Not Close Enough: Angels Lose 6-5, End Win Streak At Eight

One game after the LA Angels broke the .500 mark for the first time after Opening Day, the Yankees knocked them back down to the break-even point with a final score of 6-5. Thus ended an eight-game winning streak that began last Tuesday. Yeah, losing sucks, but it's hard to upset over this one. Just a little more than one week ago, the Angels were the reason why you cried. Now they look like they have a real chance to spin the Wildcard Wheel of Fortune, or perhaps achieve something even greater. After an extended winning streak, the coming series with Texas promises to be an opportunity instead of a root canal.

Although the Angels almost gained an early lead when they loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the first, they came out of it with only a sacrifice fly for their troubles. Instead the Yankees jumped ahead 5-1 in the disastrous third inning, when Ervin Santana gave up a three-run homer and a two-run homer before recording an out. I guess that tends to happen when you put a right-hander with extreme flyball tendencies in front of a power-hitting lefty-heavy lineup. Remarkably, Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout both batted in two runs apiece one inning later to tie the game at five, but the Yankees scraped another run in the sixth, and Howie Kendrick couldn't deliver on a chance to tie or take the lead with two outs in the seventh. In the ninth inning, we learned that Mark Trumbo can't walk off the New York Yankees every time he has a shot at it.

Frustrating, but whatever. Trout and Trumbo continued their sustained aggravated assault against men who throw baseballs at them. Pujols and Morales both raised their batting numbers. Ten days ago we were dying just for entertainment, and tonight the Angels delivered entertainment even in a losing effort. The .500 mark will do, for now.