Post-Rapture Angels Defeat Braves 4-1

Angels take down the Braves 4-1 and hung on to give Angels Bench Coach Rob Picciolo his first win as a manager, filling in for Mike Scioscia, who was attending his son's graduation in South Bend.

Tyler Chatwood pitched like a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter going 7 IP, giving up an earned run and 5 hits to go with his 6 strikeouts and 2 walks on the day. The Braves offense tagged Chatwood with a double by Freddie Freeman who then came around to score on a base hit by Joe Mather.

The Angels would make their comeback early in the 4th inning. Bobby Abreu lead off the inning with a walk and Torii Hunter launched one to deep left for a 2-run HR, his 5th HR of the season. An insurance run in the 6th and 7th innings kept the momentum in the Angels favor as the bullpen would be called in to hold it down.

Abreu hit his 534th career double off former Doyer George Sherrill in the 7th inning, tying Hall-of-Famer Lou Gehrig for 32nd on the all-time list.

Scott Downs entered the game in the 8th inning and pitched a clean, scoreless inning assisted by Izturis and the defense.

Fireballin' Jordan Walden took the ball in the 9th and nailed it down for save #8 of the season.

A game like this shows that a solid effort from the starting pitching, some runs and a lock down bullpen can do wonders for a team's confidence. Now THAT'S Angels Baseball!