|
 Fresh off a four-city, 10-game trip, the Angels returned home and
didn't put a runner on base for the first three innings against
Houston Astros pitcher Brett Oberholtzer.
Then they woke up.
Buoyed by a seven-run fifth inning, the Angels routed the Astros
11-3, winning their ninth game in a row. Coupled with Oakland's loss
to Seattle, the Angels increased their lead in the American League
West to 11 games and reduced their magic number to clinch the
division to five.
The nine-game winning streak is the Angels' longest in 10 years, the
club also winning nine in a row from Aug. 18-27 in 2004.
The last team to beat the Angels was the Astros, who swept a
two-game series in Houston on Sept. 2 and 3. Those are the only two
games the Angels have lost since Aug. 25, winning 15 of 17 overall.
It is the offense that has carried the Angels through the winning
streak, the club scoring 81 runs in the nine games (9.0 runs per
game), and Friday they put together another big inning. The
seven-run fifth marked the fourth time in the past six games the
Angels have scored at least six runs in an inning.
"At times you'll be part of a team or see teams go on runs like
that, and we've had them here before," Angels manager Mike Scioscia
said. "Obviously it's a great time for it. Right now, these runs are
very welcomed. We're taking a lot of pressure off our pitchers,
giving our bullpen a chance to reset, hopefully these guys will keep
it rolling."
Right fielder Kole Calhoun stayed hot with three hits and two RBIs,
center fielder Mike Trout doubled, tripled and drove in two, second
baseman Howie Kendrick had two hits and two RBIs, and third baseman
David Freese hit a two-run homer.
"Everybody is swinging the bat well," Calhoun said. "We're extremely
confident right now. We're getting timely hits with guys in scoring
position, there's never a panic mode, and once we get a lead we keep
extending it. It's been fun coming to the yard lately."
All the offense made it easier for the Angels to withstand a shaky
outing by starter C.J. Wilson. Wilson (12-9) gave up three runs (two
earned) on seven hits and got the win, but lasted only five innings,
making 108 pitches along the way.
"It's never good to throw that many pitches in five innings," Wilson
said. "A lot of their hits I was in a bad count, 2-and-1, or 1-0,
2-0. The biggest thing is we scored a ton of runs."
Oberholtzer (5-11) gave up six runs (four earned) on five hits to
get the loss. Second baseman Jose Altuve had two hits to increase
his major league-leading hit total to 202.
Right fielder Jake Marisnick also had two hits for Houston, but his
error in the fifth inning opened the door for the Angels' big
inning. The Astros made three errors in all, leading to five
unearned runs.
"(The Angels) are on a roll; they're a good team, there's no doubt
about that," Astros interim manager Tom Lawless said. "If we don't
play a clean game -- we made a miscue here, we made a miscue there,
they took advantage of it. That's what good teams do."
[to top of second column]
|
The Astros put continual pressure on Wilson in the early innings.
They scored single runs in the first, second and fourth innings,
getting seven hits and going 4-for-4 in stolen-base attempts.
Marisnick and left fielder Robbie Grossman each had an RBI single,
and center fielder Dexter Fowler had an RBI double as the Astros
took a 3-0 lead.
Oberholtzer was perfect through three innings, retiring all nine
hitters he faced. But in the fourth, Calhoun led off with a single
and scored on a double by Trout.
After first baseman Albert Pujols struck out, Kendrick flied out to
the warning track in center field. Trout tagged and went to third,
and when shortstop Jonathan Villar dropped the throw from the
outfield, Trout raced home to cut the Angels' deficit to 3-2.
The Angels scored seven more in the fifth inning to take a 9-3 lead,
thanks in a big way to an error by Marisnick in right field.
The Angels had runners on first and second with one out when
outfielder Collin Cowgill hit a drive to right-center. Marisnick
called off the center fielder Fowler, but the ball tipped off the
top of his glove and fell in for a two-base error, allowing one run
to score.
That opened the floodgates in the inning for the Angels, who got a
two-run single from Calhoun, an RBI triple from Trout, a sacrifice
fly from Pujols and a two-run homer from Freese.
"You can't make mistakes against a good team," Lawless said. "You
give them extra outs, you're going to pay the price, and we did
tonight."
NOTES: Angels OF Josh Hamilton had X-rays on his sore right
shoulder, the results of which were negative. However, there is no
timetable for Hamilton's return to the lineup, and manager Mike
Scioscia would not rule out Hamilton missing the rest of the season.
... Angels LHP Joe Thatcher, out since Aug. 3 with a sprained left
ankle, was activated from the disabled list. ... Astros 2B Jose
Altuve began the night leading the American League in average
(.336), hits (200) and stolen bases (52). He got two more hits
Friday, raising his average to .337. No player has led the league in
all three categories at the end of the season since Seattle's Ichiro
Suzuki did it in 2001.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
