The good thing about games starting during the day is that if there is rain, you can wait for it to pass and finish the game. The bad thing about games starting during the day is that if there is rain, you can wait… and wait… and wait… and wait.
Alas, the wait was worth it with the Angels. For the Royals, not so much. But who cares about them, right?
Run Expectancy Rundown
David Freese should go ahead and retire because his Angels career might’ve just peaked. Not only did he have three hits and three RBIs, but he had an extra-base hit for the second game in a row. That’s almost a streak! Albert Pujols had a nice game as well. Kole Calhoun is on fire, and that isn’t a redhead joke, as far as you know. Josh Hamilton is the opposite of whatever Calhoun is.
According to this chart, it is a miracle that the Royals scored two runs because there was almost nothing positive from their offense. Lorenzo Cain was particularly bad.
Starting Pitcher Scores
The weather gods seem to have conspired against Hector Santiago as his strong outing was cut short, but he has a reputation for falling apart the second time through the order, so one cannot just assume he wouldn’t have gotten shelled in the fifth inning as we have often seen. We also were deprived of seeing more of Yordano Ventura, though based on the early results, the Angels hitters were the most disappointed.
Bullpen Battle
Bruce Chen got a psuedo-start in relief of Ventura after the rain delay and only showed why it is he isn’t a rotation member anymore. The Angels took a committee approach with Mike Morin coughing up two runs but still getting the win because pitcher wins are dumb. We also got our first dose of Jason Grilli and it went down OK, though I can’t say I was inspired with confidence.
Game Flow
The Halos had themselves a nice comfy edge before the rain delay and then built it up after they came back only to have Mike Morin give a chunk of it back almost immediately. Fortunately, the rest of the bullpen slammed the door without the Royals really mounting another threat.
Halo Hero
Next thing you know Freese is going to do something crazy like hit a homer. Nah, I know, you’re right. That’s crazy talk.
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