Angels Throw Away Another Game

Defensive errors and poor hitting are a bad combination.

By KURT HELIN

Updated 11:37 PM PDT, Sat, Oct 17, 2009

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What happened to the fundamentally sound, good hitting Angels? The team that played 162 games then swept past the Red Sox, where did they go?

For two games now in cold and rainy New York, the Angels bats have been quiet and their defense has committed five errors — and it has cost them. Part of the price is a 4-3 loss in 13 innings in game two of the American League Championship Series, and now the Angels come home down 2-0.

The ugly, costly defense came in the 13th inning. The Yankees Jerry Hairston Jr. singled, then was sacrificed to second. The Angels decided to intentionally walk Robinson Cano rather than pitch to the hot hitting second basemen, meaning there were men on first and second base. Then Melky Cabrera came up and hit a ground ball between first and second that Angels second baseman Maicer Izturis got to, but rather than taking the sure out at first he tried to make the spectacular play, spinning and throwing back across his body to second base. He threw way wide, and when a surprised Chone Figgins bobbled the rolling ball at third base Hairston scored and the Yankees won.

But it’s not like the Angels didn’t have their chances. Particularly Vladimir Guerrero, who stranded eight of the Angels 16 runners during the game. He twice came up with the bases loaded and did nothing.

But that wasn’t the Angels only chance. In the 11th inning Yankees reliever Alfredo Aceves walked Gary Mathews Jr., who was sacrificed to second. Then it was Figgins, who had a playoffs to forget at the plate up until that point, hitting a flair double to right field that drove in Gary Mathews Jr., giving the Angels a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Angels expected Brian Fuentes to close out the game as he had all year. He first faced Alex Rodriguez, got two quick strikes on him, then mistakenly left one high over the middle of the plate and Rodriguez hit it over the short porch in right field. Game tied 3-3, and it continued on in the rain. Two innings later (with the rain stopped) it ended.

The Angels had plenty of other chances to break the game open. For example, in the fifth inning Izturis hit a ground rule double, then with one out Eric Aybar singled to drive him in. Then Yankees starter AJ Burnett loaded the bases by hitting Figgins in the foot and walking Torri Hunter. Just to really help out, Burnett then threw a 57-foot curveball that bounced to the backstop, allowing Aybar to score. Guerrero then came to the plate, and as he did all night meekly ended the Angels rally (this time with a ground out).

The loss wasted a good outing from Angels starter Joe Saunders. Coming in there were questions about Saunders control as he had not pitched in a game for two weeks, but he threw seven full innings giving up just two runs. The only guys to do damage were Cano, who tripled and eventually came in, and Derek Jeter, who hit a solo home run. Saunders gave the Angels a chance to win.

Maybe the warmth of the California sun will wake up the Angels bats and be the end of the errors that have cost them two games. If not, this is going to be a very short series.