Angels 3; A's 0

I know the A's offense isn't necessarily anything to write home about, especially with Croby out of the lineup, but 24 and 2/3 innings with one run allowed by your starters is pretty damn good, and hopefully when you get that in a three game series, you'll win at least two. The kid was terrific tonight, and he was never better than on the off-speed pitch to Mark Ellis that led to the double play ball that got him out of the eighth. Frankie only needed to get two tonight, but it was his third straight game, and he pitched well. he got a little help from Payton on strike two, but it was a step in the right direction.

The offense continues to be a cause for concern, with Vlad failing in two RBI opportunities. But he did pick up a double, stolen base, and run scored in the eighth. One thing about this team's versatility, combined with the benching of Finley, that I really like is the platoon situation. I just wish they were facing more lefties to get Quinlan in the lineup more often.

I noticed some things tonight that lead me to believe things might be looking up. I already talked about the double play that Ellis hit into, which was a bouncer right on the bag at second base. A couple of plays at first, most notably the nice catch by Erstad on the bunt out by Dan Johnson in the ninth. That was a really tough play, and maybe on another night that ball hit Johson and goes into right field. Also, the foul tip by Vlad in the eighth that very easily could have been called a strikeout. He got another pitch and drilled. Little things like that started going the Angels' way over the last two nights, and those might be signs of good things to come.

Three more against Seattle, with Byrd on the mound tomorrow night against Moyer. It sure would be nice to get a sweep out of this one. And the Angels avoid King Felix.