Los Angeles Angels: Spring season results – MLB 2011
Los Angeles Angels made a brilliant start to their spring training season campaign as they hammered arch rivals, Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1 on February 26, 2011. Mark Trumbo hit a two-run homer to lead his side to a superb victory.
"The kid's a strong kid," Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's been swinging the bat well in camp and he got hold of one today."
However, in their following game against the same, the Angels failed to deliver the goods and they slumped to a crushing 5-0 victory. Despite having the momentum on their side, the Angels made unforced errors at crucial stages of the game to let their opponents
secure a comfortable 5-0 victory.
Mike Scioscia and his men showed great determination, temperament and fighting abilities in their next game against Oakland Athletics. Howie Kendrick and Bobby Abreu both drove in a run for the AL West team whereas Kevin Melillo had two RBIs. Veteran right
hander Joel Pineiro gave up just two hits in two scoreless innings to lift the Angels to an 8-7 victory in a high scoring encounter.
"I wasn't nervous, but I just wanted to get out there and throw that first pitch," said Pineiro, "You could tell [the ball] was moving good. It was a matter of controlling the movement."
The Angels continued their impressive form in their next clash against Cincinnati Reds as they outplayed the opposition in almost all aspects of the game. Defeating a team of Cincinnati’s calibre, Mike Scioscia’s team were looking very confident about their
game play and they aimed to give similar results in the upcoming games to end the spring session on a high note.
However, in their next two matches against Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, the Angels fell short of expectations by quite a large margin. Conceding eight runs in the game against the Royals, the pitching department seemed to be struggling to find answers
against some high quality hitting.
Making the most of available opportunities, the Angels were absolutely brilliant on their next appearance as they outshined Chicago White Sox 3-1 to earn their fourth win in seven days. Although the Angels had a decent start to the training season, they
struggled to maintain their form in the middle of the month as they were defeated in five out of six games from March 9 to March 13. However, they ended the month strongly with five consecutive wins, which improved their win-loss record to 18-14.
The spring session gave the Angels something to think about in terms of their pitching depth and their fielding errors. The focus for the Angels will be to win as many games as possible to get some playing time in for their younger players and finalise a
decent rotation.
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