The Angels got a 7-4 win over the Mariners in the first game of the series as K-Rod notched his 57th save to tie the single-season record.
Garret Anderson got the Angels on board with an RBI-single in the third. Wood followed suit with one in the fourth before the Angels rallied for five runs in the sixth. Anderson and Mathis chipped in with two RBI apiece and Vlad also drove in a run with a single.
Jered Weaver completely shut out the Mariners for his six innings of work, giving up just three hits to pick up his 11th win. Bulger tossed a shutout seventh before Speier got roughed up for three runs on four hits, including a leadoff homerun to Ichiro. Shields came in to get the final out but gave up back-to-back leadoff singles in the ninth with no outs. That paved the way for a save opportunity for K-Rod, who pitched his way to his 57th save to tie Bobby Thigpen for the single season record.
John Lackey was the scheduled starter for Friday but his start will be pushed back in order to get some more rest. Joe Saunders will instead get the nod and go for his 16th win. He will face lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith, who is 4-2 with a 3.61 ERA.
