Equinox831's Los Angeles Angels (MLB 14: The Show)

[Deuce2223]

Quote: Originally Posted by xboxxerx

If it were me, I would of made the Mariners, Rangers and A's all just AA teams talent wise. Don't need to worry about the Stros since they are a A team.

I can understand your bitterness. First the Seattle Seahawks win a Super Bowl and now the M's are looking to beat your Angels in a W.C. matchup possibly.. Must be sad having to cheer for those So Cal teams.

[Equinox831]

Quote: Originally Posted by Deuce2223

I can understand your bitterness. First the Seattle Seahawks win a Super Bowl and now the M's are looking to beat your Angels in a W.C. matchup possibly.. Must be sad having to cheer for those So Cal teams.

I'm hoping to see that match-up in real life and on this franchise. Should be a damn good time with the Angels pulling out the victory!

I didn't get a chance to play at all yesterday, but I plan on rolling through some games today so we can get to the playoffs. Stay tuned everyone.

[Equinox831]

September 7th, 2014

Minneapolis, Minnesota -- The Los Angeles Angels played their first full series of September in Minneapolis after defeating the Houston Astros twice to extend there winning streak to 4 games and officially start the month. The Angels (73-66) played a 4 game set against the Twins (67-72).

Game 1
Garrett Richards (RHP): 8-10, 3.26 ERA, 84Ks vs. Trevor May (RHP): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0Ks

Spoiler

Game 1 saw the Angels welcome Garrett Richards back to the starting rotation over Hector Santiago and also welcome rookie Trevor May to the majors.

In the bottom of the 2nd the Twins struck first after Josh Hamilton booted an easy fly ball in left that put a man on third with 1 out. All-Star Chris Colabello then drove him in for his 84th RBI of the season.

DH Tyler Moore responded and began the initiation of Trevor May with a 2 run shot in the 4th down the left field line to put the Angels up 2-1. Moore finished the day going 4-4. Not to be outdone, the Twins fired back with a 2 run homer of their own by Oswaldo Arcia.

This is where things took a turn for the worst for rookie Trevor May. The 5th opened up with 2 walks by May and then rejuvenated slugger Albert Pujols stepped in and tee'd off. Pujols launched a towering 3 run bomb to deep right center field, his 29th on the year, to put the Angels up 5-3. That ended Mays day as he finished going 4.2 innings, allowing 6 hits and 5 runs on 4 Ks, and 3 walks.

From this point on Garrett Richards solidified his starting spot from here on out in the season by terrorizing the Twins lineup. After the Arcia homer Richards was lights out going 8 innings allowing only 2 hits and 3 runs with 10 Ks and no walks on the ledger.

In the 9th, Richards handed things over to closer Ernesto Frieri who finished things up quickly striking out 2 and not allowing any hits.

Angels win 6-3
Player of the Game: Garrett Richards - 8.0IP, 2H, 3R, 0BB, 10K

Game 2
Tyler Skaggs (LHP): 14-8, 3.94 ERA, 145 Ks vs. Alex Meyer (RHP): 8-13, 5.70 ERA, 149 Ks

Spoiler

Game 2 got off to a slightly rocky start for the Halos. Tyler Skaggs committed a pitching sin by walking leadoff man Jason Bartlett before. Skaggs went on to strike out 2 before giving up an RBI single by Josh Willingham to give the Twins a 1-0 advantage.

The Angels found ways to manufacture runs in the 2nd inning, albeit the Twins helped out a little bit. Tyler Moore singled to start the inning and Kole Calhoun walked to put runners on first and second. With Hank Conger at the plate and no outs the Angels decided to risk a double steal. Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki was quick with his throw down to third and should have got Moore, but he sailed the ball into left field. By the time the ball came back in it was too late and the ballgame was tied at 1 and Calhoun moved over to third. 3 pitches later Conger grounded out to the right side allowing Calhoun to come home giving the Angels a 2-1 lead.

Albert Pujols continued his absolutely stellar season and series by launching another home run out to left field, a solo shot for his 30th of the season and 100th RBI of the year, in the 3rd inning. The Twins came right back with one of their own, Brian Dozier this time. At the end of 3 the Angels maintained a lead 3-2.

To start the 6th, the Twins pulled Alex Meyer (5.0IP, 3H, 3R, 5BB, 5Ks), but to no avail as Carlos Moncrief continued to produce singling up the middle and driving in one to extend the lead to 4-2 for the Halos.

