Boxscore Breakdown Game #34: This is a mess – Angels 4, Blue Jays 3

<![CDATA[The Angels got back to their winning way, it just wasn't real pretty to look at. Two Toronto runs came on wild pitches, the Angels had their own wild pitch run scored overturned, scored on a bases loaded walk and then somehow nearly screwed up the go-ahead sac fly opportunity. A win is a win, but I'll that everyone not to play like that doesn't mean we have to enjoy watching it.

Run Expectancy Rundown

Erick Aybar isn’t just on fire, he is fire. He is a poor choice for leadoff, but at least they chose him during a hot streak so that it doesn’t look so bad. I still don’t think much of Efren Navarro, but he looked decent in the field and had a good night with the bat. If he can just fake being good for two weeks, that is all the Angels need. Poor Raul Ibanez had a line that looks good and even stole a base, but it didn’t translate to a good RE24. Ian Stewart remains awful.

Richards had Bautista’s number in this one and really was great against everyone but Reyes and Melky. Also, how is Chris Getz still in the league?

Starting Pitcher Scores

Things keep looking up for Garrett Richards as he more or less shutdown a very good lineup and he continued his recent streak of racking up Ks. The wild pitches are a bit absurd though. Dustin McGowan was not awful, or maybe the Angels lineup was more awful. I’m still not sure.

Bullpen Battle

Joe Smith returned to action, but as a setup man. He blew the save anyway. Mercifully, the Toronto bullpen choked it right back and Ernesto Frieri declined to re-return the favor. By the way, I think Dino Ebel (managing with Scioscia out) might be a secret saber-friendly manager. He let Smith pitch the eighth, but against the top of the lineup, which is the most dangerous. That left Frieri to pitch the ninth, but against a much less potent part of the order. That is pretty smart, assuming he didn’t do it by accident, which I actually think is more likely.

Game Flow

More than anything, this graph shows just how many times the Angels tried to blow the game. They were successful in a few of those efforts, but from the fifth inning on, it is just a mess of a up and down scribbles.

Halo Hero

Richards was very good, but Aybar really injected some much-needed life into an offense that had been going the wrong way.]]>