You know all that hogwash people throw around about baseball not having a dominant team? Well, the Los Angeles Angels are pretty clearly the best team in baseball, and they have no contenders to that throne. The funny thing is, the Angels actually got off to a bad start this year. After losing two out of three at home to the Yankees at the beginning of May, they were 16-17, and the usual concerns began to creep in. Since that date, the Angels are an incomprehensible 77-38, good for a .670 winning percentage. Yes, the Angels have won more than two-thirds of their games for a 115 game stretch. This morning, the Angels woke up with a ten game winning streak and an 11 game lead in the AL West. Three weeks ago tomorrow, they were tied with the A’s atop the division. They’ve gone 16-2 since, burying the A’s in the division. Since Garrett Richards injured his knee on August 20th in Boston, the team is 19-5. Since the All-Star Break, they’re 36-18. Since their lat four game losing streak, which came at the beginning of August, they’re 26-7. Yeah, alright – this team is legit.
Game of the Night: White Sox 7, Twins 6. Chicago swept their doubleheader with Minnesota in dramatic fashion. A Jose Abreu homer in the fifth tied the game at four, but the Twins immediately bounced back to take the lead in the sixth after a solo homer by Trevor Plouffe. Conor Gillaspie re-tied the game for the pale hose in the seventh with an RBI single, but in the ninth, Jake Petricka allowed an RBI double to Kurt Suzuki, putting the Twins back in front 6-5. In the bottom of the ninth, the usually reliable Glen Perkins struggled. Perkins walkd Jose Abreu to lead off the inning (not a bad move, honestly), and then got Avisail Garcia to ground into a fielder’s choice to force out pinch runner Jordan Danks. That brought up Dayan Viciedo, who put one into orbit, giving the White Sox a victory and staving off elimination for another day.
Pitching Lines of the Night: In Chicago’s 5-1, game one win over the Twins, Jose Quintana allowed one run on three hits in seven innings, walking two and striking out an incredible 13. Jered Weaver was dominant for the Angels in their 5-2 win over the Astros, giving up one run on four hits in seven innings, punching out a dozen and walking one. In the Braves’ 3-2 loss to the Rangers, Julio Teheran allowed three unearned runs on three hits in eight innings, striking out six and walking one. Jeremy Guthrie pitched the Royals to a 7-1 win over the Red Sox, giving up one unearned run on three hits in eight innings, walking one and striking out just two. In the Dodgers’ 17-0 blitzing of the Giants, Zack Greinke allowed four hits over six shutout innings, striking out five without a walk. With the stick, he went 2/3 with a double, a homer, two runs, two RBI, and a walk, just for the hell of it. In Oakland’s 3-2, ten inning win over Seattle, Sonny Gray gave up two runs on five hits in eight innings, striking out seven and walking two.
Hitting Lines of the Night: Mike Trout, the best player in baseball, went 3/3 with a double, two solo homers, three runs, and a walk in the Angels’ win over the Astros. Ian Desmond powered the Nationals to a 10-3 romp over the Mets, going 3/4 with a double, a walk, two runs, three RBI, and two stolen bases. Bryce Harper went 3/4 with a homer, a walk, and two RBI in the victory as well. In the Dodgers’ thrashing of the Giants, Matt Kemp went 3/4 with two doubles, two runs, and three RBI. Hanley Ramirez also added value, going 4/5 with a double, a run, and two RBI. Adam Lind went 2/3 with a double, a homer, three RBI, and a walk in Toronto’s 6-3 win over Tampa Bay. Avisail Garcia went 2/4 with a homer, two runs, three RBI, a walk, and a stolen base in game two of Chicago’s doubleheader sweep over Minnesota.
Other Games: The Yankees held on to beat the Orioles 3-2. The Phillies edged the Marlins 2-1. The Cubs beat the Pirates 6-4. The Reds defeated the Brewers 5-1. The Tigers rallied late to beat the Indians 5-4. The Cardinals withstood a late Rockies rally to win 5-4. The Diamondbacks crushed Tyson Ross and the Padres 10-4.
Today’s Games: Jordan Zimmermann starts for the Nationals against Jon Niese and the Mets. Chris Archer and Mark Buehrle will duel in Toronto. Trevor Bauer starts for the Indians in Detroit against the shell of Justin Verlander. Mike Leake and the Reds take on Matt Garza and the Brewers. Mike Minor takes the hill for the Braves in Texas. Dallas Keuchel and the Astros take on the Angels. Clayton Kershaw starts for the Dodgers in San Francisco against the enigma that is Yusmeiro Petit. Jon Lester and the A’s battle the Orioles. Chris Tillman and the Orioles take on the Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda.
National TV: Indians-Tigers (1 PM, TBS), Yankees-Orioles (8 PM, ESPN)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
