LIVEBLOGGING - ALDS Game 3 - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Boston Red Sox
Thanks MLB, for scheduling this 3rd game between the Angels and Red Sox at 9 in the fucking morning on a friggin Sunday.
Well, as long as I'm barely awake for this game, mind as well liveblog what will hopefully be a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It's funny, whenever I WRITE about the Angels, I always refer to them by the proper name. But when TALKING about them, they're usually the Anaheim Angels, or just the Angels. No one really says "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" in the real world unless they're working in the media or something.
Game 3 pits Clay Buchholz (7-4, 4.21 ERA) against Scott Kazmir (10-9, 4.89 ERA), and it's an absolute must-win game for Boston or they're eliminated. And what a wonderful thing that would be! Still, it ain't over till it's over...
------------------------------------------------------
(All times Pacific)
Top of 1st Inning:
9:10am: Chone Figgins leads off. He has a .214 BA in the postseason against Boston. I was not aware that Figgins was that poor against Boston.
9:12am: TBS announcers Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez make a point to note that all of the Angels players in the dugout are paying great attention to Buchholz's pitching motion since they haven't seen him in live game action since July 2008.
9:13am: Chone Figgins flies out to LF Jason Bay. 1 out.
9:14am: Bobby Abreu rips a 2-1 fastball back up the middle just past the glove of Buchholz for a single.
9:16am: Bobby Abreu draws a pickoff throw at 1B which gets past Kevin Youkilis. First base coach Alfredo Griffin doesn't want Abreu to take 2nd base but Bobby ignores the advice of his coach. Youkilis retrieves the ball, throws down to 2nd but that gets past 2B Dustin Pedroia but it's backed up properly by SS Alex Gonzalez. An error is rightfully charged to 1B Kevin Youkilis on the play.
9:18am: Torii Hunter flies out to CF Jacoby Ellsbury. 2 away.
9:20am: Vladimir Guerrero is down 1-2 in the count, and TBS' pitchtracker shows that all 3 pitches were out of the strike zone. A testament to Vladdy's free-swinging habits. Vlad swings at another inside pitch which saws his bat into pieces, but the ball goes foul.
9:22am: Vlad hits a tame shot that lands in front of 2B Dustin Pedroia. He snags it, throws to first for the out. 4-3. 3 outs.
Bottom of 1st Inning:
9:27am: Jacoby Ellsbury flies out to LF Juan Rivera. 1 out.
9:28am: Dustin Pedroia has some great numbers against Scott Kazmir, hitting .517 against him for his career. He's Kazmir's biggest pain in the rear.
9:29am: No worries. Pedroia chops a ball right to 3B Chone Figgins who makes the throw to 1B Kendry Morales for the out. 2 away.
9:30am: Victor Martinez skies out to RF Bobby Abreu. 3 up, 3 down.
Top of 2nd Inning:
9:34am: Kendry Morales grounds out to 2B Dustin Pedroia. 4-3. 1 out.
9:35am: Juan Rivera lines the first pitch he sees from Buchholz back at him up the middle and into centerfield for a single.
9:37am: Maicer Izturis strikes out swinging at a 1-2 inside curveball, but Juan Rivera steals 2nd on the pitch. Victor Martinez' throw is wide of 2nd, and even if it was on the money, Rivera got a very good jump on the pitch and steals 2nd successfully. What's amazing is that Rivera hadn't stolen a base the entire regular season. 2 outs.
9:39am: On a 3-2 count, Mike Napoli is hit on the hand by an inside pitch. Catcher Victor Martinez believes it hit the knob of the bat, not the hand. Red Sox manager Terry Francona tries to back up his catcher but home plate umpire Eric Cooper disagrees. Replays show it may have hit both knob and hand. Hard to tell. Mike Napoli takes first base.
9:43am: Erick Aybar grounds out to 2B Dustin Pedroia, who throws onto Clay Buchholz covering at 1B. 4-1. 3 outs.
