Boxscore Breakdown #47: Going down – Padres 5, Angels 4

And back under .500 the Angels go. The hope the team had grabbed hold but a few short weeks ago has been dashed against the fake plastic rocks in center field. Their ace just fumbled away a winnable game as the offense continued to struggle to the point that they made a comically inept Padres defense look like a bunch of Gold Glove winners. The fan in me is desperately clinging to the 47.2% playoff odds that Baseball Prospectus gives the Halos, but the realist in me is having a hard time believing that this team isn’t exactly what we see before us right now, a team that will struggle to keep its head above .500 all season long.

Padres 5, Angels 4

Run Expectancy Rundown
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1IJZz_4dTKrIUGS0b3w5z_rXiQkdMAOwyY6Mz0G3eRMQ/pubchart” query=”oid=1976391661&format=interactive” width=”623″ height=”389″ /] First, can we just talk about the weird lineups in this game? When is the last time we saw both teams start their normal starting catcher at DH? I assume it has happened before, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it hasn’t. Anyway, the catcher that actually caught the game had the two biggest hits for the Halos. Granted, Carlos Perez didn’t exactly pound those baseballs, but he did place them well. Matt Joyce not only went deep, but he even got to pimp the homer.

[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1IJZz_4dTKrIUGS0b3w5z_rXiQkdMAOwyY6Mz0G3eRMQ/pubchart” query=”oid=1154832181&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”341″ /] Will Middlebrooks, of all people, seems to have Garrett Richards‘ number. G-Rich seldom allows a homer or even hard contact, but Middlebrooks took him deep and smashed a double off him, too. Justin Upton really was the one that ruined Garrett’s birthday by coming up with that huge two-strike, two-out go-ahead single.

Starting Pitcher Scores
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1IJZz_4dTKrIUGS0b3w5z_rXiQkdMAOwyY6Mz0G3eRMQ/pubchart” query=”oid=161400381&format=interactive” width=”584″ height=”293″ /] Two normally strong pitchers turned in somewhat shaky starts. Richards didn’t do himself any favors thanks to his misadventures in the field, but it was really a sudden onset of Santiago-itis where Garrett couldn’t get that third out that did him in.

Bullpen Battle
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1IJZz_4dTKrIUGS0b3w5z_rXiQkdMAOwyY6Mz0G3eRMQ/pubchart” query=”oid=1141913419&format=interactive” width=”620″ height=”315″ /] We finally got to see a bit of the Cam Bedrosian we had all hoped for, which would be nice if it intends to stick around. We also almost saw the Angels get to Brandon Maurer but they only drew blood and then failed to finish him off. They even nicked Craig Kimbrel, but Giavotella TOOTBLAN’d the Angels’ comeback hopes before they ever even fully formed.

Game Flow
[googleapps domain=”docs” dir=”spreadsheets/d/1IJZz_4dTKrIUGS0b3w5z_rXiQkdMAOwyY6Mz0G3eRMQ/pubchart” query=”oid=41272350&format=interactive” width=”619″ height=”315″ /] The Angels offense did show some fight and made a few valiant comeback efforts, but still, they are a limited lineup and there just wasn’t enough comeback in them to make the third time the charm.

Halo A-Hole

Happy unbirthday, Garrett.