Angels walk-off win against the Red Sox was a sweet gift from Hanley Ramirez

Angels 2 Red Sox 1

The Angels are hosting the Red Sox for a four game series. What’d they do to deserve such a fate? What brought them to be tasked with winning an actual baseball game, while on the sidelines the front office is busy dressing up Mike Trout like David Ortiz, and then giving Big Papi a big ol’ picture of himself, in pure tribute?

Can the team slurp up those revered, east coast institutions even more than they already do? Big Papi gets a painting, a token of the Angels’ appreciation; appreciation towards what, exactly, is anybody’s guess. Yes, yes. He’s had a long and storied time in Major League Baseball, but his name and presence alone should be dubious around these parts.

The competitive spirit is not something that you want to downplay, and I believe that you give a bit of that away when you start commissioning works of art based on a dude who historically kills the Halos. It’s bad enough that we have to deal with the influx of Pink Hats taking up valuable seats and spaces in line for gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, but to then go out of the way to appeal to their controversial large father.

Enjoy it, Big Papi. Because what goes around, comes around...

The first game in this series against the lowly Red Sox featured two former aces, Jered Weaver and David Price, going toe to toe like it was the good ol’ 20-win season days, and they delivered a nail-biter.

Weaver looked good for most of his evening, eventually finishing with 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 BB and 2 Ks, but he only gave up one run through all of that. That came in the third, from a Mookie Betts sac fly, and for the majority of the innings eaten up in this showdown, that 1-0 Red Sox lead adorned the scoreboard.

David Price pitched late into the game, getting lifted after eight innings, to be exact, and he held the Halos to zero runs that entire time. Things were looking pretty bleak, where they were going to lose one by the most razor thin of margins.

Fans everywhere put on their bibs, and were prepared to eat a gross, messy buttercup, when the ninth inning came along and changed the course of the entire game.

The Chowds had reliever Brad Ziegler up, and he immediately got into trouble. Mike Trout hit a single into center, and then he was followed by an Albert Pujols single, runners at 2nd and third. A couple batters later, Andrelton Simmons singled, loading up the bases. There was already one out on the board, and it was time to draw a line in the sand; buttercup or glory.

The Angels chose glory...or rather, Hanley Ramirez chose glory for the Angels, making the charitable decision in the form of an epically bad throw. See, with the bases loaded, Daniel Nava hit a little grounder to first, where Ramirez fielded it and went home to get the out there, but it was air-mailed over the catcher’s head, all the way to the back stop.

Mike Trout was safe, tie game, and then right behind him was the winning run, pinch runner Ji-Man Choi. A tense, tight game was really just a matter of the Angels kicking back, waiting for the right time to attack, waiting for David Price to get taken out of the game, and waiting for Hanley Ramirez to give us a gift.

Yes, that’s right. Hope you liked your gift, Big Papi, because we sure like ours, compliments of Mr. Ramirez. Drive home safely, especially you Pink Hats. It can be hard to see the road through an endless stream of tears.

That’s seven home wins in a row, post-All Star break. The team keeps surprising, and they keep fighting. When they do it against Boston, all the better.