The Angels pitching was once again solid against the lowly Twins. Skaggs went 6 strong innings allowing 3 hits and 2 runs with 5 strikeouts, he handed it over to Joe Smith. Smith went 1.2 innings, struckout 1, and allowed 2 hits to earn a hold. Finally, Tyler Clippard came on to shut the door, facing 4 batters Clippard earned 2 strikeouts and 2 pop-outs to get his first save of the season.

Angels Win 4-2
Player of the Game: Albert Pujols - 2-5, 1HR, 1RBI, 1R (30th HR, 100th RBI of season)

Game 3
Jered Weaver (RHP): 11-7, 3.34 ERA, 136 Ks vs. Ricky Nolasco (RHP): 12-9, 2.69 ERA, 153 Ks

Spoiler

Game 3 was a pretty unorthodox game from start to finish. The Angels were looking for someone to step up as Albert Pujols was given the night off, in the first that man was Howie Kendrick. Howie got to Nolasco early and swatted out a solo home run in the first, his 6th on the season, to put the Angels up 1-0.

Throughout this series the Twins were always quick to respond to the Angels, but with Weaver on the mound, it wasn't happening. Weaver was excellent all night throwing 7 shutout innings and only allowing 4 hits and a single walk to go along with his 7 strikeouts.

The Twins brought out their big guns as well in the form of Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco absolutely shut the Angels offense down aside from Kendrick's solo home run. He threw 6 very strong innings for the Twins, striking out 7 while only allowing 1 run, 1 walk, and 4 hits.

After both starters were out, something was bound to give and oh boy, the flood gates opened. The game remained 1-0 for 7 straight innings until the top of the 9th inning. Mike Trout led things off for the Halos and got the final frame started with a bang. Trout launched a 408ft solo shot out to left center field to put the Halos out in front 2-0. With how the Angels were pitching, that would've been enough, but it just kept on coming.

After producing 2 walks and a base hit the Angels loaded up the bases for Luis Jimenez. Jimenez got the job done with 1 out by popping a ball out to deep center. It was fielded cleanly, but the throw couldn't come home in time. 3-0 Angels. With 2 outs, the Twins managed to force a ground ball over to the left side of the infield, the easy play was to second base so the smart play was made, inning over right? Wrong, Dozier bobbled the ball and dropped it over at second allowing the Angels to allowing the Angels to reload the bases. Erick Aybar made them pay immediately by finding the gap out in right center field and the speedy shortstop made his rounds. All 3 Angels on base scored and Aybar slid into third with a satisfying 3 run triple to put the Angels out comfortably, 6-0.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth, closer Ernesto Frieri was expected to come out to get the save, but after the explosion in the 9th, Frieri just came on to try to get the Twins out in as few pitches as possible. He was able to do just that, tossing a perfect 9th inning with two strikeouts to give the Angels a 6-0 victory, extend the winning streak to 7 games, and a series win against the Twins.

Angels win 6-0
Player of the Game: Jered Weaver - 7.0IP, 4H, 0R, BB, 7Ks

Game 4
C.J. Wilson (LHP): 11-6, 3.27 ERA, 191 Ks vs. Phil Hughes (RHP): 9-9, 3.62 ERA, 138 Ks

Spoiler

Game 4 featured C.J. Wilson taking on Phil Hughes and it did not disappoint. After a quiet 1st, Kole Calhoun hit a deep fly out to left field much to the delight of Josh Hamilton who was stationed at 3rd base. After reeling in the catch, Twins left fielder Josh Willingham gunned it home, but it wasn't in time as the Hamilton scored to give the Angels the lead 1-0.

In the top of the 3rd, Albert Pujols came up to bat with a Mike Trout on first and Howie Kendrick on second with one out. This is Albert Pujols we're talking about here folks, he found a gap on the left side of the infield and the ball went just deep enough to get Howie in to give the Halos a 2-0 lead.

In the very next frame, Angel killer Oswaldo Arcia came up with Josh Willingham already on base. Wilson delivered a pitch that just caught too much of the plate. Arcia took advantage and drove it out over the wall to knot the game back up at 2-2.

