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Final Score: Angels 5, Chowds 4
In a game that saw 5 Angels relievers and Ervin Santana's 2009 season debut, Jeff Mathis won it with a 12th inning single scoring pinch-runner Reggie Willits. The Angels bullpen held the Red Sox to one run over 7 innings, the one run given up by struggling Scot Shields, giving the Red Sox new life with a run in the 8th.
Santana was inconsistent in his debut, giving up 3 runs, 7 hits and 3 walks through 5 innings (92 pitches; 52 strikes, 40 balls). However, he showed he is still able to get the strikeout as he sat down 5 Sox, including David Ortiz with the bases loaded to end the 4th inning.
Torii Hunter, Erick Aybar, and Bobby Abreu each hit triples in the game, while Hunter was a homer shy of the cycle, driving in 3 runs. The big hit came off the bat of Mathis in the 12th ending the game and giving the Halo's the series win. The RBI single was Mathis' second run driven in in the game, as he'd previously tied the game in the 7th with a sacrifice fly to score Aybar.
The Angels' bullpen, after a season of struggles, held the Red Sox scoreless in extra-innings, including Jason Bulger getting out of a bases loaded two out jam in the 12th by striking out Dustin Pedroia and getting David Ortiz to ground out to first. With the bases jammed ground out, Ortiz added 3 more runners left on base, giving him 12 in the game, including 3 strikeouts.
The win gives the Angels an 18-15 record, a game-and-a-half behind division leading Texas Rangers, who the Halos face this weekend in Arlington.
