Mike Trout and David Murphy are home run antidote to King Felix poison, Angels win 4-3

Angels 4 Mariners 3

Of all the games they win, they win the one in which they're taking on Seattle's Felix Hernandez. The Angels needed a win, not only to stop the little losing wig-out that they're currently on right now, but because the tides in the AL West are changin'. They could gain some ground, or get left in the dust.

King Felix was his usual self tonight, which meant he looked dominant, giving up only five hits in seven innings pitched. But with King Felix, "usual" also entails getting bombed upon by Mike Trout and David Murphy, two guys who have his deep ball number and dial it frequently.

David Murphy got the pendulum of Luck swinging in the Halos' good faith and general direction in the third, when he hit a three run jack off of Hernandez. The Angels were down 1-0 at that point already, thanks to Nick Tropeano giving up a Nelson Cruz solo dinger to kick things off in the first, so the Murphy shot was a breath of life into what might have been a another miserable game.

Mike Trout showed Felix who rules the Iron Throne in the sixth, when he took him deep for his 36th of the year. This gave the Angels a nice 4-2 lead heading into the Seattle moonlight, and hopes hanging on a tired bullpen holding her steady.

Tropeano pitched five decent innings, only getting in trouble with that Cruz homer and a Franklin Gutierrez RBI single. Gutierrez would also homer in the seventh, off of Fernando Salas(of course), though, so maybe he was just a tough out tonight. Either way, the bullpen still managed to keep them from surging back, and with Joe Smith closing in the ninth, the Angels got the W.

The Angels looked decent against a tough guy tonight; dig the heroics from David Murphy, as usual. And Mike Trout being Mike Trout is chicken soup for the blackened, tortured and maimed Angels soul. Carlos Perez also had himself a night in Seattle, as he went 3-4 with a double and a run scored. The Angels still think they can squeak into some Wild Card action, and if they do, they'll need guys stepping up like that.

Speaking of that race...prepare yourselves for some bad news, folks: the Texas Rangers are in first place. They beat Houston tonight, and now they are top dogs. For now. Minnesota also lost, so right now the Angels are 4 games behind in the West, and 3.5 behind for the second play-in game spot. They still have series with Minnesota, Texas and Houston. Weird things may happen, I dunno.

All I know is, they won tonight. Sweet.