With the game knotted at 2, the pitchers from both sides really hunkered down and held the game scoreless up until the 8th inning. With Fernando Salas on the mound, Brian Dozier smashed a ball out into center field. Thanks to the high walls at Target Field the ball stayed in the park, but Trout still made a spectacular jumping attempt at the wall to reel it in. Unfortunately, the ball smacked off the wall and rolled back into the outfield. Trout recovered and got the ball back in, but by then Dozier was already standing on 3rd with a triple. Jason Bartlett came up next for the Twins and delivered by lofting the ball deep, but still playable, into right field. Calhoun was able to make the grab, but a close play at the plate went the Twins way and they took the lead 3-2 heading into the 9th.

The Twins then called upon their All-Star caliber closer, Glen Perkins. Perkins showed just what made him so good and slammed the door on the Angels. Perkins blew fastball after fastball past Angels batters resulting in back-to-back strikeouts to start the 9th. Luis Jimenez represented the last chance for the Halos, but all he could do was hit a week grounder over to second base. Dozier fielded it cleanly and threw him out to end the Angels winning streak at 7 games.

Twins win 3-2
Player of the Game: Oswaldo Arcia - 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, BB, R

The Angels (76-67) get a day off for travel as they head down to Arlington to face the division leading Texas Rangers (80-63) in a 3-game set. The Angels are down 4 games to the Rangers and up 2 games in the wild card standings over the 3rd place Mariners.

[Equinox831]

Here's the full playoff picture for the AL West and Wild Card because I know some are wondering.

AL West
1.) Texas Rangers: 80-63 (0 GB)
2.) Los Angeles Angels: 76-67 (4 GB)
3.) Seattle Mariners: 74-69 (6 GB)
4.) Oakland Athletics: 71-72 (9.0 GB)
5.) Houston Astros: 56-88 (24.5 GB)

Texas has been dominating all year, it's pretty impressive honestly. It's crucial that we win this upcoming series so we can keep them in striking distance because we get another shot at them in LA before the seasons over. The Mariners are hanging in there, more on them when we look at the Wild Card. The As were performing really well most of the season until this past August were they just blew up. We played a large role in that, defeating them 5 times in August. Sorry Oakland. Those 'Stros are gonna be good, they're a AAA team right now, but they'll turn it around..

AL Wild Card
1.) Tampa Bay Rays: 77-67 (0 GB)
2.) Los Angeles Angels: 76-67 (0 GB)
3.) Seattle Mariners: 74-69 (2.0 GB)
4.) Boston Red Sox: 74-70 (2.5 GB)
5.) Oakland Athletics: 71-72 (5.0 GB)

The only teams that are really considered a threat for the wild card now, barring anything crazy, are the Rays, Angels, Mariners, and Red Sox. The AL East and West are going to be very very interesting down the stretch. If I had my choice, I would love for us and the Mariners to make it because we've played great against them all season and I have a ton of confidence against them. It'll be a pitchers duel into the late innings, but we've been doing better in late game situations lately so, again, I'm confident. The toughest match-up would be Boston, they've got good pitching and solid pop in their lineup so they're a little scary. We've just gotta focus on getting there and then worrying about it later.

I'm going to play the first game or two of the Texas series now and then finish it up a little later. The report should be out tomorrow afternoon at the absolute latest.

[Equinox831]

September 11th, 2014

Arlington, Texas -- The Los Angeles Angels (76-67) traveled to Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers (80-63) in a critical 3 game series in the AL West and Wild Card races. The Rangers are attempting to really put some space between themselves and the Angels and Mariners, and the Angels are trying to keep the Rangers in range, pardon the pun, and hold off teams in the Wild Card. Let's get to the games!

Game 1
Odrisamer Despaigne (RHP): 5-1, 3.36 ERA, 55 Ks vs. Robbie Ross (LHP): 11-7, 4.25 ERA, 145 Ks

Spoiler

What a game! Even with the immense hype surrounding this game, a little more was added by Angels prospect, catcher Gary Sanchez, as he made his Major League debut.

After a quiet first inning, Josh Hamilton quieted some of the boos from Texas fans by smashing a solo home run out to right center. The ticker tape shot landed at 420ft and put the Angels up 1-0. The next batter was Gary Sanchez. In his first AB Sanchez saw a pitch that he liked and hit it into the left center gap to collect his first career hit and double. The next batter, David Freese, got on after earning a walk to bring up Kole Calhoun. Calhoun has had a relatively quiet season, but he came up big here destroying a 2-1 fastball and sending it over the left field wall for a 3-run home run, his 9th of the year, to put the Angels up 4-0 in the second.

