The Angels set a season-high in runs (10) and matched their season-high in hits (15) Thursday night but still couldn’t manage to walk away with a win. Instead, thanks to a 12-run, 18-hit onslaught from the Cardinals, they extended their losing streak to six and got swept for a second straight series.
And to make matters worse, two more Angels starters left Thursday’s game with injuries. Cliff Pennington‘s leg cramps shouldn’t keep him out long, but the same can’t be said for sure about Yunel Escobar‘s jammed thumb. The non-zero chance of a May infield composed of Rey Navarro, Brendan Ryan, Johnny Giavotella, and C.J. Cron is super depressing, but I guess it’s a step up from the failed Geovany Soto, back-up third baseman experiment that was employed on Thursday.
Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1dKBwoApJ4xJL7Ey9tI65ljF3qMS51J6hpl6ixENbDpk/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /]Daniel Nava hit his first home run as an Angel, Albert Pujols hit his first home run against the Cardinals (thus completing his bingo card), and every starter in the lineup but Carlos Perez reached base at least twice. Perez went 0-for-4 with 3 K’s on the night, lowering his season line to .149/.208/.179. In better news C.J. Cron notched two doubles, giving him three extra-base hits the last two games.
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1dKBwoApJ4xJL7Ey9tI65ljF3qMS51J6hpl6ixENbDpk/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /]I don’t know what got into Matt Holliday, but the dude absolutely unloaded on the Angels this week. He finished up with a 4-for-5, two-homer night on Thursday, making him 7-for-14 with three dingers and two doubles in the series. Matt Carpenter also notched his third home run of the series Thursday, while Matt Adams and Yadier Molina had three-hit games. Every Cardinals batter had at least one hit.
Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1dKBwoApJ4xJL7Ey9tI65ljF3qMS51J6hpl6ixENbDpk/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /]Jered Weaver retired the first 11 batters he faced, then allowed hits (including three homers) to nine of the next 10. It was probably the most polarizing start I’ve ever seen, and seemingly a huge win for proponents of the Times Through The Order penalty. It was also the third straight game an Angels starter failed to make it through the fifth inning.
Adam Wainwright had just as hard a time as Weaver on Thursday, but he stuck around long enough to get the win. The former Cy Young runner-up now has a 6.80 ERA on the year.
Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1dKBwoApJ4xJL7Ey9tI65ljF3qMS51J6hpl6ixENbDpk/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /]For the third straight night, the bullpen was called on to pitch from the fifth inning on. That they allowed only two earned runs is a small miracle given how overworked they are. Javy Guerra was about as awful as can be for the second consecutive outing and was promptly DFA’d after the game. Everyone else was mostly alright considering the circumstances.
The Cardinals ‘pen almost choked the game away in the ninth, but Kevin Siegrist came in and saved the day.
Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1dKBwoApJ4xJL7Ey9tI65ljF3qMS51J6hpl6ixENbDpk/pubchart” query=”oid=41272350&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”315″ /]The Angels rallied several times, but couldn’t quite keep up with the pace of the runs being allowed.
Angel Antagonist
Javy Guerra‘s whole job was to eat innings so the rest of the bullpen could get some respite. Two straight appearances without recording an out is the exact opposite of that.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
