Oakland isn’t going to make this easy. They’re one of the hottest teams in the AL West and even though the Angels won four over the Mariners this weekend, the Angels find themselves only one game closer then when they entered the series.
Kelvim Escobar threw a really nice game on Thursday. He gave up only a single run in seven innings of work. Chone Figgins had three hits and two runs and Vlad Guerrero drove in three in the 5-2 win.
Jered Weaver joined Whitey Ford as the only rookie to win his first nine starts. Weaver was awesome and held the Mariners to only three hits in seven shutout innings. Mike Napoli had the big hit in the 3-0 win. He hit a big two run homerun to give Weaver a nice three run cushion.
The Mariners were getting closer but still fell short yesterday. The Angels went up 4-0 but the Mariners scored five in the fourth to take the lead. That was short lived though and by the end of the seventh, the Angels had a 9-5 lead. Two runs in the ninth made it close, but the Angels held on to win. Maicer Izturis homered and had two hits in the 9-7 win. Garrett Anderson had three hits, two RBIS and three runs. John Lackey was shelled but the pen picked him up. K-Rod picked up his 34th save of the season.
The closest the Mariners got was today. The Mariners led 2-0 for most of the game before the Angels began to pick away at the lead. Anderson’s RBI single in the eighth tied the game and then Chone Figgins RBI single in the ninth won it. Ervin Santana didn’t get a decision despite a good outing. Brandon Donnelly picked up the win.
This is a tough week. We have the Red Sox, who are struggling but might be in a must win situation. Then we have the Yankees who look like they could be gearing up for another run at a World Series win. I’d say I’d be happy with 3-3, but the way Oakland is playing, we could be cooked if we only split.
