I suppose it’s only fitting that, in a season so wrought with internal strife and public relations snafus, one of the Angels’ much-maligned moves would come back to bite them in one of the most important games of the year. Josh Hamilton didn’t exactly mow down the Halos on Thursday—he was starting against a lefty, after all—but he was critical in keeping the game close early. His incredible over-the-shoulder grab in the second killed the only rally the Angels would manage off Derek Holland and pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night.
Other ghosts of decisions past got in on the action as well, with Adrian Beltre walloping a bases-clearing double and Mike Napoli walking twice. Not sure which player represents Christmas Future in this analogy, but I’m guessing Arte Moreno didn’t sleep too well last night either way.
Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PDKU7b2J1GPBRzaKmc6l0vyQCVPD8SWxOnXQli5vN2M/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /]Albert Pujols was the Angels’ offense Thursday, tallying half of the team’s four hits and all of their extra bases. Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun sure picked a bad day to end their on-base streaks.
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PDKU7b2J1GPBRzaKmc6l0vyQCVPD8SWxOnXQli5vN2M/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /]Adrian Beltre’s three-RBI double was the difference maker, but that wouldn’t have happened without a great at-bat from Rule 5 blessing Delino DeShields, who doubled in the team’s first run.
Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PDKU7b2J1GPBRzaKmc6l0vyQCVPD8SWxOnXQli5vN2M/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /]Andrew Heaney did his best Hector Santiago impression Thursday, walking a career-high five batters and striking out just one. Unfortunately for Heaney, he couldn’t also harness Santiago’s absurd strand rate. Derek Holland wasn’t great, but he was good enough, and that’s all the Rangers needed.
Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PDKU7b2J1GPBRzaKmc6l0vyQCVPD8SWxOnXQli5vN2M/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /]The Rangers bullpen allowed one inherited runner to score in its first inning, but otherwise was unhittable. the Angels ‘pen bounced back nicely from Wednesday’s disaster, but it didn’t matter.
Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1PDKU7b2J1GPBRzaKmc6l0vyQCVPD8SWxOnXQli5vN2M/pubchart” query=”oid=41272350&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”315″ /]Looking good, looking good… OH NO!
Halo A-Hole
Sorry, Andrew. I know the strike zone was killer against Choo, but that doesn’t excuse the other four walks.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
