Who would have expected, of all the ways this game could have ended, that it would have ended the way it did. The 9th inning has always been an inning of doom for the Angels, whether it be blown saves or missed opportunities to win a game from behind, yet today they happened to break through the mold and finish the game strong. This game was a strong example of carrying a team on your back by both Jered Weaver and Mark Trumbo. If only the rest of the team could learn to pick up the weight this team may actually have a chance at overtaking the Rangers before the end of the season.
Remember right after the All-Star break when the Angels shot out of the gate on flats and hit that skid that sent them 5 games behind the texas Rangers? Do you remember how long it took them to come within one game of them in the AL West before they choked and failed to capitalize on multiple opportunities to take the lead in the division? It didn’t take them a month and a half to to that, it only took them 2 weeks to get back within striking distance. The Angels window of opportunity to grab the Rangers is quadruple what they did right after the All-Star break, correct me if I’m wrong but 4x the chance to do what you did a month ago seems like pretty solid odds to me. This could just be last night’s invigorating win talking, but the Angels still have a good chance to make the playoffs as long as they can keep the ball rolling.
Game Notes
- Mark Trumbo recorded two hits last’s night, scoring 1 run and bringing in 2 RBI’s, both coming in a dramatic walk off home run in the 9th inning. Seeing production like that coming off of a rookie injects a lot of life into a rather stiff ballclub (as of late), especially when that rookie was deemed a good trade chip at best. I don’t recall seeing good trade chips lead the race for ROtY this far into the season. Adding insult to injury is the fact that Trumbo hit the walkoff off of Mike Adams, whom the Rangers traded for at the deadline and while everyone handed them the AL West for picking up both him and Koji. Now is the time for the Angels to pick up their pants and finish of the season like a champion.
- Jered Weaver rebounded nicely from him disastrous start in Toronto by giving up only 1 run in 7 innings, though he finished the game with a no decision. Even more impressive then Weavers outing was Cassevah, who continued to show his dominance by giving up just 1 hit and striking out 2 in 1.2 IP. It’s impressive just because the Angels have not been able to find this level of right handed consistency in a long time. Not out of Walden, not out of Rodney, not out of anybody. He may get the short end of the deal because of his no-name status, but the numbers are there to back him up. It’s a good thing Scoiscia has smartened up and given Bobby the consistent playing time he’s been seeing the past few weeks, it would be nice to see another dominant righty appear in the bullpen, but for now we’re just going to have to rely on Bobby to save us in the middle innings.
- Oh, and Horacio Ramirez picked up his first ML win, though he only pitched for 1 out in the process, though that out was a strikeout.
Halo Hero
You know what’s even better then a regular season Halo Hero? A post-season Halo Halo hero, get us there kid.