Luis Valbuena drives Angels past Red Sox 3-2
Like patterns? Crochet a quilt, go study butterflies.
Just stay away from the Angels, who resist near all classification. They win some, they lose some. They cling to the .500 mark like a life preserver. Devoid of a great winning or losing streak.
Which, after Sunday’s 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox, leaves them … where exactly?
Not buried and out of the race, not taking command of their playoff position. There are 49-51, 2½ games back of the final American League wild-card spot with all things somehow still possible.
The July 31 non-waiver trading deadline quickly approaches and the Angels have no obvious directive whether they need to be buyers or sellers.
Their great drawback all season has been lack of consistent offense. They’re in the bottom five of almost every offensive stat.
Yet they won Sunday behind not just another sterling effort by surprising right-hander Parker Bridwell but on three solo home runs, one each from Andrelton Simmons, Mike Trout and Luis Valbuena.
This from a team that ranks 29th out of 30 teams in slugging and 25th in home runs.
They give cause for optimism and frustration.
“We need to get better on the offensive end if we’re going to make the push we want to make,†said manager Mike Scioscia. “There’s no reason to feel frustrated, no reason to feel optimistic. We know what we need to do.
“Once they fall into place, I think there’s every reason in the world to be optimistic. But right now, we need to get better.â€
It helped the cause that they took two of three from the AL East-leading Red Sox. They beat ace David Price on Saturday and reigning AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello on Sunday.
“It shows we can still compete,†Simmons said. “We have a couple of injuries, but we’re still grinding, still fighting. We have to keep doing that every day.â€
Simmons turned in his usual outstanding defense Sunday in support of Bridwell, the pitcher purchased from the Orioles in April that the Angels had no real reason to believe would seriously help them this season.
“None of us ever saw him throw a ball,†Scioscia said.
“We had no expectations. We had no idea.â€
Bridwell (4-1) has become a minor revelation for an injury-riddled rotation in desperate need of a lift. He has allowed two or fewer runs in five of his last six starts. His 3.09 ERA is the best of any starter.
On a hot and fairly humid Sunday afternoon he went seven strong innings. He did not allow a hit until the fifth, then surrendered three consecutive to tie the score at 1-1.
Simmons had hit his 11th home run of the season in the fourth. After Hanley Ramirez put Boston up 2-1 with his own solo shot in the sixth, Trout came back in the bottom of the inning with his 19th home run to tie it.
“He told me too, ‘Let’s go back to back,’ †Simmons said. “I said, ‘OK, start it off.’ He kept his word. I didn’t get a good pitch to keep mine. But that’s the kind of player he is. Some people are just a little better.â€
Valbuena hit his game-winner in the seventh, Blake Parker threw a scoreless eighth and Bud Norris the ninth to earn his 15th save.
The Angels were back two games under .500, still hovering, still hoping to become the team they believe they can be.
“We’re pitching well, we’re catching the ball,†Scioscia said. “That’s a great beginning.
“We need to play better baseball, particularly on the offensive end. If we do that, then a lot of our game starts to fall into place.â€
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