Game 24: Angels 5, A’s 2

The Angels got a much needed win on Monday night.

Joe Saunders pitched an incredible game, Mike Napoli was perfect at the plate, and the Halos’ bullpen held the lead en route to a 5-2 win for the Angels over the Oakland A’s. “Colonel” Saunders pitched 6.2 solid innings, giving up just 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 A’s hitters. Jose Arredondo and Brian Fuentes combined for 4 strikeouts over 2.1 scoreless innings, with Fuentes earning his 6th save of the year.

Mike Napoli was the DH again on Monday night, and went a perfect 4-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs, raising his batting average to an astounding .364. Torii Hunter stayed hot and drove in the other 3 runs of the night, going 2-4 with a couple of singles. Leadoff man Chone Figgins finally starting hitting tonight, going 3-5.

Thoughts from the game:

• The Halos had better be planning on playing Napoli as much as they possibly can… Napoli is hitting the ball with authority to every part of the field, and is proving to be a force in the middle of the lineup.
• Nice to see the bullpen look good… Arredondo was filthy, and Fuentes looked really good as well.
• Still no playing time for Brandon Wood, despite his 2-4 performace against a tough Yankee pitcher on Saturday…