When the Angels lost Tyler Skaggs and Garrett Richards earlier this month I wondered if they would be able to compete with the A's for the AL West crown. Who would have guessed that they would allow only 4 runs in the 4-game home stand against the A's, shutting out the A's in 31 of the 37 innings on the way to a 4-game sweep. Before the series started I would have said that a sweep was possible, but not probable....but this became a series of improbabilities.
C.J. Wilson was the only starter to allow a run (although one of the games really didn't have a starter...more on that later). Angels gave Wilson a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st, but he couldn't hold the lead and the A's tied the game in the 6th. Howie Kendrick ended up winning the game with a walk-off sac fly in the 10th...and that was the most normal game.
Jared Weaver outdid A's #1 Jon Lester by pitching 7 shutout innings on the way to a 4-0 win in game 2. The game was a 0-0 duel until Chris Iannetta drove a ball deep into left center. Coco Crisp seemingly made a home run saving catch, but the ball popped out of his glove when his wrist hit the top of the wall. Crisp had to leave the game with a strained neck and didn't play in the rest of the series.
Matt Shoemaker matched Weaver with 7 shutout innings in game 4. In Shoemakers win, the Angels ended former Angel Scott Kazmir's day in just 1 1/3 innings by scoring 6 runs in the 2nd, eventually wining 8-1. Shoemaker being the savior of the Angels is as unlikely as the 4-game sweep without Skaggs and Richards. Shoe was an undrafted free agent that wasn't that impressive in the minors. He only got called up to the Majors because of the injuries to the starters, getting a few spot starts earlier in the year. Shoe has been lights out in August, winning 6 games and pitching 23 1/3 straight shutout innings. He's the 1st Angel to pitch 3 consecutive shutouts of 7 or more innings since...get this...Nolan Ryan. He picked up his 14th win, which ties the Angels rookie record set by Dean Chance and tied by Frank Tanana. Nobody in their right mind would have even mentioned Shoemaker in the same breath as Ryan, Chance, and Tanana...but they are.
The bullpen allowed only 1 run in the series including a game 3 shutout that was pitched entirely by Angels relievers. The Angels used 8 pitchers against Jeff Samardzija who pitched all 8 innings in a 2-0 loss. Technically, Cory Rasmus was the starter and pitched 3 innings. Yoslan Herrera got the win pitching 2/3 of an inning. Fernando Salas, Jason Grilli, Kevin Jespen, and Joe Smith all recorded Holds, each pitching 1 inning each. Huston Street pitched a scoreless 9th to record the save. The other pitcher was Michael Roth who recorded the 1st out in the 4th before giving way to Herrera. I know this had to have been done before, but I can't remember a team using only relievers.
The Angels now own a 5 game lead over the A's with 26 games left. Even if the Angels should go 13-13 the rest of the way, the A's would have to go 18-8 just to tie. If the Angels continue to play at the .610 pace they are on, they would go 16-10, meaning the A's would have to go 21-5 the rest of the way. Possible, but not probable.
Maybe I shouldn't have typed those words.
I have to think the division now belongs to the Angels. This sweep was huge. We talked about this a while back and the Angels are a very very good team. There are few holes up and down the lineup as well as in the bullpen or on the starting staff. Since I didn't jinx it last time I'll praise them again and even go further. I think this is the best team in baseball right now. That doesn't mean I'm handing them a World Series trophy. There are too many good teams out there but I like the Angels as a whole. The A's have fallen apart since the Cespedes trade though I really thought that was a good deal for them at the time. I hope Oakland can turn things around, make the playoffs and maybe make some noise once they get there. it will be fun to see how it goes down the stretch.
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