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

The Angels won the series over the Indians in unusual fashion on Wednsday afternoon, winning a slugfest. However, the game was still close enough for Franciso Rodriguez to get another save, his 42nd. Jeff Mathis led the way in the 14-11 win for L.A.

John Lackey definitely did not have his best stuff, laboring through 5 innings. Cleveland scored 2 first-inning runs against him, and it didn’t help that he made an error to let one of those runs in. Lackey was luckey Indians starter Aaron Laffey was also terrible, as the Angels got the 2 runs back to tie the game in the 2nd. A 2-run homer by Ryan Garko in the 4th would give the Indians the lead, but RBI singles by Gary Matthews, Casey Kotchman, and Erick Aybar would give the Halos the lead. Casey Kotchman had a huge game, going an incredible 5-5 with that one RBI. 2 more in the top of the 5th inning would once again give Cleveland the lead. That’s when Jeff Mathis would come in.

Tom Mastny would come in for Aaron Laffey in the bottom of the 5th, trying to hold the lead. He quickly loaded the bases and then walked in a run with Gary Matthews at the plate to tie the game. The very next pitch to Jeff Mathis was clubbed over the left-center field fence for his first career grand slam. This was part of a 4 hit, 6 RBI game for the Angels catcher, who had an incredible series against the tribe.

“I think he was trying to throw a two-seamer in and he left it over the plate,” Mathis said. “I was just trying to put it in play somewhere in the outfield.”

The grand slam would help pick up John Lackey, who got the win despite giving up 6 earned in 5 innings. Nobody threw the ball well today, as the Angels tacked on more runs against the tired Cleveland bullpen. Along with Jeff Mathis, Casey Kotchman and Howie Kendrick had huge offensive games. All 3 had at least 4 hits in the game, the first time an Angels team has ever accomplished this. The Angels had a 14-7 lead at one point, until relievers Darren O’Day and Jose Arredondo would make the game a save situation for K-Rod with 2 outs in the 9th. He never had such an easy save, throwing one pitch to end the ballgame.

The Angels have the day off on Thursday, as they travel to Baltimore for a 3-game series.

John Lackey: 5 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Casey Kotchman: 5-5, RBI

Howie Kendrick: 4-5, 3 2B, 3 RBI

Jeff Mathis: 4-5, GS, 6 RBI

I wasn’t able to get Saturday’s game in until now, so I’ll just do that one with Sunday’s game.

After putting on a absolute show in the first game of the series with The Nation, The Angels took Game 2 with some timely hitting and of course, strong pitching. Josh Beckett was incredibly tough as usual, and was backed by Kevin Youkilis’ 17th home run in the second inning. It would stay 2-0 Boston until the 7th, and that’s when things would get dramatic. Vladimir Guerrero crushed a Beckett fastball into the bullpen in left field to put the Angels on the board. This would cut the Sox lead in half. The Angels were wearing Beckett out, and the next two hitters, Torii Hunter and Garret Anderson singled. After Reggie Willits bunted the runners over, Beckett intentionally walked Howie Kendrick. Then on a 1-0 count, pinch-hitter Erick Aybar tripled down the right field line to clear the bases and send Angel Stadium into a frenzy. They had gotten to Josh Beckett, and he would be done after he finished the 8th inning. A relief for Joe Saunders, who had pitched so well and was on his way to a loss. For Beckett, his hitters couldn’t bail him out against a tough Angels bullpen, and he was charged with his 6th loss of the season. K-Rod earned his 39th save. Halos win 4-2. 

Saunders: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, SO

Guerrero: HR (16)

Beckett: 8 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, BB, 6 SO   

 Now for Game 2.

The Angels, as you probably just read, took the first two over the Red Sox in the series. The Clutch hitting would continue for the Halos as America would watch them beat Boston for the second straight night on National TV as they took the game 5-3. The Angels took the lead early, when Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter hit back to back home runs against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the 2nd. The Red Sox would tie it with 2 of their own the next half inning. From that point, Jon Garland dueled with Tim Wakefield to keep the game tied, and it was–until the 7th inning. With Coco Crisp on second base, Vlad Guerrero dropped Jacoby Ellsbury’s line drive, allowing the go-ahead run to score. The Halos were not ready to give up. Knocking Wakefield out of the game, they scored 3 runs in the 8th inning. Howie Kendrick’s run-scoring single against Wakefield would tie the score, and Casey Kotchman’s game winning two-bagger down the right field line against Manny Delcarmen would almost guarentee a win. Yeah, that’s how GOOD Francisco Rodriguez has been this year, and he showed it. Coming into the game in the top of the 9th, K-Rod struck out the side for his 40th save of the season. Nobody has been better.

At the end of the year, we may be calling Rodriguez the all-time saves holder for a single season. Better than Mariano Rivera, better than Trevor Hoffman. And he’s only 26. …..Okay I’m rambling, but this guy at least needs some Cy Young consideration, especially if the Angels go deep into October. If they take care of business against the Red Sox in October like they this weekend, then this team just might.

Angels Blog

Friday night was a fun night to be an Angels fan. The Champs from Boston have made a recent habit of beating the Angels in the playoffs on their way to the World Series. The Angels would like to change that this year, and their dominating victory over the Sox 11-3 in the first game of the series last night could be a sign of things to come.

John Lackey, who never has pitched well against the Red Sox in the playoffs, was strong through 7 innings, in which he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits. Lackey also whiffed 6–one of them being his 1,000th career strikeout, in which he recieved a standing ovation for.

“I had no idea,” was what Lackey had to say of the ovation, which caught him off guard.