Bottom of 2nd Inning:
9:49am: Kevin Youkilis just misses a homerun into the Green Monster by a couple of feet. He then strikes out looking at a 3-2 pitch that he feels was high in the zone. 1 out.
9:52am: Jason Bay walks.
9:54am: David Ortiz flies out to LF Juan Rivera. 2 outs.
9:57am: Mike Lowell flies out to CF Torii Hunter. 3 outs.
Top of 3rd Inning:
10:01am: Chone Figgins grounds out to 2B Dustin Pedroia. 4-3. 1 out.
10:02am: Red Sox alumnus Dave Henderson threw out the first pitch of today's game. Henderson hit a go-ahead 2-run HR in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS off of Donnie Moore in the 9th inning which put the Red Sox ahead in that game which they would ultimately win in extra innings thanks to a Dave Henderson sac fly. Boston went on to win that series in 7 games and face the Mets in the '86 World Series.
10:03am: Bobby Abreu flies out to Jacoby Ellsbury in right-centerfield, and he makes a spectacular diving catch to rob Abreu of a hit. 2 outs.
10:05am: Torii Hunter skies out to LF Jason Bay. 3 up, 3 down.
Bottom of 3rd Inning:
10:09am: J.D. Drew flies out to LF Juan Rivera who is practically kissing the Green Monster when he catches the ball directly against the wall. 1 out.
10:12am: Alex Gonzalez walks.
10:13am: Jacoby Ellsbury shoots a single into LF for a base hit. Gonzalez to 2nd on the hit. Runners on 1st and 2nd.
10:15am: Dustin Pedroia crushes a shot off the Green Monster wall in centerfield that is fielded by CF Torii Hunter. Gonzalez scores easily, and a throw to the plate is just a bit late to nail Ellsbury. 2 runs score. Boston takes a 2-0 lead off a Dustin Pedroia double. Pedroia continues to have Kazmir's number.
10:17am: Victor Martinez strokes a liner into LF that bounces in front of the Green Monster wall for a single. Juan Rivera fields it and throws the ball back in to stop Martinez at 1st base. The single scores Dustin Pedroia easily and puts Boston ahead 3-0.
10:19am: Kevin Youkilis lines out to CF Torii Hunter. 2 outs. Kazmir is starting to get hit hard, even when outs are made.
10:20am: Jason Bay flies out to LF Juan Rivera who makes a running catch moving towards centerfield. 3 outs.
Top of 4th Inning:
10:24am: Vladimir Guerrero grounds out meekly to SS Alex Gonzalez. 6-3. 1 out.
10:25am: Kendry Morales goes BOOM! He crushes a solo blast into the RF bleachers. Angels get a run on the board and cut the lead by 1. 3-1 Sox. A fan throws the home run ball back on the field. I'll never understand that concept. Don't these douchebags know that the homer still counts and you're out a souvenir now? I'm pretty sure that stupidity started in the bleachers of Wrigley Field.
10:28am: On a full count, Juan Rivera grounds out to Mike Lowell. 5-3. 2 outs.
10:29am: Maicer Izturis skies a first pitch into short centerfield where it's caught by SS Alex Gonzalez. 3 outs.
Bottom of 4th Inning:
10:32am: David Ortiz skies a first pitch from Kazmir into leftfield where Juan Rivera makes the catch. 1 out.
10:34am: Mike Lowell bangs a 3-1 pitch off the Green Monster for a long single. Kazmir continues to get hit hard.
10:36am: J.D. Drew crushes a shot over the centerfield fence which hits the post of the centerfield camera's porch and bounces back on the field of play. The Angels play the ball as if it's still in play until it's clear from 2B umpire Joe West that it's a home run. No doubt about it either. It's the first homer by Boston in the series and they go up by a score of 5-1.
10:38am: Alex Gonzalez flies out to 2B Maicer Izturis. 2 outs.
