrera flew out and then the red-hot Garret Anderson was intentionally walked. G.A. had singled in Figgins in the first inning to extend his consecutive games string of driving in at least one run to 12. The RBI gave him 22 of them over that time. Kendry Morales was then called on to deliver a game winning hit. After an 0-for-4 night in which he had grounded into a double play and left five men on base, Kendry was feeling pretty down on himself... He got redemption though as he lined a single to right to plate Figgins and give the Angels a dramatic 3-2 win! With the victory, the Angels now own a nine game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the AL West and have a magic number of only 14 to clinch the title.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Garret Anderson EN FUEGO!
Another day, another Garret Anderson home run, another Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels win! It's beginning to sound like a broken record, but this is good news if you happen to be an Angels fan or where fortunate enough to grab "G.A." in your fantasy league when he first started getting hot. With a 4-3 win last night, the Angels have now won seven of their past nine games and opened up a 7 1/2 game lead in the American League West race. Over that nine game stretch, G.A.'s been nothing short of amazing - 6 home runs, 17 RBI's, 10 runs scored, and even a stolen base to go along with a .438 batting average!!! If you go back to cover his past 14 games, he has 8 home runs and 27 RBI's!!! Actually, G.A.'s been an absolute RBI machine for about the past month and a half - in his 45 games beginning July 19th, he has hit .293 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI's to go along with 27 runs scored. For those of you other numbers fiends out there, that's a 187 RBI pace!!! - Incredibly, that RBI pace is still short of the 191 that Hack Wilson put up in 1930 in only 154 games! Just shows you how truly great that 1930 season of Wilson's was.
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After a very difficult stretch where they lost 11 of 12 games, the Los Angeles Dodgers have suddenly seen their fortunes change. Brad Penny bobbed and weaved through seven innings at Wrigley Field in Chicago, allowing only one earned run despite giving up seven hits and three walks. Penny was clearly not at his best as he only struck out two batters, but he made good pitches when it counted, inducing the Cubs to ground into three double plays. Matt Kemp continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-5 to raise his batting average to .344. Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito contined to pitch masterfully in the closing innings, each pitching a scoreless frame to secure Penny's 16th win on the year. Broxton now has a 2.13 ERA on the year, while Saito's ERA is a microscopic 1.31. Saito has a reasonable chance of breaking Eric Gagne's Dodger record ERA for a closer of 1.20 which was set in 2003. With their 13th win in their past 19 games, the Dodgers are now within just three games of the Arizona Dimaondbacks and San Diego Padres for the National League West division lead and Wild Card spot. The Dodgers looked hopelessly out of things just three weeks ago... Now, they look like they just might indeed be the playoff team we saw during the early part of the season.
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Meanwhile, back on the other coast, the Washington Nationals continue to demonstrate the resilency which has marked their first season under manager, Manny Acta. After a horrific second half of August, which saw them lose 12 of 15 games, including the final seven, the Nats came into yesterday's game against the Florida Marlins in the midst of a three game winning streak. Shawn Hill pitched an effective 6 1/3 innings for the Nats, allowing three runs and eleven hits, walking none and striking out six. Unfortunately for Hill, he left the game without a chance to win as Dontrelle Willis kept the Nats in check for seven innings, only allowing single runs in the first and third innings. Willis got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh as with one out, Nook Logan doubled and Felipe Lopez singled. Lee Gardner was then summoned from the Marlins pen and promptly got Ryan Zimmerman to hit a line drive right at the second baseman Alfredo Amezega, who doubled Lopez off of first...
Chris Schroeder pitched a scoreless ninth for the Nats, and the Marlins would then bring on their closer Kevin Gregg. Gregg has been a pleasant surprise for the Marlins this year, closing 28 games in 30 opportunities. Given his 93% success rate, the Nats chances at winning seemed slim at best. Gregg immediately got into trouble though as he walked leadoff man Dmitri Young. Ryan Langerhans (yes, he cleared waivers) then pinch ran for Da' Meathook... After an Austin Kearns strikeout, Wily Mo Pena singled to put Nats at first and third. Ronnie Belliard then fouled out weakly to first, and that set the stage for Jesus Flores. Earlier in the game, Flores dropped not one, but two foul pop-ups. While they didn't have any impact in the game, they did force a few extra pitches to be thrown. Flores then lined a ball deep to left field chasing home both Langerhans and the slow footed Pena to give the Nats an improbable come-from-behind 4-3 win!
