The Angels won a close one in the Motor City on Tuesday night, beating the Tigers 5-4. This win was propelled by Torii Hunter’s 3 hit, 3 RBI game. Joe Saunders pitched a strong ballgame, and the Angels took the go-ahead lead when Mark Teixeira drove in a run with a sac fly.

Torii Hunter delivered the Angels an early lead against Chris Lampert, who was making just his second career start. Hunter’s double drove in a pair, and the team with the major’s best road record was looking strong again. Miguel Cabrera drove in a run during the bottom of that inning to cut the Angels’ lead in half. Torii Hunter drove in his third run of the game to get that run back in the 3rd inning, but just like that, RBI doubles by Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera knotted up the game.

“After the third inning,” Mike Scioscia said, “that’s when Joe really got aggressive. That was good to see.”

Indeed, Saunders did. He ended up pitching 6 1/3 innings and at the time of his departure, had a 4-3 lead. That was until, Miguel Cabrera, a thorn in the Angels side all night, stepped up to the plate against Scot Shields in the 8th inning. Cabrera’s opposite-field drive with 2 outs knotted up the game, and the two teams headed into the 9th tied up.

The Angels wasted no time. A single and a steal of second base from Chone Figgins, a ground ball by Garett Anderson, and a sac fly by Mark Teixeira put them in front. By the way, the steal by Figgins was No. 30 of the season, who became the fourth player in the Majors to reach that total over the past five seasons.

*K-Rod Watch: K-Rod was the man again in the bottom of the 9th, earning his 54th save of the season. Not only that, but this save was the 200th of his fabulous career, a career that has still a long way to go.

The Angels remarkable season is winding down, as their magic number to clinch the AL West is down to nine. The team still is playing well, as they have just recently taken the first 3 games of the series against Texas at Angel Stadium. Here are the recaps:

Game One: The Angels came back to beat the Rangers 7-5 even after Texas had jumped on Jon Garland for 4 runs in the top of the first. Milton Bradley and Chris Davis homered for the Rangers. The Halos exploded for a 5-run 8th against the Rangers bullpen; this inning included a clutch, bases-clearing double from Juan Rivera.

“We saw the Rally Monkey come out,” Rivera said through a translator. “I knew something would happen then.”

Francisco Rodriguez got his 51st save in this one. Mark Teixeira also homered in the winner. 

Game 2: This one was more of a pitcher’s duel. Ervin Santana was incredibly strong on the mound, allowing only one run over 8 innings in the Angels 3-1 victory. Garett Anderson, who batted second for the first time in 9 years, launched a 2-run shot as the Angels put up a 3-spot in the 6th inning. Torii Hunter might have saved the game though. With the tying run at the plate and Ervin Santana still going strong in the 7th, Marlon Byrd drove a shot toward the wall in center field. Hunter went up and over the wall to bring back what would have been the tying home run. Hunter saved the game, but K-Rod got credit for the actual save. 3-1 Angels final.

Game 3: On Saturday night, the Angels squeaked by the Rangers for their third win in a row over their rivals from Texas. Jered Weaver pitched a good game, but unfortunately went only 5 innings and recieved a no decision for his effort. Scott Feldman pitched well for the Rangers, but gave up all 4 of the Angels runs and lost. The Halos played small ball and just got by as they won, 4-3. Torii Hunter, who has had an amazing series defensively, took away another go-ahead homer, as Hank Blalock was robbed. The sellout crowd watched Francisco Rodriguez get another save, his 53rd, 4 away from tying the single-season record.

The Angels have cooled off.

Their offense has come back down to earth recently, and after losing 2 out of 3 to the Rays in Tampa, the team came home to face the Minnesota Twins, and were promptly torn apart in the first 2 games. The athletic Twins did everything better in the first 2 games; here is the summary.

The first game was a lot more fun to watch than the 2nd game; we’ll get to that other one later. It was a duel between John Lackey and Scott Baker, and Baker blinked first. A mistake to Mark Teixeira was hammered into the seats, and the Angels had a 1-0 lead. Lackey was sharp until the fifth, until he gave up the tying run. After that, it was all zeros. Both starters pitched a strong 8 innings, giving up 1 run each. Then it was battle of the bullpens, and they dueled the two teams into extras. It was Justin Speier that gave up the go-ahead run in the 12th inning. A triple and an RBI single did the job for Minnesota. If there’s anyone who has been better than Francisco Rodriguez this year, it is Joe Nathan. Coming in with the one-run lead, Nathan set the Angels down 1-2-3 to get his 35th save. His ERA is 0.98.

WOW.

Game 2 was a lot different from game 1, as the Angels looked tired from the previous night’s extra inning affair. After getting only 5 hits the night before, the team was blanked by outstanding left-hander Glen Perkins, and Minnesota exploded for runs. The final score was 9-0 Twins.

Joe Saunders had a very rare rough outing for the Angels, and the defense behind him wasn’t too good either. After making 2 errors the previous night, the Angels made 2 more. For the Twins, Delmon Young and Denard Span had big offense games, with Young driving in 3 runs and Span driving in 4. The explosion was capped off by a 5-run 6th inning that knocked Joe Saunders out of the ballgame.

