Post-Game Report: Angels vs. Red Sox (7/20/08)

That’s right, everyone. Your Los Angeles Angels just swept the “best team in baseball”… and in a very convincing fashion. Behind a solid effort by Jon Garland and home runs by Vlad Guerrero and Torii Hunter, the Angels completed the sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon, winning by a score of 5-3.

While nobody with the Angels will admit that this was a statement series, that’s exactly what it was. The Halos out-did everything the Red Sox tried to do, and made a clear statement to the Sox: We’re not going to be run over this year.

Jon Garland had another solid outing, though he did not earn the win. Garland scattered 6 hits over 6.2 innings and gave up just 3 runs. Jon also has 6 strikeouts in the game.

Once again, the Angels’ offense stole the show. Vlad Guerrero led off the bottom of the 2nd inning with a towering home run to deep left field - his 17th of the season. On the very next pitch, Torii took knuckeballer Tim Wakefield deep to left-center field - his 13th homer of the year. In the bottom of the 8th, Casey Kotchman hit a two-run double down the right field line to take the lead.

Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez earned his league-best 40th save of the season. The Halos extended their AL West lead to 9 games, and are now an MLB-best 60-38.

Top 3 Angels Performers:

1) Casey Kotchman went 2-4 in the game, including a go-ahead double in the 8th inning. That double was Kotchman’s 23rd of the year, and his 2 RBIs pushed him to 47 on the season.

2) Juan Rivera continues to hit well as he looks to run away with a starting role. Rivera went 1-3 today, but his one hit was a rally-starting double in the bottom of the 8th inning. Rivera’s batting average now stands at .245.

3) Darren Oliver pitched very well  today. Oliver earned the win - his 3rd of the year - after pitching 1.1 solid innings of relief. Oliver also struck out 3 Boston hitters.

Jeff Weaver of the Game: Today’s Jeff Weaver goes to Maicer Izturis. Though he’s been hitting very well recently, Izzy went 0-4 in Sunday’s game with a strikeout and 2 men left on-base.

Play of the Game: The best play of today’s game was Casey Kotchman’s clutch double in the bottom of the 8th inning. With the score tied at 3, Kotchman ripped a double down the right-field line that drove in 2 runs and proved to be the game-winner.

What to look for next game: The Indians are coming to town on Monday, and All-Star Ervin Santana will go against former Angel Paul Byrd. Santana will look to tie Joe Saunders for the team lead in wins (12), and continue his very impressive season. Look for Vladimir Guerrero to stay hot, as the All-Star Break seems to have helped him regain his powerful form.

Next game: Monday, 7:05 PM (FSN-HD)

(Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports)