Things are rolling right along right now. Today's game was a victory of a thousand papercuts. There wasn't one big event you could point to that caused the win, just a teams playing good baseball right now on all fronts. Anytime you can coax a win out of a career minor league pitcher, you have to count yourself lucky. On top of that, the offense didn't really start rolling till the 6 inning, and was even no hit for the first five. Once again, what should have been a loss comes up roses for the Halos. Maybe this team will be heard from in October after all.
Game Notes
— Billy Buckner threw five shutout innings and earned the win. This is a huge accomplishment since it took everything he had to get that far. A lot of luck went into those five innings, but give him credit, he did work out of jams and keep the game close until the offense could wake up. Way to go Billy, and no offense, I really don't want to see you pitch again.
— Give some credit to Mike Scioscia.The last time the Angels faced the Royals Billy Butler lite them up, This time around, the pitchers have worked around him since no one else on the team can really hurt them. Seems like Mike is finally starting to manage with his brain.
— Our own Scotty Allen made a good point on Twitter during the game. Mike Trout's ability to generate offense without hitting is one advantage he has in his never ending batte against Miguel Cabera. Trout scored a run by applying pressure to the Royal's defense and making a good read on a contact play home. Caberera simply cannot do that, but hey he hits homers so MVP, MVP?!?!?!
Halo Hero
Give it up for Hammerin' Hank Conger today. He hit a homer that got the Angels off the no hit watch list. He threw out a runner stealing second base, which only happens like once a week. And, more importantly, he managed the pitching staff brilliantly today. He had to dip, dive and duck for balls all day for Buckner and then adjust to a slew of relievers the rest of the way. A busy day but one that gets you recognized for an all around effort.
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