At the beginning of tonight's game thread, I expressed frustration that rookies Mike Trout and Hank Conger were not in the line-up.  I also suggested that it appeared they would see little playing time for the remainder of the series (possibly wrongly in the case of Trout).  Trout and Conger did make appearances in the game, but not until the 7th inning when the game was well out of reach and the Angels were losing by ten runs. 

Here is the list of changes made in the bottom of the 7th inning: 

R Thompson relieved J Williams.

M Trout in right field.

M Trumbo in left field.

R Branyan at first base.

H Conger catching.

Just after these changes were made, the Angels offense roared to life and an 11-1 wipeout eventually became an 11-7 respectable loss.  No, the rookies didn't directly contribute all that much to the offensive comeback.  But I for one can't help but feel how their presence in the line-up and on the field positively affected the team's "mojo." 

Last week, on August 18, rookie Mark Trumbo hit a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning against these same Texas Rangers, which ended an otherwise listless performance by the team and started a 6-game winning streak.  The rookies came in tonight and turned the game around.  I hope to see them in the starting line-up tomorrow...if for no other reason than their positive mojo.