Lackey was backed by some rare offense. Garret Anderson drove in 5 runs, including his 9th home run, against Clay Buchholtz . The Angels scored 3 early runs in the 1st on RBI hits by Casey Kotchman, Macier Izturis, and Vladimir Guerrero. Although the Red Sox ended up tying the game by the 4th inning, that would be all they would score against Lackey and the Angels’ offense would trample the Red Sox from that point. The team had a couple of big innings, scoring 4 in the 5th and 3 in the 6th.  That would knock Red Sox starter Clay Buchholtz ou of the game, who lost for the 5th time in 7 decisions.

The Angels also showed some flashy defense, with outstanding plays from Casey Kotchman, Macier Izturis, and Howie Kendrick. Izturis had one of the best defensive nights of his career, and also banged out 2 hits.

“Great defense the whole game, great start to the second half,” said Lackey about the team defense and impressive win to start the second half.

John Lackey: 7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Garret Anderson: 4-4, HR, 5 RBI

Macier Izturis: 2-3, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI

Clay Buchholtz: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 8 R, (4 ER) 2 BB, 2 SO

Huston Street has been one of the game’s great closers the past few years, but the Angels were hungry enough to rally against him for 2 runs in the 9th to win the game, 4-3. This win and Saturday night’s win gave the Angels sthe series heading into the All-Star Break.

The A’s took an immediate 2-0 lead in the first against spot starter Dustin Moseley, on RBI singles by Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez. The Angels wouldn’t get on the board until the 4th, on Howie Kendrick’s RBI. When Jack Cust took Darren Oliver deep in the 6th inning, it was 3-1 Oakland. Casey Kotchman countered with a solo shot of his own. Then, in the top of the 9th, Huston Street would give up 3 singles and a sacrifice fly, giving the Angels their first lead of the game. This was Street’s 4th blown save of the year. There was more drama though, when in the bottom of that inning, K-Rod loaded the bases with only one out. Rodriguez fanned the final two hitters to secure the series win for the Angels.

Justin Duchscherer: 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Jack Cust: 2-2, HR, 2 BB

Dustin Moseley: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 SO

This season, 3 very deserving Angels are going to Yankee Stadium to participate in this year’s Midsummer Classic. Joe aunders, Ervin Santana, and Francisco Rodriguez will all be making the trip. This is the first time 3 Angels’ pitchers have participated. Also, Vladimir Guerrero will not be there starting for the first time in 5 years.

K-Rod is making his 3rd trip to the All-Star game; he went last year and in 2004. Joe Saunders and Ervin Santana are going for the first time and are both very excited to be there.

“We have some fabulous arms on this team,” Saunders said. “To get the opportunity to do this is pretty special. Everything’s fallen in place this year.”

“It’s a great honor,” Santana said. “I put in a lot of work during the winter and this spring, and it’s a good feeling to be helping the team and now making the All-Star team. I’ve always believed in my ability. It’s just a matter of being consistent.”

One of the newest A’s brought in the Rich Harden deal, Sean Gallagher, made his debut against the Angels last night. It might have been the right team to face, as the Angels offense has been very inconsistent this season. Gallagher was strong for seven innings, and barely got into any trouble. On the other side, the hungry A’s batters beat up Jon Garland for 7 runs in less than 3 innings, Garland’s worst start as an Angel.

“Everything was up, everything,” Garland said of his pitches. “I got ahead of guys, didn’t put them away”…..”Just an overall bad game.”

The A’s put up a single run in the 2nd, 2 in the 4th, and a huge 6-run 3rd sandwiched between. Garland would not finish that inning. The sky isn’t falling yet, but the Angels have lost 8 of their last 15 games, and the A’s are right behind. They need to finish off the A’s with victories today and tomorrow.

Jon Garland: 2.2 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO

Angels batters 2-8 in starting lineup: 0-23

So many things were different from a usual Angels game you might watch and the crazy slugfest they played in Arlington Thursday night. The team reached their season-high run total for a game with 11, and it took 11 innings to finish. The final score was 11-10 Angels. So many things were different about this Angels game, we’re going to go through them in a list.

• John Lackey had one of the worst starts of his career, giving up 15 hits and 6 runs even though he made it through 5 2/3 innings.
• Howie Kendrick hit 2 home runs in this ballgame; they were his first two of the season, and we’re nearly at the all-star break.
• The Angels gave up a 6-run lead.
• Francisco Rodriguez made an error closing out the ballgame in the 11th inning, the second of his career; the first came in 2005.
• The Texas Rangers got 20 hits, and left 28 men on base.

Now for the scoring summary: I’ll try and make this as quick as possible.

The Rangers would be the first to score in the bottom of the first, on RBI hits by Ramon Vasquez and Michael Young. Howie Kendrick would get one of those back on a home run the next half inning. The Angels would take the lead the next inning on 2 sacrifice flies. Josh Hamilton answered during the bottom of that inning with a 2-run homer of John Lackey. It looked like the Angels were going to break it open after they scored 5 in the 4th to take a 8-4 lead. Another home run by Kendrick gave them a 10-4 lead. The Rangers would scratch and claw their way back, however, knocking John Lackey out of the game. Max Ramirez tied the game with a 2-run homer off Scot Shields in the 7th to finish an amazing comeback for the Rangers. Amazingly, nobody scored for the next 3 innings, until Macier Izturis drove in the go-ahead run in the 11th. K-Rod closed out the game, despite getting into a little trouble. 

Howie Kendrick: 2 HR (1,2)

John Lackey: 5.2 IP, 15 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Vladimir Guerrero: 0-3, 3 BB, SB

Angels: Tied record for most team wins before All-Star break