The Angels have defeated the Seattle Mariners, as they used to do with great regularity. This is cause for great celebration as everything is now back to being as it should be. All is right with the world except for the part where J.B. Shuck is back on the active roster.
Run Expectancy Rundown
Once again, it was pretty much all Albert Pujols. John McDonald, of all people, was the only other positive contributor. That Mike Trout guy really stunk and is in a tiny slump, so I am sure there will soon be a great deal of overreaction forthcoming because Pujols really showed us that freaking out over small sample sizes is worthwhile.
Almonte and Miller made small positive contributions, which is more than I expected from an offense that only got one hit. Everyone else was terrible, especially Robinson Cano. Cano has yet to homer as a Mariner, by the way. I’m sure that will become a fun story pretty soon, if the 2012 Pujols season taught us anything.
Starting Pitcher Scores
Some great work from Garrett Richards, especially the part where he never had a meltdown inning like he did in his first start of the season. The fact that he is getting both groundballs and strikeouts in his brief 2014 campaign is very exciting. Roenis Elias turned out to be better than I thought he was, or the Angels offense was just worse than I though. Or both. Probably both.
Bullpen Battle
A completely uneventful night for the Angels bullpen, which is the best kind of night for them except for the nights where they don’t get used.
Game Flow
It was a bit of a see-saw in the first two innings, but then Albert Pujols went yard. A small threat here and there from the Mariners caused little dips, but otherwise it was a smooth ride to victory.
Halo Hero
Maybe this Richards in the rotation thing will work out well after all. Yay! I can’t wait to see what he can do against a team with a competent lineup.
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