The game took an odd turn in the top of the 3rd. Howie Kendrick was on first and Mike Trout was up at the plate. Trout hit a fairly routine grounder to Elvis Andrus at shortstop that should have been a double play, but the ball took a bad hop and got past Andrus and into left field. Left fielder Shin Soo Choo was there to back up Andrus, but he seemed to panic and make a wild throw over to third. The throw ended up in the 5th row and Howie was brought home with Trout moving over to 3rd. 5-0 Angels.

With Trout on 3rd and no outs, the Angels just needed a simple pop-up and they got it from Josh Hamilton. Hamilton hit an easy popup to center field and brought Trout home to extend the Angels lead to 6-0 in only the 3rd inning.

After a couple of relatively boring innings, the Rangers started off the 6th inning with their 3-4-5 hitters due up. Odrisamer Despaigne, who was doing a fine job on the hill until this point, had a bit of trouble handling the Rangers trio. Prince Fielder was walked on 6 pitches to begin the inning, then Adrian Beltre received the exact same treatment. With OD still on the mound Shin Soo Choo saw a chance to break the game open and managed to find the gap into right center field, thankfully Mike Trout was there to get the ball in and keep anyone from scoring. With this Mike Scioscia pulled OD from the game in favor of Hector Santiago.

With often troubled pitcher Hector Santiago on the mound, the Rangers offense finally showed up. The very first batter Santiago faced, Mitch Moreland, hit a little flair to left field that dropped and brought in one run and kept the bases loaded. 6-1 still in the Angels favor. Santiago then goes on to walk Jurickson Profar and force the game to 6-2 in the 6th. Hector was able to record a strikeout and then get Robinson Chirinos to pop to shallow center, unfortunately Trout's throw came in just late as the Angels drove in one more with 2 outs. At this point Santiago was lifted after recording 2 outs and facing 4 batters in favor of left hander Sean Burnett. Burnett was able to force a ground ball and stop the bleeding. 6-3 Angels still lead.

In the 7th inning the Angels tried to mount some offense as Erick Aybar hit a 2 out triple, his 7th of the season, but was stranded there to end the Angels half of the 7th. The Angels elected to bring in right hander Joe Smith to face the Rangers, now with their #2 hitter leading off, Alex Rios. Rios ran the count full before getting walked, Fielder popped out to Smith himself, before Beltre singled to 2nd. With runners on first and second Choo flew out to left and advanced Rios to 3rd. This is where things go wrong. Mitch Moreland again found a gap in the infield that brought home a run to make it 6-4, Angels advantage. With 2 on and 2 out Jurickson Profar stood in and ended Joe Smith's night by absolutely demolishing an ill placed fastball that found the seats out in left field. Profar's homer brought around 3 runners and the Rangers did the unthinkable and retook the lead 7-6 in the 7th after being down 6.

After Tyler Clippard came out of the pen to register the 3rd out in the 7th, the Angels needed to bounce back badly. The Halos response was to put on a clinic on how to manufacture a run. Trout led off with a single into left field, then stole 2nd to open up first. The Rangers pitched around Pujols and put him on first. Hamilton, already with a homer was also walked to load up the bases. Gary Sanchez, in his MLB debut, needed to come up big. With 0 outs anything besides a groundball right at someone helps and the phenom got it done. He skied a popup over to right center that brought in Trout. 7-7 tie in the 8th. Hank Conger was up next for the Halos. He took a hard hack at a 2-2 breaking ball and only managed to hit a slow dribbler in front of home. This forced the catcher to come out and make a play on the ball and brought in Pujols. The Angels regained the lead 8-7 heading into the bottom of the 8th.

With Clippard on the mound, the Rangers suddenly went back to little league. Clippard forced a ground out to first for out #1, a ground out to short for out #2, and a fly out to right field. 12 pitches and the Rangers were done.

After a quiet 1-2-3 9th for the Angels, Ernesto Frieri came on to try to seal it for the Angels. He had to deal with the 3-4-5 hitters once again. Fielder was sat down chasing a 2-2 changeup. Beltre came up next and lined to right field for a single followed by Choo following suit and singling to right. Mitch Moreland came up next, already with 2 clutch RBIs, but this time was a little different. Frieri got him to hit a grounder over to third base, 5 to 4 to 3, ball game.

