Tuesday, July 31, 2007 |
Power Station: Angels 8, Mariners 0
As for the scoring, it was all Angels, their first shutout since their 3-0 victory over Tampa Bay on July 19. Slumping Orlando Cabrera drove in half the Angels' runs, collecting one on a first inning groundout, two with men on second and third in the fourth, and a solo homer in the sixth that could have been a two-run jack had not Kenji Johjima shot down Reggie Willits trying to steal second.
But maybe even more impressive was the pair of homers that Gary Matthews, Jr. hit. Not only has he been underwhelming on the road (.231/.284/.362), but his homer drought has gone even longer than Vlad's, starting on June 18. (Vlad's commenced on June 24.)
Even Maicer Izturis got a tater, testament to the lousy pitching that so often accompanies a Jeff Weaver start. Weaver didn't last five and earned the loss; it was his fourth straight. The M's peppered the rest of the game with the back end of their generally solid bullpen, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Eric O'Flaherty, and Mark Lowe, who between them gave up two runs, a good showing considering.
Finally, to the incidental stuff, namely, the appearance of Ryan Budde in a major league lineup; he flied out in his only at-bat, replacing Willits at DH.
With the win, the Angels close the books on July, and despite their struggles through most of it, end up 12-12 on the month, and resume their four game lead over the Mariners in the AL West. They also guarantee they can do no worse than a three-game lead at the end of the series should the M's win the series tomorrow. Lackey's victory ties him for the AL league lead for wins with 13, along with Josh Beckett, Fausto Carmona, and C.C. Sabathia; Carlos Zambrano leads the majors with 14.
Labels: angels, mariners, recaps
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