6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: It's Torii's Broom, The Angels Just Borrowed It: Angels 4, Royals 3

Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

It's Torii's Broom, The Angels Just Borrowed It: Angels 4, Royals 3

Thanks to an overloaded schedule that included the usual Mother's Day festivities, and Shane Loux's long, slow, bad outing that delayed the end of the game, we missed this:

This, too, shall pass in a few days (after MLB scrubs it off the interwebs, though for now you can see the video on their website too), but wow.

Loux, as mentioned above, had a crummy game, got behind just about every batter he faced, and left in the fourth. Amazingly, the Angels brought in Darren Oliver; the thought must have been that they had that luxury with a day off tomorrow. But what we did stick around for was an incredible seventh, one that narrowly didn't happen: if not for a dreadful throw by Jamey Wright on what should have been a 1-6-3 inning-ending double play. That opened the door, and the Angels bulldozed Wright for the tying and go-ahead runs, a slate that even included a two-run single by Jeff Mathis, and a safety squeeze by Chone Figgins. It was a rousing finish for a team that's needed a sweep, their first of the season, and a win that takes them two games over .500 for the first time this year.

Update: Torii felt compelled to write a coda:

Man, that was awesome. It's a very special win, coming back the way we did with three runs in the seventh, the bullpen doing a great job. Something like that can do a lot for a team.
When the game ended, Bobby Abreu and Gary Matthews Jr. came over and I was expecting the usual high-fives, but they both threw themselves into me and we had a three-way hug out there. It was just an expression of how great it felt, for all of us.

More, this on a play that I had forgotten but was just as critical, considering how badly Loux was flailing:

There was another play I made earlier in the game that was unusual. They had a man on first, Mike Jacobs, and Alberto Callaspo hit a sinking line drive. I came up and played it on a hop and got rid of it as quickly as I could, and we got the force out at second.
There's an art to that. It takes a lot of practice. I threw that one three-quarters, and sometimes, if necessary, I'll come sidearm with a throw to get it there in a hurry.

Yahoo box • Angels recap

Labels: angels, recaps, royals, wow