Troubling 3-year trend for Angels
The Angels are struggling to hit with runners in scoring position, .211 in five playoff games, just like 2007 and ‘08.
Lost amidst a three-game sweep of the Red Sox and five relatively effective performances from the starting pitchers is a most unwelcome playoff trend for the Angels.
The Angels are again having difficulty hitting with runners in scoring position, going 4 for 18 in the first two games of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees. They were 3 for 15 in Saturday’s 4-3 13-inning loss in Game 2.
If the Angels are to salvage the ALCS, they’re going to need to start hitting in the clutch, beginning with Game 3 today at Angel Stadium.
Click here to read the full article – By MICHAEL BECKER of PE.com
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Sox left dead Red
Torii Hunter emerged from the visitors’ clubhouse at Fenway Park to spray champagne over the fans and family gathered there. Erick Aybar did him one better, handing over bottles of bubbly to those who came from California to see the Los Angeles Angels go for the sweep.
History gave no reason to hope for such a celebration.
The Angels and Vladimir Guerrero shrugged off their postseason failures and swept away the Red Sox on Sunday, scoring three runs off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning to beat Boston 7-6 and advance to the AL championship series.
It was the first postseason sweep in Angels franchise history. And they did it against the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs the previous four times they met.
“I told you guys earlier: It’s going to be a different scene,” Hunter said in the clubhouse afterward. “Vladdy came through. That’s probably one of the biggest hits of his career. They’ve been waiting for him to do it, and he did it.”
Papelbon was one strike away from extending the series with three different batters, but Aybar singled on a two-strike pitch, Chone Figgins walked after fouling off a full-count offering and Bobby Abreu fouled off three straight pitches before doubling in one run.
Hunter was walked intentionally before Guerrero singled the first pitch to center and Figgins and Abreu raced home to give Los Angeles a 7-6 lead. Major league saves leader Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth, and when Aybar caught Dustin Pedroia’s popup to end the game, pumping his right arm even as he tracked the ball with his left, the Angels advanced.
“It’s nice to be going home and playing again, instead of going home and it’s over,” said pitcher John Lackey, who was part of the Angels teams that were eliminated by Boston in three times in the previous five years. “This is the most fun for me, and I’ve got a ring. That says a lot.”
Click here to read the full article – By JIMMY GOLEN of DailyDemocrat.com
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Angels’ Mike Scioscia going ‘right’ off bat against Boston
Angels manager will start right-handers John Lackey and Jered Weaver in first two games of division series, with lefties Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders slated for Games 3 and 4 in Fenway.
Reporting from Oakland – There were no surprises Sunday when Manager Mike Scioscia announced his playoff rotation and roster. John Lackey, as expected, will start Game 1 of the division series against the Boston Red Sox in Angel Stadium and will be followed by Jered Weaver in Game 2.
Left-handers Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders are scheduled to pitch Games 3 and 4, respectively, in Fenway Park, with right-hander Ervin Santana going to the bullpen for the first round.
The Angels will go with a 10-man pitching staff, with Brian Fuentes, Kevin Jepsen, Darren Oliver, Matt Palmer and, assuming he recovers from shoulder tightness that knocked him out of Saturday’s game, Jason Bulger joining Santana in the bullpen.
The bench will feature a third catcher — Bobby Wilson — outfielders Reggie Willits and Gary Matthews Jr., and corner infielder/outfielder Robb Quinlan, who edged out Brandon Wood for the final roster spot.
Willits, Scioscia said, “gives us versatility in that we can plug him into situations late, whether it’s to pinch-run, get a bunt down or play defense. He brings a lot there.”
Click here to read the full article – By Mike DiGiovanna of LAtimes.com
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Morales proving value day after day
After winning the American League Player of the Month honors after setting the Angels’ club record with 33 RBIs in August, first baseman Kendry Morales suddenly fell into a rut in early September.
The switch-hitter went into a 3-for-28 skid and all of the talk about being a legitimate American League Most Valuable Player candidate began to lose a bit of its steam.
Morales was even held out of the Angels’ starting lineup on Monday to get a day of rest and to clear his head of his recent slump.
But Morales was still called on to pinch-hit in the seventh inning against the Yankees and he delivered a towering home run to right field off reliever Brian Bruney in the Angels’ 5-2 win.
And then he followed that up with a 4-for-4 performance with a walk the next day, and he was swinging the bat like he did just a few weeks earlier. Morales even singled in his first at-bat on Wednesday to reach base safely in seven straight plate appearances over three days.
Click here to read the full article – By Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com
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Santana’s progress key to Angels
Even though his club’s magic number to clinch the American League West is just six with nearly two weeks left in the regular season, Angels manager Mike Scioscia still isn’t quite ready to talk about the postseason.
Scioscia simply won’t talk about potential postseason matchups or his possible postseason rotation until the day his team officially clinches a division title for the fifth time in six years.
“We’re not popping the champagne yet,” Scioscia said. “We’ve got to get there, and we’ve got our work cut out for us to reach our first goal. Right now, we have tough games all the way through, so we have to keep focused on where we’re going.”
Click here to read the full article – By Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com
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