10:39am: Jason Bulger is warming up in the bullpen for the Angels. Jacoby Ellsbury grounds back to Scott Kazmir. 1-3. 3 outs. This ain't Kazmir's day. Scioscia should pull him at this point before the game gets out of reach.
Top of 5th Inning:
10:43am: Mike Napoli rips a 3-2 pitch down the leftfield line for a leadoff double. The ball takes a carom off the leftfield foul wall and shoots at an odd angle the opposite direction of LF Jason Bay. But Napoli isn't a speed demon so he'll settle for the double.
10:47am: Erick Aybar watches an 0-2 fastball go right by him for strike 3. 1 out.
10:48am: Chone Figgins is up, and he's not having a good series thus far as he's 0-for-10. Will this AB change things?
10:49am: Chone Figgins watches a very nice breaking ball go right by him for strike 3. Figgins isn't happy. I'm not sure if he's unhappy with the call, or with himself. But that was most definitely a strike. 2 outs.
10:51am: Bobby Abreu is up, and if anyone can drive home Napoli, it should be Bobby. He leads the Angels with a .351 BA with RISP.
10:52am: Bobby Abreu flies out to CF Jacoby Ellsbury. 3 outs.
Bottom of 5th Inning:
10:55am: Scott Kazmir is still pitching for the Angels, and I can only hope the leash is short on him at this point. I know the Angels bullpen isn't the best, but Kazmir can't continue to pitch like this. Jason Bulger is back up in the bullpen warming.
10:57am: Kazmir's nemesis Dustin Pedroia grounds a chopper up the middle but it's fielded cleanly by SS Erick Aybar. 6-3. 1 out.
10:59am: Victor Martinez flies out to RF Bobby Abreu. 2 outs.
11:00am: Mike Lowell flies out to CF Torii Hunter. 3 outs.
Top of 6th Inning:
11:02am: Torii Hunter tries to get on base with a bunt on the first pitch towards third base but it goes foul. The Angels are desperate to get something started now before the Red Sox bullpen comes in soon.
11:03am: Torii Hunter strokes an 0-2 pitch into LF that gets to the wall for a leadoff double. Jason Bay bobbles the ball in LF but it would've been a double either way. Sure beats a bunt single.
11:04am: Clay Buchholz bluffs a pickoff throw to 2nd base sending Torii Hunter flying back into 2nd base but no one was covering the bag. Hunter may have hurt himself in the process, or just knocked the wind out of himself as he hit the ground hard.
11:05am: Torii Hunter breaks for 3rd base and would be caught stealing except that Buchholz clearly balks, so Torii is on 3rd base without a problem.
11:06am: A curveball gets away from Buchholz that nearly hits Vlad in the head. On the next pitch, Vlad hits a grounder to 3B Mike Lowell who knocks it down but the ball trickles towards SS Alex Gonzalez. Torii Hunter is frozen in between third base and home, as he can't see where the ball is, so he plays it safe and returns to 3rd base. It's scored an infield single for Vlad. Buck Martinez feels Torii Hunter made a baserunning mistake there by not scoring, but I doubt Torii Hunter could see whether the ball was retrievable or not from his angle.
11:08am: A pitching conference takes place on the mound since Vlad is distracting Clay Buchholz a bit at first base, but he really shouldn't be too concerned with him, a message which Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell conveys.
11:10am: Kendry Morales walks on 4 straight pitches to load the bases with 0 outs, and that's it for Clay Buchholz as manager Terry Francona is ready with the hook. Flamethrower Daniel Bard is coming in to pitch in relief for Buchholz. Clay walks off the mound to a nice ovation from the Boston fans.
11:13am: Juan Rivera is up with the bases loaded. The Angels did not hit any grand slams during the 2009 regular season. This would be a phenomenal time to see one launched over the Monster.
