Post-Game Report: Angels vs. Indians (7/21/08)

The Los Angeles Angels had their five-game winning streak snapped Monday night, as they fell to the Cleveland Indians 5-2.

Whatever momentum the Angels had from the sweep of the Red Sox seemed to be gone Monday. Halos’ hitters seemed unsure at the plate and just could not move the runners around the bases and in to score. Starting pitcher Ervin Santana didn’t pitch a bad game, but his mistakes ended up being very costly. Santana gave up 4 runs - 3 earned - over 7 innings of work. All 3 of the earned runs he gave up came off of home runs by the Indians. On the bright side, Santana continued to add to his season strikeout total, as he struck out 8 Indians in the game.

While the Angels were able to out-hit the Indians, they were unable to drive runners in when it mattered most. The Halos left a total of  5 men in scoring position during the game. The lone offensive bright spot of the game was Howie Kendrick, who went 3-4 with a home run and a stolen base on the night.

Top 3 Angels Performers:

1) Though he earned the loss, pitcher Ervin Santana actually pitched a very good game. Santana gave up 7 hits (2 homers) but just 3 earned runs through 7 strong innings. Ervin also struck out 8 batters in the game to raise his strikeout total to 130. Santana is now 11-4 with a 3.37 ERA on the season.

2) Howie Kendrick continues to punish every pitcher he faces. Howie went 3-4 with a home run and a stolen base in Monday’s game. The 8th-inning home run to center field was Kendrick’s 3rd on the year, and his batting average is now at a team-high .325 on the year.

3) Relief pitcher Darren O’Day came in to pitch the 9th, and he did it beautifully. O’Day continued his impressive scoreless innings streak as he pitched a perfect 9th-inning. The rookie’s ERA is now down to 2.97.

Jeff Weaver of the Game: Tonight’s Jeff Weaver goes to Gary Matthews Jr. Matthews got the call in right field tonight and proceeded to make a strong case for more bench time. Matthews went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts in the game and also made a costly error in the 4th inning that led to an Indians’ run.

Play of the Game: Jeff Mathis got the one clutch hit in tonight’s game. With two outs and one man on in the bottom of the second inning, Mathis roped the 1-0 pitch from Paul Byrd into left field to score Garret Anderson from second base. That single tied the score at one.

What to look for next game: Tomorrow, Jered Weaver (8-8, 4.03) will face Indians’ pitcher Matt Ginter (1-0, 0.00). Weaver will look to build upon his last start, in which he went 6 innings and gave up just one run to the Texas Rangers. Considering what happened with the offense on Monday, expect Juan Rivera to make an appearance in Tuesday’s game and show why he earned a starting role over the struggling Matthews. Also, look for Howie Kendrick to continue his impressive hitting. In his last 10 games, Howie is batting .371 with 3 homers and 10 RBIs.

Next Game: Tuesday, 7:05 PM (FSN-HD)

(Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports)