See! A sweep. I totally called it, you guys. Never doubt the power of the Monkey! Also, never look at predictions that I don’t brag about. That wouldn’t be good for your health.
Run Expectancy Rundown
Josh Hamilton had another strong game against a left-handed starter. That is a sentence I still am not used to writing. Howie Kendrick broke out of his mini-slump and David Freese finally played to his strengths by not swinging. Chris Iannetta was really the only guy to have a bummer of a day.
Alejandro De Aza was once again the best Chicago player. The real stunning part though is how bad Abreu was. Not just in this game, but the whole series. I was really looking forward to seeing him, but clearly the Angels caught him at the right time (which is the wrong time for those hoping to marvel at his abilities).
Starting Pitcher Scores
Well, I feel a little bit better about the Angels getting Hector Santiago instead of Jose Quintana in that trade now. Still not great, but better. Speaking of feeling better, C.J. Wilson sure looked like he did, which was very sorely needed.
Bullpen Battle
Joe Smith struggled again, which is really starting to become a concern. There’s only so many times he can escape major damage with a timely GIDP. At least Ernesto Frieri didn’t give up the game-losing homer I was sure was coming after Scioscia stupidly had him walk Adam Dunn. For the Pale Hose, their bullpen did a very nice job of keeping this game interesting, which was entertaining, but kind of stressful.
Game Flow
After their fifth inning, the Angels had this game firmly in hand. What win expectancy keeps forgetting about is the Angels’ bullpen. The Sox hacked the win expectancy down to 80% after Joe Smith’s shaky outing, but couldn’t get any closer. And in case you are wondering, that last small dip in the graph was the 3% win expectancy hit Scioscia took by intentionally walking Adam Dunn.
Halo Hero
It was awful nice of C.J.’s immune system to allow him to perform so well. Thanks, white blood cells!
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