11:14am: TBS announcers Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez note that the hitters are going to have a little trouble picking up the baseball from the pitchers because the home plate area is now in the shade whereas the rest of the field is still in sunshine.
11:16am: On a 3-2 count, Juan Rivera grounds into a 5-4-3 double play. Torii Hunter scores the run which the Red Sox are all too happy to take in exchange for the 2 outs. Vlad moves to 3rd base on the play. Sox up 5-2.
11:18am: Maicer Izturis flies out to SS Alex Gonzalez in short leftfield. 3 outs. That was not the big inning I was hoping for out of the Angels. 1 run is nice, 4 would've been nicer.
Bottom of 6th Inning:
11:20am: Scott Kazmir still pitching for the Angels, although the 5th inning made me feel a tad better about him. Just a tad.
11:21am: Jason Bay flies out to RF Bobby Abreu. 1 out.
11:22am: With "the shift" on, David Ortiz grounds out to SS Erick Aybar. 6-3. 2 outs. Like Chone Figgins, David Ortiz is also hitless in the series.
11:24am: Mike Lowell takes a walk on a 3-2 count. The last two pitches were not even close to the plate.
11:25am: J.D. Drew grounds out hard to 1B Kendry Morales who takes the ball to first himself. 3 outs.
Top of 7th Inning:
11:29am: Mike Napoli strikes out swinging at a Daniel Bard slider. 1 out.
11:30am: Lefty Billy Wagner is warming up tin the Boston bullpen. So is closer Jonathan Papelbon.
11:31am: Daniel Bard goes up 3-0 on Erick Aybar before getting 2 strikes. Aybar then fouls off 2 pitches.
11:32am: Erick Aybar grounds out to 1B Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis tosses to Daniel Bard covering at first. 3-1. 2 outs.
11:35am: Chone Figgins strikes out looking at a slider. Figgy's got no one to blame but himself. 3 outs.
Bottom of 7th Inning:
11:40am: Jason Bulger is pitching in relief of Scott Kazmir.
11:42am: Alex Gonzalez grounds out to 3B Chone Figgins. 5-3. 1 out.
11:43am: Jacoby Ellsbury chops a ball back to 1B Kendry Morales who steps on first for the 2nd out.
11:44am: Jason Bulger walks Dustin Pedroia despite getting ahead of him in the count 1-2.
11:46am: Matt Palmer is warming up in the Angels bullpen. Bulger falls behind Victor Martinez 2-0, so catcher Mike Napoli takes a quick trip to the mound for a chat.
11:49am: Victor Martinez strikes out swinging at ball 4. 3 outs.
Top of 8th Inning:
11:53am: Billy Wagner is pitching in relief of Daniel Bard. He'll face lefty Bobby Abreu before righties Torii Hunter and Vlad Guerrero.
11:54am: Bobby Abreu chops one down the first base line that stays fair and 1B Kevin Youkilis kicks into the photographer's well which allows Abreu 2nd base. Somehow that is scored a ground-rule double. Wow. That's a 2-base error by any normal measure.
11:55am: 1B Greg Gibson somehow believes that Torii Hunter swung on a bunt attempt. A total bullshit call which upsets Hunter, and now the Boston crowd is mockingly chanting "Toriiiii, Toriiii."
11:56am: Jonathan Papelbon is now warming up again in the Boston bullpen. He may have to get 5-6 outs in a save.
11:57am: Torii Hunter watches a strike 3 fastball go right down Broadway to the delight of the Boston crowd. 1 out.
11:58am: This would be a fine time for Vladdy to pop one over the Monster, but Wagner looks to be in the zone right now. Unfortunately, Vlad is lifetime 0-for-5 against Wags.
12:00pm: Billy Wagner walks Vlad Guerrero after a full count. Everyone is shocked that Vlad didn't swing. Boston pitching coach John Farrell has a conference on the mound with Billy Wagner and Victor Martinez, since they'll be facing Kendry Morales, who hit a solo blast earlier. However, the switch-hitting Morales is now batting from the right side, his weaker side.
