Game 43: Angels 2, Tigers 1

After undergointg some serious growing pains since returning from injury, Ervin Santana finally looked like his old self in Friday’s 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Santana, picking up his first win since September 22nd, allowed just six hits, two walks, and one run, in 8 2/3 innings, while also striking out seven Detroit batters. But despite his valiant effort on the mound, there wasn’t much run support to be found.

Through eight innings, the game was scoreless, but luckily for Santana, that all changed in the top of the ninth inning. Torii Hunter and Kendry Morales started off the inning with singles off Fernando Rodney to put runners at first and second. With Juan Rivera stepping to the plate, the Angels’ left fielder poked a single to right field, bringing in the game’s winning run. Hunter would eventually score on Howie Kendrick’s groundout later in the inning to increase the lead to 2-0.

Here are some thoughts from the game:

• What is the rational for starting Jeff Mathis. Every time I check his stats in the box score following a game, it typically shows a zero in the hits column. Yes, his defense is a little bit stronger than Napoli’s, but when you score just two runs in a game, you need all the offense you can get.
• The calls for Ervin Santana to give up his starting spot were silly and he showed why tonight.  Allowing just one run and nearly throwing a complete game was a pretty good way to quiet all the doubters.
• Was Sunday’s win the turnaround victory for the Angels? If you include the win over the Mariners, the Angels have now won four out of their last five games. It’ll be interesting to see how they finish the series against Detroit.