Torii Hunter breaks homer famine as Los Angeles Angels bump Atlanta Braves 4-1 - MLB Update
Torii Hunter finally snapped his 28-game home-run drought and took the Los Angeles Angels to 4-1 strong triumph over the league rivals Atlanta Braves in the rubber game of three-game series at the Angel Stadium, California on Sunday, May 22.
Facing a 1-0 deficit into the fourth inning, Hunter earned the Angels’ their 2-1 lead touching his fifth homer of the season after 99 at-bats. Since a RBI double against the Boston Red Sox Josh Beckett on April 21, Hunter was helpless in achieving a score
gathering momentum.
"I can't remember that far back," Hunter said when asked about his previous homer. "I hadn't seen one of those in a while. I've seen them on TV and in the movies, but it's a lot of fun to get one out of the way for this month."
Hunter touched a double leading off the sixth inning and scored a groundout run by Alexi Amarista to take the club into a 3-1 lead. Designated hitter Bobby Abreu scored the last run of the game off the Braves’ reliever George Sherrill in the seventh inning
to cement the Angels’ 24th triumph of the season.
The Angels’ rookie starter Tyler Chatwood pitched seven strong innings allowed just one run on five hits, walked two batters and managed six strike-outs to earn his third win of the season. It was the third time in the right-hander’s last four outings that
he endorsed just one run after allowing seven runs over two innings in a 14-0 loss at Oakland on Tuesday, May 17.
"It was definitely good to bounce back and give the team a chance to win," Chatwood said. "I felt good the whole game, but I really got into a good rhythm the last three innings settled in a little more and started throwing all of my pitches for strikes."
Reliever Scott Downs and closer Jordan Walden each pitched a scoreless single inning. Downs earned his fifth hold while Walden managed his eighth save of the season.
The Braves’ starter Derek Lowe gave away three runs on five hits walked and struck-out five batters over six innings to bear his fourth loss of the season.
Lowe was aware of the fault he made in the field and said, “The pitch to Hunter on the home run was a hanging breaking ball. If you make that pitch down and away, you are going to have a lot more success.”
George Sherrill, who replaced Lowe in the seventh inning, tossed eight strikes of ten pitches but gave away two hits for an RBI single on the remaining two pitches.
Reliever Scott Proctor and closer Scott Linebrink both remained scoreless over their short innings.
Tags: