Finally, the Angels have the AL West and the best record in baseball all to themselves. All their hard work and dedication (and A’s going into a timely slump) have finally paid off!
So why doesn’t it feel good? Maybe it was the manner in which the Angels “surged” into first place. This game was a perfect example of how they’ve actually been playing lately. The offense has sputtered, but barely did enough to put themselves in a position to win, largely through a lucky error made by the other team. The starting pitching didn’t allow many runs, but was also pretty shaky. And the stalwart bullpen barely hung onto the lead, allowing a run for the fourth straight game.
That’s why I actually chuckled to myself when I saw a headline from another site saying that the “streaking Angels” took over first place. If this is a streak, it is the kind you find in your underwear at the end of the day. They’ve just been lucky enough to “streak” against some really bad competition.
Run Expectancy Rundown
It was the Calhoun and Trout show in this game. Sure, Howie Kendrick got a big RE24 too, but that was because he got credit for Tazawa’s Little League fielding display that should’ve actually been a double play. The actual offense came from Kole Calhoun with another multi-hit game and Mike Trout hitting a ball so hard it nearly went through the Monster. Brennan Boesch did a find job of replacing Josh Hamilton. I hardly even noticed that it wasn’t Josh up there being completely useless.
The Halos finally solved Yoenis Cespedes, but C.J. Wilson had issues with Brock Holt and David Ortiz and just generally throwing strikes in general.
Starting Pitcher Scores
C.J. Wilson was just awful to watch… again. Somehow he only allowed one run though, which I guess is progress, but probably isn’t. Brandon Workman was actually legitimately good but ended up the tough luck loser.
Bullpen Battle
The Angels bullpen was short-handed since Mike Scioscia overworked Huston Street and Joe Smith. The second stringers had their scares but managed to pull it off with an acceptable amount of damage. It wouldn’t been unacceptable though had Junichi Tazawa not made such a horrible fielding play.
Game Flow
The Angels took the advantage in the third and then threatened to give it away every other inning after that. Fun and ulcers were had by all.
Halo Hero
The Red Sox couldn’t get Calhoun out, he wins.
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