Angels win 8-7
Player of the Game: Josh Hamilton - 1-2, HR, 2 RBIs, BB, R

Game 2
Garrett Richards (RHP): 9-10, 3.20 ERA, 94 Ks vs. Colby Lewis (RHP): 14-9, 4.11 ERA, 109 Ks

Spoiler

Game 2 started out as a pitches duel as both teams offenses were handcuffed until the 5th. With speedy Leonys Martin on base due to a walk in the bottom of the 5th, Robinson Chirinos hit a liner over towards right. The ball was a little difficult to play, but nothing out of the ordinary for a major league outfielder. Right fielder Kole Calhoun managed to get there, but the ball somehow just got past him and Leonys went on to score from 1st and Chirinos easily made it into third. On the very next at-bat, Elvis Andrus recorded the first base hit of the ball game and brought home Chirinos to make it 2-0 Rangers.

This was enough to force the Angels to lift Garrett Richards from the game, the Rangers on the other hand were cruising with starter Colby Lewis on the mound. Lewis went 8 strong innings, allowing 5 hits and 7 walks, on 1 earned run and 4 strikeouts. The lone Angels run came on a 2-out solo home run by DH Tyler Moore to keep things interesting in the 8th.

Despite not registering a hit until the 4th inning and being generally ineffective all game, the Angels offense had opportunities. In the very first inning, Angels lead-off man Erick Aybar walked to start the game and then was immediately caught stealing, unfortunately the Angels would put another man on due to a fielding error, and then 2 more would make it on due to walks to load the bases with 2 outs. The Rangers escaped. Missed opportunity. Again in the third, with 2 outs Trout and Pujols walked for the Angers, then a wild pitch allowed both of them over to 2nd and 3rd and with first open Hamilton was walked. Bases loaded, 2 outs, pop out to right field. The Rangers escaped again. Another missed opportunity.

This game was just the Angels offense and defense letting the pitching staff down. With the series knotted at 1-1, the rubber match has a one game playoff vibe for the Halos.

Rangers Win 2-1
Player of the Game: 8.0IP, 5H, 1ER, 7BB, 4K

Game 3
Tyler Skaggs (LHP): 15-8, 3.91 ERA, 150 Ks vs. Yu Darvish (RHP): 10-12, 4.52, 232 Ks

Spoiler

There are very pitchers that can make the Angels look foolish, but one of those guys is Yu Darvish. Spirits were high for the Angels early as they came out and hit Darvish hard in the first. Aybar and Trout both managed to draw walks from the strikeout leader to take first and second respectively. Then the man that has delivered all year for the Halos, Albert Pujols, smashed a hanging breaking ball to deep left. The ball careened off the wall and Aybar scored from second to give the Angels a 1-0 lead. After that, there's not much to talk about for the Angels.

The game was locked in at 1-0 until the 4th inning. With Adrian Beltre on second, catcher Geovany Soto hit a groundball directly up the middle of the diamond. Trout fielded the ball and launched it home, but it came in a little offline and Beltre came home safely to knot the game at 1-1.

In the next inning, Rangers outfielder Shin Soo Choo grounded to center for a single to lead off the inning. Leonys Martin came up next and continued his very solid series with a rocket shot out to right field. The ball cleared the right field despite Kole Calhoun's best efforts and the Ranges took the lead, 3-1. With speedster Elvis Andrus up next, the Angels decided to play a little shallow. Andrus isn't known for his power and he has a reputation for bunting to get on. Big mistake. Andrus lifted the ball over Calhoun's head in right. By the time Kole got the ball back into the infield Andrus was standing on third with a 0 out triple. DH Luis Sardinas was next in the order and he continued his assault on Kole Calhoun by lifting a ball to right. Calhoun fielded the pop up cleany and gunned the ball back in, but to no avail. Andrus scored and the Rangers went up 4-1.

At this point, the Angels elected to rotate through pitchers to try to stop the bleeding and hope the offense came through. Between relievers Sean Burnett (1.0IP), Hector Santiago (0.1IP), Mike Morin (0.2IP), Jonny Venter (0.1IP), and Joe Smith (0.2IP) the Angels pitchers were perfect from the 6th inning on. Not a single baserunner. The only problem was Yu Darvish got into a groove and that'll stop any offense. Darvish went 8 innings, only surrendering 1 run on 2 hits and striking out 4. He left the game in Joakim Soria's hands and Soria delivered striking out 2, collecting his 41st save, and giving Darvish the win.

