Boxscore Breakdown #2: Deep Freese – Angels 2, Mariners 0

Pop quiz! This Boxscore Breakdown is entitled “Deep Freese” because:

A) The only runs were scored when David Freese went deep
B) I attended the game and froze my butt off in the cold weather
C) Hell must’ve frozen over for C.J. Wilson to throw eight innings of shutout baseball on fewer than 100 pitches

The correct answer is obviously “all of the above.” If you answered anything other than that, you are wrong and should reconsider your life choices.

Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1ICAoP1ktAG1F9nFajDsSXSKyDGIvcIerUdxvItoNoWU/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /] The Angels juggernaut offense continues to plow through the opposition. By that I of course mean that their only offense cam from a solitary home run. Good thing Freese smacked that dinger because everyone else on the team was a negative RE24.

[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1ICAoP1ktAG1F9nFajDsSXSKyDGIvcIerUdxvItoNoWU/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /] Nobody did anything for the Mariners. They also had just one player on the positive side of the RE24 chart and that was only because Justin Ruggiano drew a walk. Both of their hits were grounders up the middle and they had just the one walk. He didn’t top the squad in RE24, but Austin Jackson was probably the offensive “star” as he had one loud out and saw 26 pitches.

Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1ICAoP1ktAG1F9nFajDsSXSKyDGIvcIerUdxvItoNoWU/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /] Here is how impressive C.J. was once he got locked in. During the first three innings he had 18 called balls. During the next five innings, he had just 15. C.J. Wilson! 15 balls in five innings! James Paxton pitched well in his own right, but the one mistake he made proved to be his downfall.

Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1ICAoP1ktAG1F9nFajDsSXSKyDGIvcIerUdxvItoNoWU/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /] Huston Street got to come in for the save as Scioscia decided not to let C.J. finish off his gem by risking the fourth time through the order penalty. Street obviously had no problem. The Mariner relievers didn’t have any issues either. In both cases, the relievers benefited from the opposing managers not playing match-ups and utilizing their bench bats. It was kind of weird, actually.

Defensive Dynamics
There really wasn’t any notable defensive developments for the Angels. C.J. allowed the two hits and maybe only two or three loud outs. Otherwise he had the Mariners pretty well in check. For the Mariners, their defense actually did hurt them as Brad Miller somehow made a relay throw to easily nail a glacial Albert Pujols trying to leg out a double but Miller’s throw was somehow 10 feet wide of the bag despite being about 30 feet away. To think, Mariners fans once thought Miller was on the verge of becoming a top tier shortstop.

Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1ICAoP1ktAG1F9nFajDsSXSKyDGIvcIerUdxvItoNoWU/pubchart” query=”oid=451609002&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”316″ /] This is what a game glow graph looks like when the offense consists of one homer and almost nothing else. A rollercoaster this was not.

Halo Hero

OK, fine. I admit it. C.J. is most definitely back on the beam.