Anaheim, California: Angels' starter Jered Weaver said he felt fine during warm ups. Then he gave up a lead off home run to Grady Sizemore (that might have just landed by now) and he said the muscle problem in his back near his scapula came on rather quickly.
Struggling to locate any pitches, and worried he might exacerbate something, Weaver left the game after three innings of work.
Enter the Angels bullpen, the quiet machine that is making a mockery out of most teams it faces.
Since June 1st, the Angels relievers have a combined 3.21 era, limiting opposing hitters to just a .213 batting average. This dominance has been a huge factor in the Angels season, as their offense continues to struggle to produce runs.
Darren Oliver was the first person called to duty on the evening. He worked 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings and gave up one hit, to earn the win made possible on Jeff Mathis' solo homer in the fifth.
Jose Arredondo wasn't as sharp, giving up three singles in 1 1/3 innings of work. He escaped a runners-at-the-corners jam by getting Cleveland's Ben Francisco to ground out to end the inning.
Scot Shields struck out two of four in the eighth.
Then came that closer kid. What's his name? Oh yeah...
K-Rod.
The closer with the most saves in baseball, 40, entering the night's game, was called to do it again.
And of course, we all know the rest.
After walking Sizemore, who then stole second, K-Rod struck out Garko to end the game and preserve the win, earning his 41st (messy) save of the year.
It should be an interesting bidding war this summer for the game's best closer over the last three years.
The Angels now lead the AL West by nine games and have the best record in all of baseball. Shame that this past weekend's series sweep of the Boston Red Sox won't mean much come October. Let's hope the Angels pitching will continue to account for their continued offensive woes this post season.
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