These are the dog days of summer, and the Angels, who looked so strong just a week ago, have lost 4 out of their last 6 ballgames. They are also averaging only 3.1 runs per game in their last nine. Not a lot to worry about however; they are still 15 games above Texas, the closest AL West competitor. It would still be important for the team to clinch home field for the entire playoffs.

Especially the way those Rays play at home.

If I didn’t have Cliff Lee on my fantasy team, I might be more upset about this.

To hold down a team as hot as the Angels, you have to be good. Cliff Lee proved he was last night, just like he has this whole year. Lee went the distance, and got a little help from the Angels’ Jose Arredondo, who had a rare bad relief appearence. Arredondo came in after Jered Weaver exited the game in the 6th inning and gave up the Angels’ small lead.

Lee came in seeking his 17th win, but the Angels got to him in the first. An RBI single by Mark Teixeira put them on the board, and it was up to Jered Weaver to hold the Tribe down. The Indians tied the score in the 4th inning, on an RBI double by Jhonny Peralta. Then Juan Rivera did something barely anyone has done against Cliff Lee all year. He took him deep….the home run by Rivera was only the 8th that he has allowed all year, and things looked pretty good for the Angels. The 2-1 lead held up until the 5th, when with one out, Weaver was removed after giving up a double. With the tying run at second base, Jose Arredondo was brought in. Arredondo had barely struggled at all since being brought up in May, until this night at Progressive Field. A walk, a wild pitch, an RBI single, and 2 more walks, including one to bring the go-ahead run home really hurt Arredondo, who was removed in favor of Justin Speier. The Indians had grabbed the lead for their ace lefty.

“It was just a bad day,” Arredondo said. “It’s over already and I’ll get them tomorrow.”

“This guy has pitched so well,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “We’ll just turn the page on this one. He’s an important part of our bullpen and he’ll bounce back.”

The one-run lead was all Cliff Lee needed to finish the job. He got big double plays in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th innings from his defense.

Cliff Lee: 9 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (17-2)

Jered Weaver: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

The Angels have been so hot of late that there wasn’t much to worry about when the last place Mariners took a 3-0 lead against Jon Garland at Angel Stadium Tuesday night. The team had been coming off a 5-1 east coast roadtrip where most recently, they had swept the New York Yankees. So you can see that there wasn’t a lot to worry about last night.

The Angels used a 4-run 5th inning to grab the lead, and a 3-run 8th inning to pad that lead. The result was 7 unanswered runs and a 7-3 Halos win. They continued to swing the heavy lumber, as 3 more Angels went deep. It started with a 3-run Mariners 4th. The M’s got RBI’s from Raul Ibanez, Adrian Beltre, and Jose Lopez. Jarrod Washburn, a man who has been rumored to be involved in a post-deadline deal, was starting for the Mariners. The crafty lefty was solid until the 5th inning, and most of the damage done in that inning wasn’t even his fault. Juan Rivera broke up Washburn’s shutout with a solo shot to lead off the inning. On top of the home run, Yuniesky Betancourt was eaten up on a ground ball from Jeff Mathis. The home run and the error must have shook Washburn up, as the Angels plated 3 more runs in the inning. This included a 2-run jolt from Vladimir Guerrero, who feels good.

“This is the best I’ve felt all season,” Guerrero said through a translator.

The Angels were not done. After Jon Garland finished another quality start, the team erupted for 3 more insurance runs in the 8th. Garret Anderson hit his 13th home run in this inning, a 2-run shot against Mark Lowe. Francisco Rodriguez got the save with 2 runners aboard in the 9th, giving him 46 saves for the year.

The Angels took game 2 of the 3 game set at Angel Stadium last night, with a huge 11-4 victory over the Yankees. This was mostly from a 8-run 8th inning against the Yankees’ bullpen. Going into that bottom of the 8th, the score had been tied up at 3.

Dan Giese and John Lackey were locked up in a good pitchers duel, and the score was 3-1 Yankees entering the bottom of the 7th inning. Then Garret Anderson and Mike Napoli homered off Jose Veras. With the score tied at 3 in the 8th, Vladimir Guerrero led off with an opposite-field blast. Then it just got fun for the Halos, who smacked hit after hit off of Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson. Ramirez wouldn’t even record an out, giving up 5 runs. (4 ER) By the time Vladdy came up and drove in his second run of the inning, it was 11-3. The Yanks mustered one more run, but the young kids in their bullpen proved to be the most killer for them. With Joba Chamberlain and Chien-Ming Wang out, the Yankees need their pitching staff to step up. Since these starters are hurt, it puts pressure not only on their starting rotation, but their bullpen that will probably see more work.

Back to the Angels…

The team moved to 73-43, 30 games above .500 and 14 games ahead of Texas in the standings. The addition of Mark Teixeira has really beefed up the starting lineup, putting less pressure on the other hitters, while scoring more runs for the pitchers. As a San Diego resident and a Padres fan, the next closest team to me is the Angels, who are right up the freeway. I look foward to San Diego football season, but am also full of hope for the Halos. It will be a fun October, even if my hometown team isn’t involved.

