Last Sunday, I thought maybe the 2013 Los Angeles Angels had finally turned the corner on their disappointing start after they beat the Houston Astros two out of three in Anaheim and, most importantly, getting good pitching in the last two games of that series. But that was temporarily derailed after two straight losses to the Twins in Minnesota. On April 15th, the Twins clubbed the Angels 8-2, lighting up Joe Blanton for four runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings, and then sealing the Angels' fate with three more runs against reliever Mark Lowe. On April 16th, the Angels came a bit closer, battling back to tie the game 4-4 after 3.1 innings, but starter Jason Vargas couldn't hold them, and reliever Jerome Williams continued his on-again, off-again pattern by being tagged for three runs in 3.1 innings. The Angels battled back from an 8-4 deficit with two in the top of the ninth, but fell short, 8-6. The April 17th game was postponed.
Here we go again; Angels now 4-10.
But then a ray of hope appeared back in Anaheim. In the first game of a three-game series against the defending American League champion Detroit Tigers on April 19th, the Angels broke out to a 3-0 lead behind a solid performance by Tommy Hanson. But Angel fans, knowing the pitching problems, couldn't relax -- until the bottom of the eighth inning, when the Angels broke loose for five runs to take an 8-0 lead. The big blow was a bases-loaded triple by Peter Bourjos, who went three-for-four in the game. The Angels made a controversial move by batting Bourjos first and moving Mike Trout down to the number two spot in the order, and it seems to be working. The Tigers fired back with a token run in the top of the ninth before bowing 8-1.
On April 20th, the Angels decided not to keep their fans in suspense for seven innings. In the bottom of the first, they exploded for nine runs enroute to a 10-0 win over the Tigers. The big blow was a grand slam home run by Mike Trout in his second at bat of the inning, turning a 5-0 start into a 9-0 route and sending Tigers' starter Rick Porcello to the showers. But the other good news for the Angels was Garrett Richards' second good start of the season -- this time, seven innings of shutout ball. He allowed only two hits, walked none, and struck out eight, lowering his season ERA to 2.55. If he keeps this up, Mike Scioscia needs to put him in the rotation full time, and bump either Joe Blanton or Jason Vargas, whichever of the two is worse. We could answer that question as early as April 22nd when Blanton opens against the Texas Rangers. On the Tigers' side of the house, Drew Smyly pitched 5.2 innings of shutout relief, striking out seven; with Rick Porcello struggling, Smyly may have just become a candidate to replace him in the rotation.
On April 21st, Angel fans had to wait 13 innings for a decision. After spotting the Tigers a 1-0 lead, the Angels lashed out with three runs in the bottom of the third, sparked by Albert Pujols' two-run double. However, the Tigers knotted it up at 3-3 in the top of the fifth after Prince Fielder launched one into the seats with a man on. From there, the two teams exchanged goose eggs until the bottom of the thirteenth, although Angels' reliever Ernesto Frieri dodged a serious bullet in the top of the ninth. Frieri faced a bases-loaded situation with two out after giving up a hit and walking two, but he induced Victor Martinez to fly out. Then in the bottom of the 13th, with nobody out, Mark Trumbo launched Phil Coke's 3-1 pitch into the left field seats to seal the Tigers' doom, 4-3. As a result, the Tigers fall to 9-9, while the Angels improve to 7-10. Getting the win was the on-again, off-again Jerome Williams, who was "on" again with three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. Now if Williams could just learn to be a bit more consistent...
Prognosis: This week, the turnaround may be for real. While the games were at Anaheim, the opponent was not the Houston Astros, a team in transition. The opponent was the Detroit Tigers, a legitimate contender. Furthermore, the Angels outscored the Tigers 22-4 in the series, although 14 of the runs came in two big innings. The April 21st game may be a bit more representative of how the Angels can play against another contender.
But...the Angels have the Texas Rangers on their menu next. Although they'll be playing in Anaheim, the Rangers just came off a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners in Texas, outscoring the Mariners 23-3. The Mariners are also in transition, but are not that bad. The Rangers are now 12-6, while the Mariners dwindle to 7-13. The Angels are outhitting the Rangers .287 to .245 so far this season, but the Rangers are outpitching them by a wider margin, with an ERA of 2.72 vs. 4.81 for the Angels. Scheduled starters for the Angels are Joe Blanton (0-3), Jason Vargas (0-2), and Tommy Hanson (2-1). Even at home, it will be tough for the Angels to win two out of three, which is what they need to keep their momentum going. A sweep of the Rangers would be real icing on the cake, but that's highly improbable. And now we've learned that Albert Pujols is not at 100 percent -- he's struggling with plantar fasciitis, an inflammation in his left foot. Pujols said he felt discomfort while running to second base on his double. Josh Hamilton is down to .176, going through what Pujols did last April. On the other hand, relief pitcher Michael Kohn has made a successful return from injury, pitching a scoreless inning in the 10-0 win over Detroit, so that will further stabilize the bullpen.
ESPN Power Rankings posted on April 22nd have the Angels at number 19, up four places from the previous week. They write "A walk-off home run from Mark Trumbo on Sunday capped a three-game sweep of the defending AL champion Tigers. It was the Halos' first sweep of the year, indicating they may have found the groove they've been searching for all season. The Angels need to keep the ball rolling as the Rangers roll into town on Monday".
Facts and Stats:
-- Current Standings
-- Latest Individual Hitting Stats
-- Latest Individual Pitching Stats
