Angels +7.5; Rangers -7.5

I'll be honest. Games like this scare the crap out of me. They swung the bats great, scored a ton of runs, and they'll probably score two more runs over the course of the series. I should point out, though, they not only knocked the Gambler out of the last game early, they knocked him out of tomorrow's game early. Rogers broke a bone in his right hand punching the water jug after the Angels rocked him last week. So I'm of two minds. On the one hand, it's the type of game where Rogers would toss a one hitter. On the other hand, they'll start some kid that should get shelled, and he'll toss a one hitter. I hope I'm wrong. I am the eternal pessimist.

Bart was throwing a lot of strikes again, and didn't seem to be working too hard. Lots of fly balls, though, except of course for the one that bounced off his shin. Vlad and AK went deep to just about the same part of the ballpark. Tough start stonight for CJ Wilson, a kid who grew up in Fountain Valley watching the Angels. I think that would be tough. You root for a team your whole life, then you have to go out and pitch against them. I'm guessing the loyalty dissipates pretty quickly after you sign that contract, though. The first four Angels reached base, and they plated three in the first. The Angels were relentless, scoring in 7 of 9 innings.

Hank Blalock had the magic stick for Texas, belting two homers and driving in all three runs. He's a cornerstone the Crown City Guzzlers, the only fantasy team I care about, so this is just the type of game where I like to see him blow up. Between he and Grady Sizemore, I picked up some serious points tonight, which is great for a night without many games, and for a week in which I'm only getting five starts.

Worst case scenario, the Angels will leave Arlington up by 4.5 games. If they win one more, that goes up to 6.5. They could conceivably leave Texas up by 10.5 games, at which point Oakland becomes a bigger concern. Without a doubt, the credit goes to the pitching staff. With Vlad back in the lineup and killing the ball, we can see just how important the staff was in keeping the team above water during his absense. Hat tip to those guys.

Man, I've alluded to it before, but Jeff Davanon really runs a lot of bad routes in the outfield. It's like he's been taking lessons from Bernie "L Route" Williams. Call me crazy, but I still have more faith in him out there than Finley. And Maicer Izturis continues to make Bill Stoneman look like a genius and a moron at the same time.

Good game, guys. Let's get one more tomorrow.