Post-Game Report: Angels vs. Yankees (8/10/08)

What a game for the Angels!

Yankees’ closer Mariano Rivera came in with two on and one out during the bottom of the ninth inning, and Chone Figgins promptly hit a single that drove in Howie Kendrick from second base, and the Angels (74-43) beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Sunday afternoon, completing the three-game sweep.

Joe Saunders gave the Halos another quality start, going 7 strong innings and giving up just 6 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 6 Yankee hitters. Saunders started out the game in a little bit of trouble, giving up 2 runs in the first, but settled down quickly to give the Angels exactly what they needed – a strong start.

While the offense wasn’t as electrifying as it had been the last two games, it found just enough ways to beat starter Andy Pettitte and the struggling Yankees (63-55). The Angels hammered out 12 hits in the game, and every starter not named Torii Hunter had at least one hit in the game (Torii went 0-5).

Now, the best of Sunday afternoon…

Top 3 Angels Performers:

1) Once again, starting pitcher Joe Saunders pitched well enough to pick up that allusive 15th win, and once again, the rest of the team could not pull through for him. Saunders went 7 innings, gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and had 6 strikeouts to top it off. Saunders’ ERA not stands at 3.07.

2) Leadoff specialist Chone Figgins had himself a pretty good game. Figgins went 2-5 with 2 RBIs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth inning.

3) Catcher Mike Napoli is making a strong case for most of the playing time at catcher. Napoli, who just came off the DL yesterday, went 2-3 with an RBI and also made a clutch throw to nail Alex Rodriguez, who was trying to steal third base in the eighth inning.

Jeff Weaver of the Game: Today’s Jeff Weaver goes to designated hitter Torii Hunter. As previously mentioned, Hunter was the only Angels starter to go hitless on Sunday, as he went 0-5 with a strikeout and 5 men left on base.

Play of the Game: With two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, Chone Figgins hit the first pitch he saw from closer Mariano Rivera through the hole on the right side, and drove in Howie Kendrick to win the ballgame for the Halos.

What to look for next game: After an off day on Monday, the Halos will welcome the Seattle Mariners to Anaheim for a two-game set, starting Tuesday night.  Jon Garland (10-7, 4.28) will face former Angel Jarrod Washburn (5-11, 4.76). Look for Tuesday’s game to be high scoring for the Halos, who have averaged around 6 runs per game in August.

Next game: Tuesday, 7:05 PM (FSN)

(Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports)

Tags: Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick, Joe Saunders, Jon Garland, Mike Napoli, Torii Hunter