Donnerstag, 26. März 2015
SOM Diary - 2013 replay: Angels in Oakland
Game 1: LAA 1, OAK 3
Neither starter pitches flawlessly, but both scatter hits far enough apart to get out of the early innings mostly unscathed. A's starter Milone strikes out eight over seven innings, only giving up a solo homer to Howie Kendrick in the third. He gets visibly tired in the seventh, but manages to get out of the inning with a close 2-1 lead and the win in hand.
Angels starter Blanton starts to waver in the fifth, gives up two hits and a walk to start the inning and is taken out of the game after he allows the go ahead run to score when he misfields a dribbler to the mound and forces 1st base man Mark Trumbo off the bag to keep a really bad throw in the infield.
The bullpens keep the game close, although Angels reliever Downs gives up a solo homer to Brandon Moss to give the A's an insurance run. Ianetta, who replaced Hank Conger after he got hit on the hand by a breaking ball from Blanton, then takes down Cespedes on an attempted steal and the Angels get out of the seventh inning without further trouble, but Balfour comes in for his first save opportunity and makes the best of it with a straightforward 1-2-3 inning on eight pitches to bring home the series opener.
On the losing LA side, rightfielder Cole Kalhoun goes 2 for 4 in a second solid performance standing in for the lackluster JB Shuck in right field, but commits the second error in as many games as he misjudges a flyball and lets it get past him in the third.
Game 2: Battle of the lead-off hitters - LAA 4, OAK 16
The Angels show how to score quickly as their leadoff man Erick Aybar doubles and is brought home on two groundouts by Trout and Pujols. The A's show how to score even faster as their leadoff Crisp starts the game with a homer off Jerome Williams. A walk, a double and another homerun follow, making it 1:4 A's with only one out in the first before Williams can work his way out of the inning with two more grounders. In the second, Williams' troubles continue as Coco Crisp hits another one (just - rolled a 1 on the ballpark chart, the only result that yields a homer in Oakland for a leftie batter) over the right field wall with Norris on base (on a fielding error from shortstop and Angels leadoff Aybar), and Cespedes adds another two run homer to make it 1:8.
Starting in the third, the game for the Angels is only about living to fight another day, and preserving their bullpen. However, Williams continues to struggle and leaves after 3.2 innings with 12 runs on the board for the A's, reliever Jepsen gives up another four runs in the fifth, and it never gets better after that as the A's cruise on to a 16-4 victory.
Game 3: "A" is for aces, "B" is for brooms - LAA 0, OAK 2
Game three of the series is a complete reversal from the homerun happy, high scoring previous encounter. Both starters leave after seven innings each with very similar numbers - about half a dozen K's, no or one walk, a handful of hits. The one run given up by C. J. Wilson in the fifth turns the scales in favor of the home team, and after scoring an (unearned) insurance run off Angels reliever de la Rosa, Doolittle and closer Balfour bring the brooms to sweep the series. Oakland advances to 5-1, the Angels need to get back on track after starting the season 1-5.
Donnerstag, 19. März 2015
SOM Diary - 2013 replay, Royals at Tigers
I've pulled out the Stratomatic 2013 AL replay again and finished the series of the Royals in Detroit, here are the results and game notes:
Game 1: Pitchers' duel - KC 2, DET 0
KC 000 100 000 2 3 3 0 3
DET 000 010 000 0 1 13 0 12
Anibal Sanchez pitches nearly flawless nine innings, allows only four batters to reach base, including three walks. The only blemish on his record is a solo homerun given up to Escobar in the fourth. However, the Royals can pitch, too, and the thirteen hits for the Tigers end up spread so thinly that not much comes out of them: Wade Davis scatters nine hits but allows only one run in 5.2 innings, Hochevar bails him out as Davis leaves with the bases loaded and the bullpen with Coleman, Collins, Holland and Smith brings the game into extra innings without allowing further runs despite Hollands failure to close out the tenth inning after coming in in the ninth.
Top of the tenth, Tigers closer Benoit is called in to give his team another inning to win, but gives up a laser guided rocket towards the left field wall to Lorenzo Cain; leftfielder Andy Dirks chases back, jumps up and just gets some leather on the ball but cannot pull it in - homerun! (Cain rolled a 9 on the ball park card, so homerun robbing rule 30.3 comes in, and Dirks rolls 7, the biggest number that remains a HR for a "2" outfielder trying to rob someone of a homer). Benoit follows up with a walk to Moustakas and an RBI double to Johnson, Phil Coke finishes the tenth but leaves with his team behind by two and the Tigers cannot catch up anymore.
Game 2: KC 1, DET 7
KC 001 000 000 1 10 0 7
DET 110 011 03- 7 9 0 8
The only excitement in the game came from a few spectacular outfield plays (Cain) and a few just as spectacular near misses by outfielders trying to catch up with one of the nineteen hits of the game.
Scoring is less exciting: Royals starter Mendoza allows four runs on six hits over 5 and two thirds innings, and the KC bullpen takes whatever suspense is left out of the game by allowing three runs on two hits and three walks in the bottom of the eighth despite a double play to end the inning. Porcello gets an easy looking win, allowing just one run on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks over six innings.
Game 3: Aces don't like the rain
KC 301 002 000 6 14 1 9
DET 013 210 10- 8 14 0 9
Right from the start, the drizzle and cold seems to make both starters very uncomfortable. Tigers ace Verlander has an uncharacteristic, very shaky first inning, giving up three consecutive hits to start the game, which all turn into runs. The third of these runs scores on a ball batted into the double play by Cain, and then Verlander seems to be getting his feet under him, striking out Moustakas looking. But in the third, Verlander gets in trouble again and barely escapes a bases loaded situation, having given up another run before that.
However, in the bottom of the same inning, Miguel cabrera ties up the game with a single stroke, scoring Infante (double) and Hunter (walk). And in the next inning, Shields gets into trouble too, loading the bases and allowing runs to score on a single from Hunter and wild pitch to Cabrera.
Defensively, Omar Infante is in the thick of things through the first few innings - in the first inning several hits barely avoid his glove before he is in a DP to record the first two outs in the first, and a surprize third out in the second on a long throw from left field replacement Tuiasosopo (in to give Dirks a day of rest) that catches Alex Gordon by surprize at second base as he tries to stretch a hard line drive from a single into a double.
Brayan Pena shines with another stellar offensive effort, going 4 for 4 with a run and an RBI.
When the bullpens take over the bats go quiet, only Luke Hochevar allows one more run for the Tigers but Drew Smyly, Phil Coke and closer Benoit with the save bring the lead home for the Tigers who win their second series and go 5-1 to start the season.
Next up: the Angels visit Oakland, trying to win their first series of the season.
Game 1: Pitchers' duel - KC 2, DET 0
KC 000 100 000 2 3 3 0 3
DET 000 010 000 0 1 13 0 12
Anibal Sanchez pitches nearly flawless nine innings, allows only four batters to reach base, including three walks. The only blemish on his record is a solo homerun given up to Escobar in the fourth. However, the Royals can pitch, too, and the thirteen hits for the Tigers end up spread so thinly that not much comes out of them: Wade Davis scatters nine hits but allows only one run in 5.2 innings, Hochevar bails him out as Davis leaves with the bases loaded and the bullpen with Coleman, Collins, Holland and Smith brings the game into extra innings without allowing further runs despite Hollands failure to close out the tenth inning after coming in in the ninth.
Top of the tenth, Tigers closer Benoit is called in to give his team another inning to win, but gives up a laser guided rocket towards the left field wall to Lorenzo Cain; leftfielder Andy Dirks chases back, jumps up and just gets some leather on the ball but cannot pull it in - homerun! (Cain rolled a 9 on the ball park card, so homerun robbing rule 30.3 comes in, and Dirks rolls 7, the biggest number that remains a HR for a "2" outfielder trying to rob someone of a homer). Benoit follows up with a walk to Moustakas and an RBI double to Johnson, Phil Coke finishes the tenth but leaves with his team behind by two and the Tigers cannot catch up anymore.
Game 2: KC 1, DET 7
KC 001 000 000 1 10 0 7
DET 110 011 03- 7 9 0 8
The only excitement in the game came from a few spectacular outfield plays (Cain) and a few just as spectacular near misses by outfielders trying to catch up with one of the nineteen hits of the game.
Scoring is less exciting: Royals starter Mendoza allows four runs on six hits over 5 and two thirds innings, and the KC bullpen takes whatever suspense is left out of the game by allowing three runs on two hits and three walks in the bottom of the eighth despite a double play to end the inning. Porcello gets an easy looking win, allowing just one run on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks over six innings.
Game 3: Aces don't like the rain
KC 301 002 000 6 14 1 9
DET 013 210 10- 8 14 0 9
Right from the start, the drizzle and cold seems to make both starters very uncomfortable. Tigers ace Verlander has an uncharacteristic, very shaky first inning, giving up three consecutive hits to start the game, which all turn into runs. The third of these runs scores on a ball batted into the double play by Cain, and then Verlander seems to be getting his feet under him, striking out Moustakas looking. But in the third, Verlander gets in trouble again and barely escapes a bases loaded situation, having given up another run before that.
However, in the bottom of the same inning, Miguel cabrera ties up the game with a single stroke, scoring Infante (double) and Hunter (walk). And in the next inning, Shields gets into trouble too, loading the bases and allowing runs to score on a single from Hunter and wild pitch to Cabrera.
Defensively, Omar Infante is in the thick of things through the first few innings - in the first inning several hits barely avoid his glove before he is in a DP to record the first two outs in the first, and a surprize third out in the second on a long throw from left field replacement Tuiasosopo (in to give Dirks a day of rest) that catches Alex Gordon by surprize at second base as he tries to stretch a hard line drive from a single into a double.
Brayan Pena shines with another stellar offensive effort, going 4 for 4 with a run and an RBI.
When the bullpens take over the bats go quiet, only Luke Hochevar allows one more run for the Tigers but Drew Smyly, Phil Coke and closer Benoit with the save bring the lead home for the Tigers who win their second series and go 5-1 to start the season.
Next up: the Angels visit Oakland, trying to win their first series of the season.
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