Rangers Win 4-1
Player of the Game: Yu Darvish - 8.0IP, 2H, 1ER, 7BB, 4K

The Angels go down 2-1 in the series and drop to 5 games back in the AL West. Due to some good fortune the Angels remain only half a game back from the top spot in the Wild Card, but the race is tightening up with the Red Sox .5 back and the Mariners 1.5 back.

The Angels open up their last home stand of the season against the Houston Astros tomorrow. Every single game is more important than the last now.

[Equinox831]

Another series, another standings update, here we go.

AL West
1.) Texas Rangers: 82-64 (0 GB)
2.) Los Angeles Angels: 77-69 (5.0 GB)
3.) Seattle Mariners: 75-70 (6.5 GB)
4.) Oakland Athletics: 73-73 (9.0 GB)
5.) Houston Astros: 57-89 (25.0 GB)

Those damn Rangers. Their lineup is ridiculous. I was banking on their pitching letting them down, but it didn't happen in games 2 and 3 of our last series, we'll get them again this month.

AL Wild Card
1.) Tampa Bay Rays: 78-69 (0 GB)
2.) Los Angeles Angels: 77-69 (0 GB)
3.) Boston Red Sox: 77-70 (0.5 GB)
4.) Seattle Mariners: 75-70 (1.5 GB)
5.) Oakland Athletics: 73-73 (4.0 GB)

The wild card race is going to get VERY interesting. The Yankees are 4.5 out so it's all AL East and West right now. We need to just keep winning, no time to slip up now. We're starting a 10 game home stand so hopefully we can get it done. If we get lucky we can clinch a wild card spot before going back on the road to play the A's and Mariners. It's a long shot, but we can hope.

[Equinox831]

September 14th, 2014

Los Angeles, California -- The Los Angeles Angels (77-69) begin a 10 game home stand against the lowly Houston Astros (57-89) with a 3 game set. The Astros are officially eliminated from playoff contention, but with a lot of younger guys fighting for spots on next years roster, they're still going to play hard. The Angels need to fight off the 'Stros and build up momentum for their final playoff push.

Game 1
Jered Weaver (RHP): 12-7, 3.21 ERA, 143 Ks vs. Dallas Keuchel (LHP): 7-15, 4.66 ERA, 92 Ks

Spoiler

The Angels set out to make a statement in the 1st of 3 games, but out of the gates it was the Astros that put their foot in the door. Astros phenom George Springer came up in the second and hit a high popup that just kept on carrying until it made it over the shallow left field wall. Despite being a little frustrated, Weaver locked in and pitched a great game. More on that later.

In the 3rd inning, seldomly used third baseman David Freese led off with a double to the gap in left. Kole Calhoun came up next and grounded over to first allowing Freese to make it over to 3rd and Ayber got him home with a line drive to left field to knot the game up at 1-1. Aybar went 2-4 on the day with an RBI.

In the bottom of the fourth, Albert Pujols kept up his All-Star production by destroying a high fastball out to dead center. When it finally came down it was 421 feet away and Albert was already halfway around the bases. The solo shot put the Halos up 2-1.

With the lead, the focus shifted on shutting down the Astros offense and that's exactly what happened. Jered Weaver turned in another solid start throwing 6 innings, striking out 6, and giving up the one Springer home run. Weaver left the game with the score still at 2-1 and lined up for the win.

After Weaver's departure, Angels rookie DH Gary Sanchez joined in the hit parade. With 2 outs and Mike Trout standing on 2nd Sanchez saw a pitched that he liked and ripped it over the second baseman's head and into right center. Trout would make the long run home and put the Angels up 3-1 in the 6th inning.

Fast forward two innings and Big Al was at it again. Pujols once again saw a pitch that he liked and crushed it. This time to the seats over in right center field. Another solo shot and his 32nd of the season. Angels go up 4-1 in the 8th.

Tyler Clippard came on to setup closer Ernesto Frieri in the 8th, but with Clippard throwing so well manager Mike Scioscia decided to keep Clippard in the game for the save opportunity. Clippard responded well knocking the Astros out 1-2-3 and ending the game.

