Angels Win Quiet Battle In Seattle

This might be the easiest recap ever. In the third inning, Mike Trout reached on a force-out and then Albert Pujols hit a home run. That is all.

There is beauty in that simplicity. A calm, serene beauty. It means that the starter, Garrett Richards, threw like a boss. Seven innings for him, six strikeouts, nine groundball outs, with just one single allowed. He did walk three guys, which will be something to keep an eye on, but I'm pretty sure there's a rule against complaining about shutouts. Anyways, simplicity also means that the bullpen—Joe Smith and Ernesto Frieri, tonight—passed on the pyromania, tachycardia, hypertension, walkaholism, homeritis, and all the various other vices and disorders toward which they've inclined so obliquely of late. Smith pitched a clean inning, and Frieri only walked the tying run to the plate, which is as good as a clean inning for the Ernestocrat. At the end of the day, the one-hitter stood.

So now that the elusive first win against the Mariners is out of the way, nothing will stand against this crimson juggernaut as it cuts a bloody swath through overmatched and altogether pitiable opposition on its inevitable path to Ultimate Victory. Actually, I just realized that John McDonald really is on the 25-man roster. So are, like, Raul Ibanez, Ian Stewart, and Collin Cowgill. Three of them were in the lineup tonight, while Josh Hamilton is apparently going under the knife for that brilliant slide into first. But I digress. Rejoice in victory today, let tomorrow bring what may.