With Albert Pujols and Robinson Cano both getting the day off in the one, there was nearly half a billion dollars worth of ballplayer sitting on the bench, just doing nothing. Hangin’ out, scratching themselves, collecting big paychecks. There wasn’t anything wrong with them, other than maybe just being a little bit tired. Baseball is great, isn’t it?
Run Expectancy Rundown
You go ahead and have yourself a night, Erick Aybar. There was literally nothing he didn’t do in this one. The homer. The stolen base when the Mariners (and TV cameras) just weren’t paying attention. Just an all around terrific night, even though he still has no business batting in the two-hole. But Aybar wasn’t alone, Kole Calhoun finally got loose, Mike Trout had three hits and the universe nearly collapsed on itself when Raul Ibanez and C.J. Cron both tripled in the same game. If anything, it is amazing that the Angels only scored seven runs.
Kyle Seager had the big blast to make the end of the game a little interesting, but it was Michael Saunders doing the heavy lifting. Then there was Nick Franklin who ended the night wearing the Golden Sombrero.
Starting Pitcher Scores
Matt Shoemaker once again got the early hook, but it was deserved as he was in a spot of trouble. He had a decently smooth night up until that inning though. At a minimum, he earned himself more time in the rotation. Brandon Maurer was just as awful as I anticipated in the series preview.
Bullpen Battle
The bullpen was an unexpected boon to the Halos in this one, and from unexpected sources. Kevin Jepsen, of all people, saved the day in the middle innings and earned some praise from Mike Scioscia after the game. That probably isn’t going to end well, but for one game, it was deserved. Mike Morin actually got to pitch with a lead, which is new. Fernando Salas did his best to gag the game away, but Frieri was able to bail him out. The Mariners bullpen gave up a lot of hits, but only managed to allow two runs.
Game Flow
The Angels got off to a very fast start, and as a result, their win expectancy never got below 54% after the first batter of the game. After the fourth inning homer by Aybar, their win expectancy was never below 80%. Their were some tense moments along the way, but not any worth getting worked up over.
Halo Hero
That homer was nice but that stolen base was the real coup de grace.
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