Thursday, June 15, 2006 |
Two Games
Promising: Dodgers 7, Padres 3
It wasn't a win, but Chad Billingsley posted a fine first start; oh, sure, you could criticize the number of pitches he threw, but 60 of 98 of them went in for strikes. That he got the only two RBIs of his outing was, of course, extra sweet. Thanks to a hit-by-pitch, Billingsley now sports a 1.000 batting average, a highlight in a game of highlights. It may not be the kind of amazing start I've seen lately from Jered Weaver, but even accounting for the positives helping Billingsley along the way — his debut happened in a notable pitcher's park, and against a team struggling to score runs — there's plenty to be excited about.Our friend Jen reminded us that Bruce Boche actually handed this game to the Dodgers in a way; rookie Brian Sikorski, who had pitched a scoreless sixth, came back in the top of the seventh and gave up a single to Russ Martin. Rather than letting him face Ramon Martinez (remember, Sikorski had successfully shut down Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Willy Aybar in order in the sixth), Boche brought in Proven Veteran Reliever Jon Adkins. Adkins didn't leave until four runs were on the board for the Dodgers, for which the Dodgers were no doubt grateful. The win salvaged an already lost series; the Blue Crew moves on to play Oakland on the road, and so, as much for the Angels as for the Dodgers, Go Blue.
Three True Outcomes Hero: Angels 3, Royals 2
For once of late, I don't have to bag on Figgins; he put in a 2-5 day, managing to get on base before a conveniently timed two-run blast by Vlad. The reasons the game went to extras turned out to be Orlando Cabrera's botched fielding in the first, and Jose Molina's blown throw that ended up in centerfield, not to mention a general inability of the team to push runners across the plate. That's not to say the Angels didn't hit — in fact, they outhit the Royals 9-4 — but they stranded six baserunners, with Adam Kennedy leading the way (three).
John Lackey posted a great game, and almost got his second win since May 2; bad starts combined with the usual fielding and hitting troubles have kept him from advancing his record over a month and a half span. Unfortunately, Mike Scioscia, cornered by his consistent use of Scot Shields over the prior three games, gave in and used the formerly excellent, now underutilized Brendan Donnelly; the rust showed, and he promptly gave up the baserunner who became the tying run when Frankie Rodriguez came in to clean up, surrendering a run on a slider in the dirt that Jose couldn't handle, eventually allowing David "Personal" DeJesus to score from third following Jose's needless and errant throw to second. It was another embarrassing outing for the bullpen, which hardly needs more.
But if anybody wonders what a key cog Mike Napoli has become in this offense, those doubts were erased when he got a rally-sparking walk on a pinch-hit appearance in the tenth. On a — what do you call that, a run-and-hit? — play on Chone Figgins' groundout, he raced to third. Orlando Cabrera then singled him in, ending a game that was far tenser than it needed to be. The Angels should be crushing guys like the Royals, not fighting them to a tie; they did this last year, too, so maybe the Royals are just one of those teams that almost have the Angels' number.
Update: today's Times account of the game adds this:
Unearned run No. 46 came in the first inning, after first baseman Kendry Morales' throw to second on Mientkiewicz's fielder's choice grounder glanced off Cabrera's glove, allowing Grudzielanek to take third.Cabrera was charged with the error, but Morales' throw nearly hit Grudzielanek in the shoulder.
Cabrera was partially screened by the runner and did not appear to see the ball until the very last second. Lackey struck out Sanders, but Matt Stairs doubled to right for a 1-0 lead.
: 6/16/2006 08:29:00 AMNewer› ‹Older
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