Angels Win 4-1
Player of the Game: Albert Pujols - 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

*The game crashed after I played this game so I had to sim, as a result some of the stats are going to be a little off at the end of the year.*

Game 2
C.J. Wilson (LHP): 11-6, 3.24 ERA, 199 Ks vs. Scott Feldman (RHP) - 8-13, 4.45 ERA, 113 Ks

Spoiler

Disappointing. After a strong start to the series, the Angels just didn't have it when it counted in the second game. Starter C.J. Wilson threw an excellent game going 8 innings and only allowing 2 hits. The catch? Both of those hits were home runs. 1 by Alex Presley in the 3rd to tie the game at 1 and another by Jose Altuve to give the Stros the lead in the 6th.

With the score 2-1 in the 6th, the Angels backup shortstop Grant Green uncharacteristically destroyed a fastball to the tune of 419 feet and his first home run of the year. Of course it was only a solo shot so the Angels tied it back up at 2.

With a few more shutout innings under his belt, C.J. Wilson finally gave up the game to Tyler Clippard in the 9th. Clippard, who is usually lights out, walked Jonathan Villar and Jose Altuve came on to sac bunt him over to second. With 1 out, the Angels needed a strikeout or a fly out, Clippard delivered a strikeout and then future superstar George Springer came up to bat. In what will be a signature moment for Mr. Springer, he torched a ball into left field that smacked off the wall. Hamilton tried his best, but the speedy Villar scored easily to make the game 3-2.

In the bottom half the Astros got Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton out easily for the first two outs, Tyler Moore managed a single, but a groundout by pinch hitter Howie Kendrick ended the game and tied the series at 1 a piece.

Astros Win 3-2
Player of the Game: Jose Altuve - 1-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI, BB, R

Game 3
Odrisamer Despaigne (RHP): 5-1, 3.49 ERA, 62 Ks vs. Brett Oberholtzer (LHP): 8-16, 6.40 ERA, 91 Ks

Spoiler

The Angels finished up this series with yet another disappointment, dropping the rubber match to the Astros, 7-5. In what was an offensive oriented affair, the Astros just had more pop.

The Angels managed to take a 3-0 lead on the Stros in the 3rd thanks to Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton, and Hank Conger all driving in runs in succession, but the Astros decided to one up. In the top of the 4th the Astros smacked based hit after base hit to the tune of 4 runs. Springer started the affair by doubling to bring home Altuve, the next batter, Jason Castro, doubled to bring in Springer. Jon Singleton got a hold of a ball and hit it deep to dead center, Trout ranged back and jumped at the wall and managed to deflect the ball back in. By the time Trout got it in Castro had scored and Singleton was on third to tie it up at 3. One last extra base hit by Alex Presley made it 4 in a row and led to 4 runs for the Astros.

The Angels stayed strong though with Pujols driving in a run in the 4th to tie it up and then Erick Aybar driving in one of his own to give the Angels a 5-4 lead in the 5th.

Just when things were looking good for the Angels everything went wrong again in the 7th. A Jason Castro blooper that landed in between Erick Aybar at short, Josh Hamilton in left, and Trout in center managed to take an unusual bounce and get past Hamilton. It rolled just enough to bring in 2 Astro runs and get Castro over to 3rd. Castro finished with 3 RBIs and was driven in by Matt Dominguez to make it 7-4.

The Angels attempted to mount comebacks, but nothing was working and they again go down 7-4 to lose the series 2-1. With some questions still lingering about the back end of the rotation and the bullpen, can the Angels still make the playoffs?

Astros Win 7-4
Player of the Game: Jason Castro - 2-4, 3 RBI, 2 2B, BB, 2 R

With the Angels dropping 4 of the last 6 things seem be on the down swing once again for the Halos. Now sitting at 78-71, the Angels fall to 3rd in the AL West and Wild Card and face the team they're chasing, the 78-70 Seattle Mariners up next. The Angels and Mariners are slated to play a 4 game set. With a series victory, the Angels can take sole possession of 2nd place in the AL West and Wild Card, but it's sure to be a challenge.

[Deuce2223]

You know you had my full support against Houston but it's time now as you take on the M's. I would love to at least see you play the M's in the Wildcard game, even if it does mean you beating them to move on.