I mentioned the other day that I thought the Angels had an advantage in this one based on the premise that while the Yankees were throwing their number 4 starter, the Angels had arguably their best pitcher going. That being the case, the result didn't surprise.
The Angels jumped on top in the first inning with Orlando Cabrera hitting his second homer in as many games, this one following a Chone Figgins double. They added on in the fourth after Darin Erstad singled home Garret Anderson. And when the Yankees got on the board with a Johnny Damon double, the Halos answered right back on a bases loaded infield single by Juan Rivera, aided by some nice hustle by GA.
Some scary moments in the seventh when JC Romero couldn't find the plate, creating a situation much like the one he wriggled out of on opening day by walking two batters. Scot Shields added to the trouble by walking the bases loaded before inducing a double play grounder to end the threat. After an easy eighth from Shields, Frankie put it away in the ninth, a little scare on a deep fly ball to center by Posada notwithstanding.
So the Angels improve to 2-2 on the season, and they continue to hold the upper hand against the Yankees. Terrific start by Kelvim, who didn't walk a batter, and fanned his 1000th batter, and it was Jason Giambi, certainly no slouch.
Two disappointments: 1) Joe West makes me wonder how you can hold a major league umpiring position for as long as he has, yet not see the first baseman's foot on the bag for a good second after he caught the ball. Simply a pathetic mistake, which fortunately didn't figure in the outcome. 2) No Kingfish in the lineup. Would have been nice to see him come to the plate in this one, and because of the chundermuffins at Extra Innings, I didn't get to see any pre-game introductions of the team, assuming they did one.
The kid takes the mound tomorrow against Big Ugly, who looked pretty sharp in his opening day start, but who hasn't looked great against the Angels recently if memory serves, and there's a good chance it doesn't. I would imagine we'll see Timmay in the lineup at the DH slot and hopefully Juan Rivera in left as GA sits against the lefty, but I don't write out the scorecard.
As things get back to normal, it feels good to be writing one of these up right after a game again. Of course, I've got an out of town guest tomorrow and a golf tournament on Sunday, so it's another ragged weekend.
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2 comments:
In the pregame intros, Salmon got the biggest, loudest ovation I ever recall.
He was interviewed by Mason & Ireland before the game, and seemed almost embarrassed by all the extra applause he's been getting. He said he didn't really know how he should act - it was great to see him tip his cap during the pregame intros.
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