In a game that was much closer than it should have been, the Angels just barely pulled away with a win thanks to the bat of Mighty Maicer and the arm of Jerome Williams. Williams, a man who hadn’t won a game in the Majors since 2005, is now 3-0 in his last three starts. That isn’t the best part however; out of those three starts two of them have brought the Angels 1 game closer to the Texas Rangers. Jerome Williams came out of nowhere to plug the 5th spot in the rotation, he had been pitching in the CPBL (Chinese Professional Baseball League) before the Angels picked him up, and now he’s pushing them forward in the pennant race. It’s not every day you pick a diamond out of the rough; let’s just hope he gets to show off his newfound talent in the postseason.
Game Notes
- Jerome Williams flirted with a no hitter through the first 6 innings, giving up only a solo shot to Robinson to lead off the 6th. His 8 inning stretch last night was the longest he’s pitched in a game since 2007. If Williams can keep this winless streak up, even if the Angels don’t make the playoffs, he’ll be a bright spot for the Angels rotation in 2012. I can’t think of a single thing not to like about Williams, he has a great story behind him, he has good personality on the mound, and to top it of; he’s pretty pretty, pretty, pretty good.
- The offense, in a move that shocked every Angels fan, actually came through in the late innings to secure the win. What shocked me the most about this game was Charlie Furbush and the Angels inability to hit him through the majority of the game. This is a guy they’ve seen twice before, a guy who they’ve tagged multiple times before, the guy with the silliest name in all of baseball, and they were barely able to pull three runs off of him. A win is a win, but did they have to make it so difficult to take a win from Charlie Furbush of all people? If they were barely able to come away with this win I’m a little worried about how the upcoming series with Yankees is going to turn out.
- Mike Trout has hit a real skid, going 0 for his last 12; you could say it’s his first real skid in the majors. I can see through his ploy however, luckily for all us at this site, and I can tell you there is nothing to worry about. He is simply in “hibernation”, saving up as much game in that body as possible for the Yankees. He knows the Mariners aren’t the real challenge and that the Angels are going to need all the help they can get against a hot, playoff bound Yankee’s team. You can go ahead and call me crazy now, but when Mike Trout leads off the 1st inning of tomorrow’s game with a grand slam out of the 9 hole I’ll be the one laughing the hardest.
Halo Hero
Jerome Williams may have set the stage for victory, but Maicer Izturis delievered the game from the clutches of evil.
P.S. I really like that picture.