Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
Saunders Squeaks Out Win #6: Angels 6, Orioles 5
Saunders leaked baserunners all afternoon, but he managed to get the order right: the only homer he surrendered was a leadoff shot to Melvin Mora in the third, and Brian Roberts' leadoff double in the first aside, everything else was singles. It was frustrating as all hell to watch, but he apparently didn't have much to begin with:
“Physically, I feel fine. The stuff was just lacking today,” Saunders said. “I didn’t really have much. I didn’t have my normal fastball. My changeup command was OK at times, but my curve ball was sporadic. When I got ahead of guys it was a struggle for me to make my pitch and put them away. It was just a battle out there from the get-go.”The Angels atypically got seven walks, including three by temporary leadoff man Gary Matthews, Jr. (who did a surprisingly good job in that role); the novelty was apparently so overpowering that none of those walks scored, or even made it to third. Even more startling, Reggie Willits was not in the lineup. Sean Rodriguez, whose minor league numbers would seem to indicate the possession of an uncommon eye but a diffident bat, got two on his own, and Hunter and Anderson the other two. I hope and trust Mike learns not to fear the walk.
Robb Quinlan homered in the third, a two-out shot to dead center that proved the game-winning margin, as the Angels suddenly found an offensive drought against a startlingly good Orioles bullpen. Dave Trembley kept throwing relievers up with superhuman numbers, in some cases just plain zeroes (as with Jim Johnson), and they pitched like it, too.
Maybe more important was Vlad's single, his first hit in five games, the longest slump of his career. I've been unimpressed with the "he's turning a corner" crowd, because he doesn't seem to be turning so much as spinning. There are those who say he's just plain missing pitches, and it may be that his bat speed isn't what it used to be. Certainly, the Angels can't afford for him to become a hole indefinitely; ditto for Garret Anderson, who, aside from his walk, produced a single. It's of some concern that, in addition to his offensive slide, we can also chalk up a power drought, as he hasn't hit for extra bases since April 17 against the Royals.
On the mound, the Angels had me biting my nails virtually the whole game, as Mike seems to have decided Darren O'Day is no longer to be trusted; after walking his second batter faced, that brought in Darren Oliver. Justin Speier surrendered a leadoff homer to Nick Markakis on the first pitch, which seems typical for him these days.
Saving the best for last, Frankie finished off the top of the order and faced the minimum the hard way, giving up a leadoff single to Roberts but getting him out in Melvin Mora's at-bat when Jeff Mathis picked him off first leaning. It's a great play when it works, and it just did then. Nice job, Jeff.
Labels: angels, orioles, recaps
otherwise, 12 hits in 5 innings would have been as disasterous as you'd fist assume.
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