Tampa Bay Rays clamp down on Scott Kazmir to shove past the Los Angeles Angels in a 4-3 win
The stage was set: The Los Angeles Angels were back home in California. With a support crowd of 39,127 fans in the Angel Stadium of Anaheim, much was expected in their match against the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams were runner-ups in their respective leagues. Points were essential, even more so for the visitors.
The Angels were 7 points behind the American League West Division leaders, Texas Rangers. On the other hand, they faced a harsh conflict with the Oakland Athletics who were a win behind the contenders. However, after Scott Kazmir’s dismal performance (he’s been having a tough time around the pitching mound lately), they dropped to the 3rd position. The team came into the fixture with a three series loss. With the last win coming on the 21st, fans were expecting some fighting spirit to be put on display last night. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case, as the Rays shut the home team advance with great ease.
Kazmir came in for pitching after a Boston Red Sox starting loss on the 18th of August. The former Rays pitcher was looking at a hard task to take on, given his recent form. The 26 year old has had 6 losses in his previous 8 games. The ratio for the season spelled out a greater chance in a defeat, as the player had 8 wins and 10 losses to his name. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened in the match. The ball thrower managed to pitch 103 times in his 5.1 innings of play. He struck out 4 players, but allowed 5 hits with 4 runs and 4 walks.
The Rays, on the other hand, came in with a series split with the Oakland Athletics. Their last game was a win and this match up was with the Western Division team again. In a matter of opinion, the squad members were now well-adjusted to the weather and the ambiance. The team had a great task at hand and it dealt with climbing to the top of their Eastern Division table. Having the Yankees on level with them meant one team needed a loss to lose the top position. They had to win and thanks to B.J. Upton’s opening knock, that victory came. Fortunately, the Yankees were unable to thwart the Toronto Blue Jays and this resulted in the Rays taking the driving seat in the division.
James Shield featured for the pitching duties this time. The 28 year old has magnificently fitted into the team. Even though he’s won 12 and lost 11 starting games in all this season, his inclusion in the side does ease the hitters around the roster. Last night was an easier start for the pitcher, compared to his previous fixture against the Texas Rangers. The ace man threw well in the night and contained much of the threat in his 6 innings of play. The versatile ball thrower pitched the ball 103 times, striking out ten players. He only allowed 3 runs and a walk, but he was hit 8 times.
The Tampa Bay Rays were the first ones to score as B.J. Upton converted off Kazmir’s first pitcher for a 372 feet homer to the left, bringing up the first run for the visitors in style. Upton managed to end his 0–11 skid and brought his 12th home run of the season to the table. Jason Bartlett and Carl Crawford followed up with two more runs in the innings when Ben Zobrist gave them ample room to score home as he singled his way to the first. With 3 runs in the first inning, things were looking tough for the hosts already. And when Upton got on the striker’s bag in the top 2nd, things got way difficult. Sean Rodriguez scored the fourth for the team as Upton doubled to the deep left.
With a 4-0 score line going to the Rays, the Angels replied in the bottom 3rd, through former MVP (Most Valuable Player) Hideki Matsui, whose double to the deep centre got him an RBI (Runs Batted In) double. Bobby Abreu and Alberto Callaspo were the scorers. The only other time the team scored was in the bottom 7th, when Howard Kendrick hit a sacrifice fly to the right and got Peter Bourjos to score the third for the team.
The game ended with Tampa Bay Rays 4 – Los Angeles Angels 3. However, it’s a bit too early to say that the Angels are probable losers in the series. The set has just begun and there’s always more to the game then it seems. Therefore, the best thing to do is wait it out till the match tonight.
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