Game Recap 7/27/11: No-No Magic

The game that was 27 years in the making finally found life today in Ervin Santana’s no-hitter, the first solo no-hitter for the Angels since 1984. All of this was made possible not just by Santana’s efforts, but the rest of the teams as well. Howie Kendrick made a few astonishing game saving plays and Bobby Wilson called one hell of a game, something I’m not too sure the rest of the catching staff (all 1 of em) could do. It’s great to see Santana cap off what was other a rather unimpressive series for this team. Maybe this could be the shot of adrenaline the Angels needed to hit a blazing hot streak and fly past the Rangers.

Angels 3 Indians 1 

Game Notes

• Well since we’re on the note of Santana’s no-hitter we might as well go ahead and get that one out of the way. Even though he allowed an unearned run to score in the 1st he was still able to maintain his composure and fight on to collect his 1st major league win against Cleveland, and in grand fashion might I add. He allowed only 1 walk while striking out 10 total batters in an almost Weaver-like performance, if Weaver threw no-hitters. Ervin Santana came very close to a no-hitter in his last appearance against Baltimore, but he didn’t let that deter him. Joining other highly esteemed pitchers to throw no-hitters this season, pitchers such as current Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander and Francisco Liriano. Just another golden star on this pitching staff’s track sheet, what else does this team need to do to get the national attention we deserve? 
• The offense performer terribly this morning, just like the past two games against Cleveland. The biggest problem here was situational hitting, as usual, with the team only racking up 2 base hits in 11 chances with RISP. Peter Bourjos was the only player who collected more then 1 hit, surprising to see considering his recent slump he’s been mired in since he came back from the DL. Maybe if Peter Bourjos mas more games like this the NAt’s will be more inclined to send us Ryan Zimmerman straight up, fulfilling most Angels fans twitter dreams. 
• While the offense was unimpressive the action of the basepaths were very enjoyable, especially Torii Hunters run scored on Huff’s passed ball. At first I imagined it would play out a lot like the usual Torii Hunter usual baserunning fiascos, I figured he was sitting red dead at home. What was this difference maker this time around was his headfirst slide into home which helped him narrowly avoid being tagged out, a veteran move I’d say. It’s almost funny to see Torii Hunter go from acting like a clueless rookie to the seasoned veteran he is. 

Halo Hero
 
Santana gave us fans something to brighten our spirits during such a questionable season, even if we don’t make it to the playoffs we can still look back to today as one of the most memorable days in Angels history in the past decade. Thanks for the memory Santana, now go create many more with this team!