In Saturday’s 11-5 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins, the Angels got some power from two rather unlikely sources – tablesetters Chone Figgins and Maicer Izturis. Figgins and Izturis both homered during a nine-run outburst in the fourth inning, powering the Angels to their eight consecutive victory – the longest active streak in the majors.
In addition to receiving a solid offensive performance (11 runs on 14 hits), the Angels got a solid performance from Saturday afternoon’s starter Matt Palmer. Palmer allowed just two runs and four hits in five innings of work, while striking out three and walking three.
The Angels, who came in leading the majors with a .286 batting average and in runs scored, have won 12 of their last 13 games and are a season-high 20 games over .500 even with the absence of top of the line outfielders Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, and Juan Rivera.
3 Thoughts to chew on
- Is Matt Palmer really as good as his 8-1 record indicates? I’m not so sure. So far this year, he has a 4.68 ERA and the Angels have averaged 7.33 runs in his 12 starts. In other words, he’s gotten a lot of help.
- Has the bullpen turned the corner, as they allowed just one run in four innings of work. Is a trade for a reliever still necessary?
- Is Chone Figgins the best leadoff man in the American League? He certainly makes a strong case for it, as he went 2-for-4 with a walk, three runs, and 2 RBIs, on Saturday.
Fully Clips
Go Joe Bruin
Lake Show Life
Lasorda's Lair
Reign of Troy
Rink Royalty
