Boxscore Breakdown #162: The End – Rangers 9, Angels 2

Well, I suppose that’s that. After a month of breathless, edge-of-your-seat thrills, the Angels’ 2015 season ends with a whimper. One final Buttercup, if you will.

It’s easy to point fingers at the manager in a game like this. We could talk about why Cam Bedrosian was even on the bullpen depth chart for a do-or-die Game 162, let alone the first guy to come on in relief; or why the struggling Cesar Ramos, who’d already given up runs in two earlier appearances in the series, was called on next rather than Jose Alvarez, who’d shut down Texas all weekend; or why Garrett Richards didn’t at least come out to start the seventh after seeming to settle into a groove. But at the end of the day none of that matters. I mean, it totally matters in the big picture sense—in the “I don’t trust that Mike Scioscia knows what to do with his bullpen in a must-win game” sense—but it terms of this specific game, they may as well have put Ichiro on the mound.

Why does none of that matter? Well, because the Angels didn’t have a single dang hit after the second inning. For the umpteenth time this season, the offense was rendered harmless by a left-handed starter. Even if the bullpen somehow shuts down Texas for the final three innings, the Angels still lose by one. All that time spent on the “we need another lefty bat” shtick, and it was their right-handed bats that ultimately did them in. Albert Pujols, David Freese, C.J. Cron, Carlos Perez, and Johnny Giavotella all fared significantly worse with the platoon advantage than without this season, resulting in a lowly .670 OPS vs LHP as a team.

Of course, it’s also those struggles and others—see: defense and baserunning—that made the club’s September run so exciting. A team with the worst batting average and third-worst OPS in the American League, the fewest double plays turned in baseball, an incredibly shaky bullpen, and a minus-14 run differential really has no business fighting for a playoff spot on the final day of the season. Yet there they were, locking down one-run wins left and right—19 in the final two months!—gritting and gutting (and, yes, lucking) their way to a meaningful Game 162 that millions of other teams’ fans would’ve sold their souls for.

The season didn’t end how they (or we) wanted it to, but the same will be true for 28 other teams as well. If success is dictated only in championships, then following any team quickly becomes a joyless experience. Sure, some feeling of immediate disappointment is inevitable, but over time that feeling will turn bittersweet. And after a little more time, maybe that bitterness will subside completely, leaving only the fond memory of a .500 team that played way over its head for the final month of the season and nearly snuck into the postseason. That’s the one I hope to keep, anyway.

Rangers 9, Angels 2

Run Expectancy Rundown

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Mike Trout reached base three times, Shane Victorino reached twice, and Albert Pujols hit a dinger. One hit each between the three. That was it. Everyone else did bupkis.

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The Rangers probably could’ve kept their bats on their shoulders the entire time and still won this game. They didn’t, though, and put up a nine spot. Adrian Beltre did a bulk of the damage again, driving in three.

Starting Pitcher Scores

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Now we know:

Garrett Richards on three days rest = not so great.
Cole Hamels on three days rest = still an ace.

Bullpen Battle

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Again, it doesn’t matter that Cam Bedrosian, Cesar Ramos, and Mike Morin absolutely imploded on the mound Sunday because the offense was nonexistent. Still, though, it was incredibly rough to watch. Good thing Joe Smith is rested and ready for Game 163…

Game Flow

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You can almost pinpoint the exact moment when the team’s spirit breaks.

Halo A-Hole

Eh. Doesn’t seem right to put blame on anyone for this one. They just ran out of magic.