After sweeping the Red Sox, the Angels continued their tour of the AL East by opening a can of hurt on the Bronx Bombers at Yankee Stadium last night. A trio of 3-run homers paced the offense to a 12-6 win over the Yankees, and a 4 game-winning streak. Torii Hunter, Juan Rivera, and Vladimir Guerrero hit 3-run clouts. Chone Figgins got 4 hits. Mark Teixeira, the newest Angel, got 2 hits and drove in a run. Yeah, it was a fun night.

This wasn’t one of Andy Pettitte’s good outings, as he allowed a 6-spot in the 3rd. This inning included two 3-run homers by Torii Hunter and Juan Rivera. After the Yankees chipped away a little bit against Jon Garland, the Angels really opened up the game. 4 more runs for the Halos in the 6th, an inning that included Vladimir Guerrero’s 18th home run with a couple of runners on. The Yankees were buried, even after they rallied for 3 in the 9th inning. Jose Arredondo put out the small fire.

Mark Teixeira likes what he’s seeing.

“This team is so good,” Teixeira said with a grin. ”I hated playing against this team when I was with the Rangers. I’m just having fun being here right now. I know I’ll get in my game.”

The Angels continue dominate the New York Yankees. Since Mike Scioscia took over as manager, the team is 39-33 against the Yanks during the regular season, and 7-2 in the postseason. The team is definitely doing what they need to: beating the strong teams. If they can do this in the postseason, then….who knows?

Jon Garland: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, BB, 3 SO

Chone Figgins: 4-5, 3 R, RBI, SB

Vladimir Guerrero:  3-Run HR (18)

For 8 1/3 innings, it was all about John Lackey at Fenway Park. At the end of the game, it was still all about John Lackey. A man who typically has been hammered by the Red Sox in October was brilliant against them on this night in late July.

Lackey threw many strikes and mixed up his pitches, and did not allow a hit through 8 1/3 innings on the mound in Boston. The Angels had a 6-0 lead at that point when Dustin Pedroia came up to the plate with one out in the 9th. Pedroia then singled past the diving reach of shortstop Macier Izturis. The Fenway crowd roared. Lackey tried to gather himself and try and finish off with the shutout, while chants of, “Youk!!” went off at the park. It was the Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, and he promptly broke up the shutout with a line drive home run into the Green Monster in left. Instead of replacing Lackey with a reliable reliever, Mike Scioscia stuck with him, and Lackey was able to finish the game.

“You’re not going to get a better pitched game than that, for sure,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. “Unfortunately, that ninth inning, he didn’t finish the no-hitter or shutout, but against that lineup, to pitch that well and that deep into the game, that’s a great game by John Lackey.”

The Angels scored twice in the 3rd and 4th innings. In the third, RBI’s by Chone Figgins and Macier Izturis put the team ahead. The next inning, Garret Anderson launched his 10th home run of the year, a 2-run shot to meke it 4-0. The Angels added to more in the 7th, and it was more than enough support for John Lackey. Clay Buchholtz was charged with the loss; he also lost to the Angels earlier this month at Angel Stadium.

John Lackey: 9 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO

Chone Figgins: 1-2, 2 BB, RBI, SB

Clay Buchholtz: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, (5 ER) 3 BB, 5 SO

If the Angels wern’t the top team in the American league before today, they are now. The team has reportedley finished a trade that would send Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek to the Atlanta Braves for slugging switch-hitter Mark Teixeira.

Teixeira was hitting .283 with 20 home runs, and will bring in the power bat at first base that the Angels have longed for.

Casey Kotchman was hitting .287 with 12 homers for the Angels, and will be a solid addition to the Braves ballclub. Stephen Marek, 25, is a  right-hander who has gone 2-6 with a 3.66 ERA in 34 relief appearances for Double-A Arkansas this year.

The Angels, carrying the majors’ best road record, beat the Orioles again 11-6 in Baltimore on Saturday Night. Jon Garland wasn’t as good as usual, but recieved offensive support to win his 9th game of the season. The Angels homered 4 times in the win.

Baltimore starter Radhames Liz was jumped on early, when the Halos scored twice in the first inning. The Orioles came right back against Garland though, when slugger Aubery Huff hit his 20th home run. The Orioles’ lead was short-lived, as Casey Kotchman went deep in the third inning to put the Angels back in front. That same inning, Torii Hunter would go yard, the first of two home runs he would hit last night. Liz would be knocked out of the game, but the Angels would score late against the Orioles’ bullpen. Torii Hunter homered again, and then Juan Rivera hit a 3-run shot to put the game away. Both home runs came against Fernando Cabrera, a usually very reliable reliever. It would be more than enough for Jon Garland to win. Jose Arredondo and Darren Oliver finished the game for the Halos.

Jon Garland: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Torii Hunter: 3-3, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R