Saturday, April 13, 2013

Have The 2013 Los Angeles Angels Finally Turned The Corner After A Come-From-Behind 5-4 Win Over The Houston Astros?

The Los Angeles Angels, who stumbled into Game #2 of a three-game home series against the Houston Astros on Saturday April 13th, 2013, appeared to be on their way to another loss when they trailed 4-1 after seven innings. But they staged a come-from-behind 5-4 over the Astros, leading this Angel fan to wonder if perhaps the worst is over and the high-priced, multi-talented Angels will start playing up to their championship potential.

The Angels entered the game mired in a five-game losing streak. They had been swept three straight at home by Oakland, outscored 28-11. They lost the opener to Houston 5-0, barely making a peep offensively. Their 2-8 start matched the 1961 Angels for the team's worst start in history. And after seven innings of Saturday's game, it looked like another setback as they trailed Houston 4-1.

But then in the bottom of the eighth, the Angels woke up. Albert Pujols led off with a single. Then with one out, Mark Trumbo doubled, sending Pujols to third. Howie Kendrick hit what was supposed to be a sacrifice fly to right field, but Astros right fielder J. D. Martinez turned it into an error, scoring Pujols and sending Trumbo to third, while Kendrick hustled to second base on Martinez' slow recovery. It was now 4-2 Astros, still one out. Then Chris Ianetta hit a sacrifice fly to center field for the second out, scoring Trumbo, but when Kendrick reversed course and tried to go back to second, he was thrown out. Inning ended with the Astros leading 4-3.

Could the unthinkable happen? With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Luis Jimenez walked. Then with two out, Mike Trout singled, sending Jimenez to second. Up stepped Pujols -- a much different hitter than he was in 2012. Pujols smacked a 1-0 pitch deep into left field for a double, scoring both Jimenez and Trout. Angels win, 5-4. Also noteworthy was Josh Hamilton's first home run of the season; he's struggled offensively, perhaps trying too hard to impress his new teammates and the Angels' fans.

For the second day in a row, the Angels' much-maligned and much-ravaged pitching staff performed competitively. Garrett Richards, starting in place of the injured Jered Weaver, allowed a credible four runs, three hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings, in the process becoming the first Angels starter this season to get past the sixth inning. After Sean Burnett pitched two-thirds of a scoreless inning, allowing a hit that allowed one of Richards' runs to score and a sacrifice fly that led to another run, putting the Astros up 4-1 at that point, Michael Roth, who had just been called up from Double-A Arkansas to replace the injured Kevin Jepsen, pitched the last two innings and slammed the door shut, striking out four and allowing no hits or walks. Roth deservedly got the win in what is only his second year in pro baseball, and Halos Daily says Roth can hit the low 90s with his fastball, gets a unique break on his breaking ball because of a low 3/4 arm slot, and shows a pretty solid changeup. Roth has even blogged about his minor league experiences.

The Angels' pitching has been a source of trouble all season so far, beginning in spring training. In Cactus League competition, the Angels coughed up 229 runs, worst in all of baseball, leading to a 10-20 record. However, most of the runs were given up by pitchers who didn't make the big club, so there weren't too many worries. Then came the three-game disaster against Oakland, when they were outscored by 17 runs. After the first loss to Houston, the team ERA soared to 5.38. The vultures began circling over the head of the previously untouchable manager Mike Scioscia. On Sunday, C.J. Wilson will take the hill for the final game against Houston; since Wilson is now the de facto ace with Weaver laid up, a strong performance from him is necessary to get the Angels on a roll. A three-game series in Minnesota early next week gives the Angels an opportunity to pick up some ground before concluding the week with a tough series against the Tigers in Detroit.

Facts and Stats:

-- Current Standings
-- Latest Individual Hitting Stats
-- Latest Individual Pitching Stats