Oh, so you want to shutout the Angels, do ya? Well, they can turn that right back ya, Tampa.
Run Expectancy Rundown
Grant Green is probably going to be demoted in the next day or two or seven, but he is making sure he leaves a good impression. The same can be said for Luis Jimenez, but it isn’t nearly as strong an impression. Behind them is Collin Cowgill, who will actually stay on the roster but likely lose his starting gig. Mike Trout actually got a chance to hit this time, but didn’t do much. Albert Pujols had more RISP opportunities and once again just rolled over and grounded out to the left side. He did have an RBI double, but it was basically an accident.
Well, thanks James Loney. You were a big help in the shutout effort. Wil Myers is glad you were around to deflect the attention from his poor night.
Starting Pitcher Scores
C.J. Wilson was given the opportunity to go for the complete game shutout but needed 127 pitches to do it. He’s a workhorse, but seeing him go back out for the ninth made me a wee bit squeamish. Joe Maddon had a very quick hook with Cesar Ramos, who just didn’t have it at all in this game and Maddon wasn’t about to wait around for him to find it.
Bullpen Battle
The Angels obviously didn’t use their bullpen (though this seemed like a golden opportunity to get Santiago some work). Brandon Gomes had a spotty outing, but the rest of the Rays pen actually kept this game from becoming a blowout.
Game Flow
The Angels took control early, but it wasn’t until Grant Green’s two-run homer that they wrapped it up. That was in the third inning. So, yeah, this ended up being a pretty boring game.
Halo Hero
He had a nice early lead to work with, but it still isn’t easy to come up with a complete game shutout.
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