The Angels have completed the sweep of the Red Sox with a 9th inning comeback win at Fenway Park. In the last few seasons the Angels have been unable to break the spell that the Sox held over them. It seemed that all the timely hits were coming from the Sox. All the close calls were going the Sox way and all the heroic moments were coming from Boston players.
This year though, the rolls were reversed. Game 1 saw a gem of a start from Angels staff ace John Lackey. Seven plus innings of shut out ball giving up only four hits and fanning four. Torii Hunter had the big statement by blasting a huge three run hr off of John Lester. And in a true demonstration of a philosophy of patience he preached all year, Bobby Abreu drew four walks.
Game 2 was another pitcher’s duel. Weaver also went seven plus and k’d seven giving up only one run on two hits. Some heroics came from the bottom of the batting order when Izturis plated the go ahead run. Then jsut to make sure, Eric Aybar hit a triple to plate two more runs for good measure. Enter the Angels’ bullpen which was supposed to be weaker than Boston’s and they shut the game down to secure the second win at home.
Game 3 in Boston looked to go the Red Sox’s way. The rule that you never pitch a lefty in Fenway seemed to hold true when Kazmir, who pitched well for the Angels at the end of the regular season, gave up five runs over six innings. But timely hitting late in the game brought set up the Angels retribution. In the top of the 8th with two outs and men on second and third, the Sox brought in Papelbon to try to shut the game down. Juan Rivera hit the first pitch into center field plating both runs to cut the lead to one. Pinch runner Reggie (the only white guy named Reggie) Willits gets picked off to end the inning. The Sox got an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th and Papelbon came out and got the first two outs in the 9th. This is where the Angels luck changed. Where the Red Sox would have dominated the game and turned the tides of the series, this time Aybar again comes up big. He starts things off with a single and takes second on defensive indifference. Figgins draws the walk (thank you Bobby Abreu) and then Bobby doubles off the green monster. (Thak you again) Figgins to third. Suddenly Papelbon doesn’t looks human and hittable. They walk Torii Hunter to load the bases and take their chances with Vlad Guerrero. Now I know he swings at everything from his toes to his nose but Vlad is definitely a guy who can hurt you. And that’s just what he did. He singled to center and scored the go ahead run. Enter Brian Fuentes and the Sox go 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth.
So bring on either the Yanks. The Angels have owned the Yankees all season so the stage is set for their return to world series. And with the way the Dodgers have found some offense against the Cardinals, us west coast fans may get the freeway series we would love and nobody else would care about. Whatever, all I really care about is my own amusement.