Sunday, June 24, 2007 |
Aybar Redeems K-Rod's Blown Save, Again: Angels 4, Pirates 3
Ian Snell, visibly frustrated after the 10-1 annihilation by the Los Angeles Angels last night at Angel Stadium, made that crystal clear.Make that three in a row against the Halos, even though this time the Buccos made Frankie cough up only his second blown save all year. It's hard to be upset at K-Rod, especially since both his blown saves have ended in wins. His previous blown save was April 24 against Detroit — and, curiously enough, in both games Erick Aybar drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th."I [expletive] hate this," he said at his stall, his voice rising. "And you can put that in the paper. I [expletive] hate losing. I hate when the team doesn't bring out its full potential. And if they fine me, fine me. I don't care. Because this is getting stupid. We're better than what we're showing."
He was asked if the problem is a lack of effort.
"No, I don't think it's that," Snell continued. "That team that beat us is good. I think they're the best in baseball. But the point is we let the first game of this series get away from us, we let another one get away in Seattle, another one at home ... and it's stupid."
Figgins walked three times, only the second time in his career he has done that, the other being April 28, 2006 against the White Sox. He crossed the plate exactly one time, in the fifth when Vlad drove him home on a sac fly. The Angels had their "big" inning in the fourth, thanks to a leadoff single by Quinlan, a double by Howie Kendrick, and Jose Molina's unexpected RBI double.
Bartolo Colon actually pitched surprisingly effectively through six; he retired the first five batters he faced before walking Ryan Doumit with two out in the second. He was never quite that effective again, and he started leaking baserunners thereafter, with men reaching scoring position in every inning from the third through the sixth. He worked his way out of trouble, most breathtakingly when he elicited a 1-2-3 double play (the only such DP I've ever witnessed in person) to end the fifth. However, given that he was more or less constantly in trouble, you have to wonder what he'll do against a real offensive lineup. That will have to wait for another day.
K-Rod's ninth looked to be a usual easy save, but then he gave up a two-out walk to Adam LaRoche — whom he delivered to third on two wild pitches during Xavier Nady's at-bat. Nady helped his team out with a well-executed RBI single. Frankie continued to struggle, walking Doumit, but he struck out Josh Phelps to end the pain.
Chris Bootcheck faced the minimum in the tenth thanks to a pickoff of Chris Duffy trying to steal second, setting up the Angels' rally in the bottom half of the frame. Nathan Haynes made his first appearance in the on-deck circle in the ninth, called in to pinch hit for Quinlan but Vlad's groundout made him irrelevant. Haynes led off the 10th with a popup, making it seem like this inning would be an extension of Duffy's 1-2-3 ninth. Kendry Morales then got an intentional pass with Jose Molina due up next, and though Scioscia's choice to send up Gary Matthews, Jr. up as a pinch-hitter seemed reasonable, he popped out to left.
And then with two out, Aybar delivered a game-winning single down the right-field line to win it.
With the sweep, the Angels end interleague play 14-4, the best as of this writing. (The Tigers are currently beating the Braves 4-0, and would have the same record if they complete the victory.) The Angels are the first to 49 victories at 49-27, and only one loss behind 48-26 Boston for the best record in the majors.
Update: Helen noticed this:
Why did K-Rod look at his hand after each of those wild pitches? Is he developing a blister?
Labels: angels, pirates, recaps
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