What’s the point of going through all that trouble to get a shiny new All-Star pitcher if you aren’t going to bother to score any runs for him? A perfectly stellar start for the newest Angel, Scott Kazmir, was flushed down the toilet by the Angel bats who simply could not figure out Felix Hernandez for eight innings and wound up getting shutout by Seattle.
At long last, Kaz in the Angel Red.
Kazmir almost immediately showed the Angels exactly why they should be so excited to have him. After two weak hits and a hit batsmen to load the bases with no outs in the first inning, Kaz proceeeded to blow away the next three hitters in succession to escape danger. It was such a brilliant spectacle that one might almost think that Kaz got himself into the jam on purpose just so he could show off for his new mates.
Those three strikeout began a streak of 18 consecutive batters retired by Kaz before the M’s finally got to him in the seventh inning. But as good as Scott was (6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), Felix Hernandez was even better, completely baffling the Halo hitters for eight innings before David Aardsma came in to finish off the shutout in the ninth inning.
Though they only had eight baserunners all night, it wasn’t like they never threatened to score. The Angels left the bases juiced in the 3rd, runners on second and third in the 6th and a man on third in the seventh inning. This once mighty offense has been fretfully hot and cold lately, leading me to wonder if they might be starting to press now that the divisional race is starting to get tight. Mercifully, the Halos have their next to last off day of the season tomorrow, giving them a chance to get recharged and refocused for the home stretch.
Pssst! Could you ask the guys if they feel like scoring any runs for me?
Angelic Accomplishments:
- The Angels finally got those five straight quality starts I’d been looking for. Too bad they somehow managed to end up losing three of them, but I guess we can chalk it up to a moral victory.
Devilish Details:
- I’m going to go ahead and chalk up Brian Fuentes’ lousy appearance as a combination of rust (just his second appearance in 10 days) and pitching in a non-save situation, but still there is some reason for concern there.
- Great work, Mike Napoli. You’re slumping already at the plate, so I can’t say I totally recommend throwing the ball into the outfield like you did tonight as a way to get back in Mike Scioscia’s good graces.
Halo Anti-Hero:
- The bats
There is overwhelming statistical evidence that the Angel hitters are very good, so the only possible conclusion I can draw for why the Halos have scored just once in the last two games and it is that it is all the bats’ fault. How dare they continue to avoid the baseball or refuse to make solid contact with it. I don’t know what the bats’ problem is lately, but they better check their attitudes at the door and get back to doing their jobs.
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