Post-Game Recap: Angels v. Athletics (7/13/08)

While the rally monkey wasn’t bouncing up and down on the scoreboard, the Angels were still able to pull of their 19th come from behind victory of the season.

When Oakland closer Houston Street (17 saves) stepped on the mound to start the ninth inning it seemed as if the A’s would surely win their second game of the the series and pull within four games of the first place Halos. However, the Angels’ “Get ‘em on, get ‘em over, get ‘em in” philosophy prevailed in the end.

Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera both singled to open the ninth before Howie Kendrick’s sacrifice fly scored Hunter later that inning. With Reggie Willits pinch running for Rivera, the Oklahoma native’s aggressive baserunning prevailed as he scored from second on Erick Aybar’s infield single. Willits’s extremely lucky play tremendous speed gave the Angels a 4-3 lead with K-Rod coming in for the bottom of the ninth.

So, the top 3 performers for the final game of the first half are…

Top 3 Angel performers

1) If the Angels have any reservations about signing Francisco Rodriguez to a long term contract, they better get over them quickly. K-Rod extended his major league record for first half saves to 38 after striking out both Rob Bowen and Kurt Suzuki.

2) With the Angels down 3-1 heading into the top of the 8th, Casey Kotchman’s solo home run put the Angels within striking distance going into the ninth.

3) Howie Kendrick went 0-3 on the afternoon, but he did have an RBI in the fourth, which scored Vladimir Guerrero, and a sacrifice fly in the ninth, which scored Torii Hunter.

Angels Jeff Weaver of the Day (Note: JTD denotes the Angel that played the poorest): Maicer Izturis went just 1-5 as the team’s leadoff hitter. The Halos need their leadoff man, in this case Izturis, to get on base so their big guns, Vladdy, Garrett Anderson, and Torii Hunter can score them.

Honorable Mention: Jeff Mathis continues to struggle at the dish, as he went 0-2. But at least he wasn’t batting leadoff.

Play of the Game: Erick Aybar’s RBI infield single scored Reggie Willits in the top of the ninth, which gave the Halos a 4-3 lead. Willits deserves most of the credit for using his speed to score a run.

What to look for next game: The Red Sox came to the Big A next Friday for a three game series. In the meanwhile, try to brace the most boring week of the entire sports year.  

Game is Friday @ 7:10 PM (FSN).