An Angel series sweep of the Dodgers in which the Angels finished up their road trip by making themselves at home in Dodger Stadium.
Game 1 – Angels 10, Dodgers 1
Game 2 – Angels 4, Dodgers 2
Game 3 – Angels 6, Dodgers 5
Los Angeles Angels of AWESOMENESS
- I wasn’t going to be petty about this, but then I realized being petty is so much more fun. Dodger fan friends of mine always bust my chops about the Angels saying they are from Los Angeles. Well, Los Doyer fans, LA belongs to the Angels now. You may still have a better record, but the Halos just swept your asses in your own stadium for the first time ever, not that the Angels haven’t been owning the Dodgers all century long anyway. I look forward to once again watching the Angels end the season better than you… again.
- Really Chad Billingsley? I am supposed to take you seriously when you walk Joel Pineiro TWICE? That’s just embarrassing.
- Even if you exclude his performance at the plate, Pineiro was terrific in his start and is now finally headed back in the right direction after getting hit hard his last few outings. You know Joel is really on not only when he is getting grounders, but also getting strikeouts meaning that his other pitches and not just his sinker are actually working.
- I thought we were witnessing the start of another big Mike Napoli slump after he K’d four times in the first game of the series. Fortunately I was wrong and Naps battled back to collect three walks and two hits (including a homer) the rest of the series. Maybe this whole first base thing really is a good thing for him since it takes some pressure off of him both mentally and physically.
- Erick Aybar continues to stay amazingly hot on offense, racking up six hits, two runs and a stolen base in the series. In fact, he is so hot right now that he has pumped his season stats up to a level where he actually looks pretty good. Seriously, if someone who hadn’t watched the Halos all season long looked at Aybar’s numbers, they would see a guy who is hitting .275 and on pace to score 100+ runs and steal 20+ bases which really isn’t bad at all.
- I am obligated to comment on Scott Kazmir’s start and my verdict for this one is a very mild thumbs up. He was actually pretty strong through four innings, but really seemed to come undone in that fifth inning and was honestly lucky to escape with a win. I’m no pitching coach, but that suggests that he is still trying to get locked in mechanically and when he starts to tire, he just can’t keep his adjusted delivery in check.
Los Angeles Angels of FAIL
- The Angels didn’t end up blowing any of their leads in this series, but it wasn’t because they didn’t try. Kevin Jepsen continues to struggle with command and is really starting to become a potential liability. The Angels have no relief depth and they can’t afford to have someone consistently struggling the way Jepsen is. A bad inning now and again from Fernando Rodney is just something you have to live with, but repeated failure from Jepsen is going to force Mike Scioscia to make a tough decision that he really doesn’t want to make.
- Speaking of bullpen depth, the Angels suffered a major blow when they had to put Jason Bulger on the DL in the middle of the series. Bulger was just getting on a roll and now he is gone for at least two weeks. That is going to put a lot pressure on Francisco Rodriguez who has looked great so far, but he really hasn’t had to pitch in pressure situations much yet.
- Really? Two starts for Robb Quinlan? Against right-handers? Is Mike Scioscia huffing paint or something? I can only guess that Sosh wanted to save Mike Ryan for pinch-hitting, but that doesn’t justify burning eight at-bats in the series on Q.
Halo Hero of the Series
You’re welcome, Howie.
Right before this series started, I wrote about how we might want to start worrying about Howie Kendrick’s uninspiring numbers at the plate. What was the end result of that? Kendrick went 8-for-14 with 2 runs, 4 RBIs, three doubles and a home run. You’re welcome, everyone. My inspirational powers never do fail to impress do they?
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