Around The Halo 9/8/09

Despite an offense that sputtered on the road trip, the Angels return to Anaheim with a 4-3 record and improving their lead over Texas to five games. The Halos received six strong starts from their rotation over the seven game trip. The Angels need to see the offense pick it back up and the pitching to stay strong so they can knocked Texas out of contention and head into the post-season clicking on all cylinders.

The schedule does not get easier for the Angels either as they will also be facing some formidable teams the rest of the season.

3 vs. Seattle, 6 vs. Oakland, 7 vs. Texas, 3 vs. Chicago, 3 vs. Boston and 4 vs. New York.

Los Angeles will have their work cut out for them.

The Angels recalled four more players as the minor league season ended for the Salt Lake City Bees. Terry Evans, Ryan Budde, Rafael Rodriguez and Freddy Sandoval have all joined the club.

Steve Bisheff of the LA Times calls Erick Aybar the “most improved Angel“. It’s hard to disagree.

Mariners at Angels

Felix Hernandez (14-5, 2.65) vs Scott Kazmir (8-8, 5.68)
Ian Snell (6-9, 5.21) vs Jered Weaver (14-5, 3.79)
Ryan Rowland-Smith (3-2, 3.88) vs John Lackey (9-7, 3.74)