6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Baserunning Makes All The Difference: Angels 3, Baltimore 1

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Saturday, May 03, 2008

Baserunning Makes All The Difference: Angels 3, Baltimore 1

After this one was over, Fox cut over from the Angels to the Cubs, somewhere in the seventh. Round about the top of the eighth, Anthony Reyes was pitching for St. Louis and men on first and second with one out. Reyes uncorked a wild pitch that got about ten feet away from Yadier Molina, at which point I was dead certain we'd see the two Cubs' baserunners, Felix Pie and Alfonso Soriano — both with very good speed — break for the next base. It didn't happen, which reminds me just how different everybody else's strategy is, it seems, from Mike Scioscia's, especially when it comes to the running game.

In the context of that game, it didn't much matter at that point (Chicago went on to win in a 9-3 romp), but for the Angels today, such aggressive baserunning was absolutely vital, as Daniel Cabrera faced the minimum in four of his first five innings. The big play, in my mind, was Chone Figgins reaching third on a wild pitch and scoring on Gary Matthews, Jr.'s fielder's choice. That wasn't the game-winner (also driven in by GMJ, a sac fly), but it gave the Angels some breathing room.

With Vlad benched thanks to his late slump, that necessitated some good performances from the rest of the team. Fortunately, they got them; little-used (until now) Reggie Willits went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the two-hole, and even Brandon Wood scored a run after reaching on a hit-by-pitch. Starter Jon Garland went eight strong innings, giving the bullpen mostly a day off after some games recently where they've been required to throw quite a few pitches.

Unfortunately, bad injury news continued to roll in for the Halos: Figgins landed awkwardly on a close play at the plate and left the game with a cramped hamstring.

"With hamstrings, you're always concerned," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We don't know what degree this is. We'll wait and see. Obviously we'll be cautious."
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The Angels are likely to reach down to Triple-A Salt Lake for either Sean Rodriguez or Matt Brown. Both have already spent time with the Angels this season.

One final note on the game: Garret Anderson flipped his bat 20 feet after being called out on strikes, prompting an ejection by home plate umpire Paul Emmel. This marked only the third ejection in his career. "Garret is trying, searching," Scioscia said. "He's going to find it, but right now he's searching for his game."

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Labels: angels, injuries, orioles, recaps