In my preview of this series I talked about Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer being fading stars, but for one game, they both turned the clock back. They may be old dogs incapable of learning new tricks, but some of their old tricks are still pretty good.
Run Expectancy Rundown
The top of the order was all that produced for the Angels, but that was all they needed because those three performed so well, especially Albert Pujols. Hank Conger had a rough go at the plate, but at least he threw out a basestealer.
The Twins were in a similar boat with just Mauer and Chris Parmalee producing, but really mostly Mauer. Kendrys Morales had two hits as well, but they didn’t amount to much.
Starting Pitcher Scores
Jered Weaver had an excellent outing and avoided giving up a homer, which is probably his best accomplishment. Ricky Nolasco at least gave the Twins six innings, which makes it easily their best start of the series, but still not a very good start at all.
Bullpen Battle
Welp, Ernesto Frieri still sucks. Hopefully Mike Scioscia gets that by now. He kept the ball in the park but couldn’t put his pitches near the strike zone. I know the Angels are desperate for relief help, but at what point do you just demote Frieri to the minors for two weeks so he can work regularly without fear of him costing you a meaningful game?
Game Flow
As is the norm in this series, the Angels jumped out to an early lead and had things pretty much wrapped up by the third inning. As is also tradition, the bullpen gave the Twins a shred of hope in the late innings, but ultimately was able to seal the deal.
Halo Hero
He may be an old dog, but in this game, he was a good dog and deserves a treat.
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