12:02pm: Kendry Morales hits a hard shot towards the right side hole but it's knocked down by 2B Dustin Pedroia. He stops the ball, picks it up and throws to first base to get Morales for the 2nd out. Hunter and Guerrero advance 90 feet.
12:03pm: That's it for Billy Wagner as it's time for Jonathan Papelbon. He'll be facing Juan Rivera here. Considering Juan Rivera's series thus far, this would be a nice time for home run redemption. Unfortunately, the odds aren't in his favor. He's 0-for-8 lifetime against Papelbon with 1BB and 3K.
12:06pm: Rivera lines the first pitch fastball from Papelbon into right-centerfield for a 2-run single. Finally! Clutch Rivera! The Angels cut the lead down and it's 5-4 Red Sox. Juan Rivera is being pinch-run for by Reggie Willits, who will take over in LF afterwards.
12:07pm: The 2 Angels runs are charged to Billy Wagner. A pickoff throw from Jonathan Papelbon nearly gets Reggie Willits at 1B.
12:08pm: On an 0-2 count, Reggie Willits' lead is way too far off of first base and Papelbon picks him off. That may have been the end of the game for the Angels right there. Fuck. If Reggie Willits had been leaning anymore to his right, he would've been mistaken for Sean Hannity.
Top of 9th Inning:
12:12pm: Kevin Jepsen is pitching in relief for the Angels.
12:14pm: Kevin Youkilis hits a hard shot back up the middle which is fielded and bobbled by SS Erick Aybar, but he manages to still make a hard throw to first to get Youkilis. 1 out.
12:16pm: Jepsen gets Jason Bay to strike out looking at a fastball down Broadway on a full count. 2 outs.
12:17pm: David Ortiz hits a rocket up the middle into centerfield for a single. I imagine Ortiz will be taken out for a pinch-runner.
12:18pm: Joey Gathright is in to pinch-run for Ortiz.
12:20pm: With Mike Lowell batting and Joey Gathright running, the Angels correctly pitch out but Napoli's throw is off to the shortstop side of the bag. Aybar can't come up with it but knocks it down. Gathright steals 2nd successfully.
12:21pm: Mike Lowell shoots the ball down the 1st base line into rightfield for a single which easily scores Joey Gathright from 2nd base to give Boston an insurance run and go up 6-4.
12:24pm: Mike Scioscia goes to the bullpen for lefty Darren Oliver, who is pitching in his third straight game. He'll be facing lefty J.D. Drew in this spot. Brian Anderson is now pinch-running for Mike Lowell.
12:26pm: J.D. Drew lines out to LF Reggie Willits. 3 outs. Last chance for the Halos.
Top of 9th Inning:
12:30pm: Kevin Youkilis moves over to 3B, Casey Kotchmann is now playing 1B.
12:31pm: Maicer Izturis pops one up behind the plate. Catcher Victor Martinez makes the catch despite a dopey Boston fan almost screwing it up. 1 out.
12:32pm: Switch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr. is in to pinch-hit for Mike Napoli. Matthews is batting lefty against the right-handed Papelbon.
12:33pm: Gary Matthews Jr. flies out to CF Jacoby Ellsbury. 2 outs.
12:34pm: Erick Aybar lines an 0-2 fastball into centerfield for a single.
12:35pm: The tying run comes to the plate. Unfortunately it's the non-hitting zero-power Chone Figgins who doesn't hit Papelbon at all. Erick Aybar takes 2nd base uncontested on ball 1 to Figgins. Figgy's best hope is to work out a walk here. Patience will hopefully pay off.
12:37pm: Papelbon falls behind Figgins 3-0 before throwing a strike. If I'm Figgins, I'm keeping the bat on my shoulder and hoping Abreu can come through. Figgins does so, now a 3-2 full count.
