| | MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Game played July 29, 2007 The Los Angeles Angels scored early and often Sunday en route to taking the finale of a three-game set with Detroit, 13-4, scoring in double-digits for the third consecutive game for the second time in team history and sweeping this important series between division leaders, each by narrow margins, and potential playoff opponents. The Angels started the carnage in their first time on the offensive. In the first inning, Chone Figgins singled to left, and Vladimir Guerrero laced a one-out double off the wall in left field, sending Figgins to third base. Garret Anderson walked, and a Casey Kotchman sac fly scored Figgins, making it 1-0. Gary Matthews Jr. proceeded to triple down the right-field line, chasing home Guerrero and Anderson and taking a 3-0 lead. Maicer Izturis doubled to the right-center field gap, and Matthews came around to take a 4-0 advantage. Los Angeles proceeded to secure all the offense it would need in its next two at-bats. In the Angels second, Figgins led off again after Los Angeles batted around in the first, and singled to right field. Orlando Cabrera blooped a single to left, and Figgins moved to third. Cabrera stole second base, then Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman (10-3), who only worked 2 1/3 innings, yielding 11 runs on nine hits with three walks and four strikeouts, allowed Figgins and Cabrera to score on two wild pitches, seizing a 6-0 lead. Then, in the third, after Detroit’s Sean Casey scored on a Brandon Inge sac fly, the Angels batted around again, for the fourth time in the series, en route to salting the game away. Izturis singled off Placido Polanco’s glove, and Jeff Mathis singled just under Carlos Guillen’s glove. Bonderman threw a Reggie Willits sac bunt down the right-field line, allowing Willits to reach and Izturis to score, making the score 7-1. Figgins then singled again to right, scoring Mathis. Willits and Figgins executed a double steal, and Cabrera walked to chase Bonderman. Reliever Chad Durbin hit Guerrero immediately, forcing in Willits and making it 9-1. Anderson then singled to right, scoring Figgins and Cabrera and taking an 11-1 lead. Finally, Kotchman’s fielder’s choice scored Guerrero, closing the book on the inning with a 12-1 lead. Detroit did manage to score again in the fourth and fifth innings. In their fourth time up, Gary Sheffield led off with a single to center and took second on a balk on Angels spot starter Dustin Moseley, making his first start since April 12 and filling in for Bartolo Colon, out with elbow trouble. Ivan Rodriguez singled to center, scoring Sheffield and cutting the lead to 12-2. In the fifth, Ryan Raburn and Inge each singled to left and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. A Sheffield two-out walk chased Moseley, one out shy of qualifying for the victory, but pitching 4 2/3 innings of five-hit, four-run ball, with two walks and five strikeouts. Craig Monroe got a bloop single down in right off reliever Chris Bootcheck (3-2), scoring Raburn and Inge and making the score 12-4. The Angels capped the score on a sac fly from Matthews in the eighth, scoring Kotchman, who had doubled, and making the final score 13-4. Los Angeles was paced by Figgins, who went three-for-five. Kotchman, Izturis, and Mathis also got two knocks each. On the mound, Bootcheck got the win, going 2 1/3 innings, yielding two hits and no runs. Greg Jones and Marcus Gwyn, making his big-league debut, shut it down out of the bullpen. For Detroit, Raburn and Inge each garnered two hits. On the hill, Durbin, Macay McBride, Todd Jones, and Bobby Seay allowed two runs after Bonderman’s departure. The Angels will next go to face Seattle in a three-game set, starting the series Monday night with Kelvim Escobar slated to throw. Detroit will travel to Oakland for three, with Jordan Tata making a spot start. Los Angeles, now 61-42, leads the AL West over the Mariners by four games, and the 60-44 Tigers’ lead over Cleveland was cut to a half-game with the loss. Video credit- ESPN |