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In other sports news, Phil Mickelson announced he will not play in this week's FedEx Cup event - Tiger Woods and Ernie Els had missed prior events. Perhaps tour commissioner Tim Finchem needs to listen to the tour's players a little more - it's a huge revenue and ratings loss when one of the big names isn't there. Maybe next year he will cut back on the pro-am tournaments that are part of the series and also spread out the tournaments so that the players can have a little more time with their families as their children begin the school year.
At the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, there will be no "battle of the sisters" as Serena Williams was ousted by #1 seed Justin Henin by a 7-6, 6-1 score... #3 seed Jelena Jankovic takes on the 12th seeded Venus tonight, the winner will get to take on Henin... On the men's side, #2 Rafael Nadal was upset by #15 seed David Ferrer in four sets by a 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 score. Tonight, the much awaited feature match pits #1 seed Roger Federer against #5 Andy Roddick. We all hope A-Rod can win, but he's been unable to do much against Tiger's buddy Federer the past several years...
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After a very difficult stretch where they lost 11 of 12 games, the Los Angeles Dodgers have suddenly seen their fortunes change. Brad Penny bobbed and weaved through seven innings at Wrigley Field in Chicago, allowing only one earned run despite giving up seven hits and three walks. Penny was clearly not at his best as he only struck out two batters, but he made good pitches when it counted, inducing the Cubs to ground into three double plays. Matt Kemp continued his hot hitting, going 4-for-5 to raise his batting average to .344. Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito contined to pitch masterfully in the closing innings, each pitching a scoreless frame to secure Penny's 16th win on the year. Broxton now has a 2.13 ERA on the year, while Saito's ERA is a microscopic 1.31. Saito has a reasonable chance of breaking Eric Gagne's Dodger record ERA for a closer of 1.20 which was set in 2003. With their 13th win in their past 19 games, the Dodgers are now within just three games of the Arizona Dimaondbacks and San Diego Padres for the National League West division lead and Wild Card spot. The Dodgers looked hopelessly out of things just three weeks ago... Now, they look like they just might indeed be the playoff team we saw during the early part of the season.
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Meanwhile, back on the other coast, the Washington Nationals continue to demonstrate the resilency which has marked their first season under manager, Manny Acta. After a horrific second half of August, which saw them lose 12 of 15 games, including the final seven, the Nats came into yesterday's game against the Florida Marlins in the midst of a three game winning streak. Shawn Hill pitched an effective 6 1/3 innings for the Nats, allowing three runs and eleven hits, walking none and striking out six. Unfortunately for Hill, he left the game without a chance to win as Dontrelle Willis kept the Nats in check for seven innings, only allowing single runs in the first and third innings. Willis got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh as with one out, Nook Logan doubled and Felipe Lopez singled. Lee Gardner was then summoned from the Marlins pen and promptly got Ryan Zimmerman to hit a line drive right at the second baseman Alfredo Amezega, who doubled Lopez off of first...
Chris Schroeder pitched a scoreless ninth for the Nats, and the Marlins would then bring on their closer Kevin Gregg. Gregg has been a pleasant surprise for the Marlins this year, closing 28 games in 30 opportunities. Given his 93% success rate, the Nats chances at winning seemed slim at best. Gregg immediately got into trouble though as he walked leadoff man Dmitri Young. Ryan Langerhans (yes, he cleared waivers) then pinch ran for Da' Meathook... After an Austin Kearns strikeout, Wily Mo Pena singled to put Nats at first and third. Ronnie Belliard then fouled out weakly to first, and that set the stage for Jesus Flores. Earlier in the game, Flores dropped not one, but two foul pop-ups. While they didn't have any impact in the game, they did force a few extra pitches to be thrown. Flores then lined a ball deep to left field chasing home both Langerhans and the slow footed Pena to give the Nats an improbable come-from-behind 4-3 win!
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In other sports news, Phil Mickelson announced he will not play in this week's FedEx Cup event - Tiger Woods and Ernie Els had missed prior events. Perhaps tour commissioner Tim Finchem needs to listen to the tour's players a little more - it's a huge revenue and ratings loss when one of the big names isn't there. Maybe next year he will cut back on the pro-am tournaments that are part of the series and also spread out the tournaments so that the players can have a little more time with their families as their children begin the school year.
At the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York, there will be no "battle of the sisters" as Serena Williams was ousted by #1 seed Justin Henin by a 7-6, 6-1 score... #3 seed Jelena Jankovic takes on the 12th seeded Venus tonight, the winner will get to take on Henin... On the men's side, #2 Rafael Nadal was upset by #15 seed David Ferrer in four sets by a 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 score. Tonight, the much awaited feature match pits #1 seed Roger Federer against #5 Andy Roddick. We all hope A-Rod can win, but he's been unable to do much against Tiger's buddy Federer the past several years...
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