12:38pm: Everyone in Fenway is standing. Figgins fouls off the next pitch before a high ball 4 allows him 1st base. First time Figgins has reached base in this ALDS. Boston Pitching Coach John Farrell has a Boston conference on the mound with the entire Sox infield. Bobby Abreu is definitely the guy you want up in this spot for the Halos, although he's only 1 for 7 lifetime against Papelbon with 5 BB and 2 K.
12:40pm: Angels' closer Brian Fuentes is warming up just in case.
12:42pm: Abreu falls behind 1-2, fouling off a couple. I have to stand up now for fear of destroying anything in case Abreu doesn't come through.
12:43pm: Bobby Abreu lines a shot off the Green Monster for a double that scores Erick Aybar easily but Chone Figgins can't make it home. Jason Bay airmails the ball into the infield with no target and the Sox infield scrambles for the ball. BAH! Figgins would've scored on that had he kept going, but you can't blame him for stopping at 3rd as a reasonable throw would've gotten him at home, instead of the garbage that Jason Bay threw. Angels cut it to 6-5.
12:45pm: Torii Hunter is up but he's getting the intentional pass here so Papelbon can pitch to Mr. Free-Swinger, Vladimir Guerrero. Vlad is 2 for 12 lifetime against Papelbon with a walk and 3 K's. I think all fans on both sides of this game are shitting their pants.
12:46pm: BIG DADDY VLADDY COMES THROUGH! He belts a first-pitch fastball into centerfield for a 2-run single that scores Figgins and Abreu to give the Angels a 7-6 lead!!!!!!! I'M GOING CRAZY!!!!
12:48pm: That's all for Papelbon, who has proven to be all too human in this game. His first earned runs given up in the postseason. Terry Francona goes to lefty reliever Hideki Okajima.
12:49pm: Kendry Morales skies out to LF Jason Bay. 3 outs. Can Angels closer Brian Fuentes get the save here and the SWEEEEEP?!
Bottom of 9th Inning:
12:52pm: Brian Fuentes comes in to pitch for the Angels. Jeff Mathis replaces Mike Napoli behind the plate for L.A. Jed Lowrie is in to pinch-hit for Alex Gonzalez.
12:55pm: Jed Lowrie flies out to shallow CF. Torii Hunter makes the catch. 1 out.
12:57pm: Jacoby Ellsbury foul pops out to Catcher Jeff Mathis on the third base side of the plate. 2 outs.
12:59pm: Dustin Pedroia hits a short fly to shallow leftfield which is caught by SS Erick Aybar! 3 outs. THE ANGELS WIN 7-6!!!! WHAT A FUCKING COMEBACK!!!!! AWESOMENESS!!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Angels finally shake the postseason monkey that is the Boston Red Sox by having a 2-out rally of their own without the power of the all-powerful rally monkey.
Bring on the winners of the Yankees-Twins series, baby! (yes, likely the Yankees, so come the fuck on Skanks! You will loooooooooose to the mighty mighty Angels!)
This was the most upside-down series I can remember in a long while. The starting pitcher was supposed to strongly favor Boston, but for the first 2 games, it strongly favored the Angels. The bullpen was supposed to strongly favor Boston, but it was the Angels bullpen that ultimately came through in the series. The offense was supposed to slightly favor the Red Sox, but it was the Angels that capitalized with big hits of their own. Scott Kazmir was supposed to be dominant in Fenway, certainly moreso than Clay Buchholz. But the reality was just the opposite.
And to boot, I've never been so happy to be wrong about a prediction. Well, I probably have been, considering I thought the San Jose Sharks would beat the Anaheim Ducks in last year's postseason, but this one is even bigger considering the Angels-Red Sox history. I thought the Red Sox would be taking this series in 4 games, but for the Angels to SWEEP? And I don't think anyone predicted a sweep by Anaheim. 4 or 5 games, maybe. But a sweep?
ZOMG FANTABULOUS!
