Jesse Chavez is still on fire & Cameron Maybin go-go gadgets a go-ahead run, Angels beat Blue Jays 2-1

Angels 2 Blue Jays

Tonight, the Angels were still playing the Blue Jays, for some odd reason, and they had yet another low-scoring, good pitching, little-to-no offense game in store for us. That’s a lot of work just to split a series. Would they be up for it?

Jesse Chavez sure was up for it, as he went 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER and 7 Ks. That’s a money stat line, right there; take that to the bank every night. Chavez has looked good in consecutive outings and he’s bolstering the back end of a rotation that may end up being the front end, in this topsy-turvy baseball world.

The only run that Chavez surrendered was a solo homer to Russel Martin in the fourth, but while they were getting stifled by Toronto for the first three or so sides, it was all about to break their way, if only a little bit.

The offense, like in other recent affairs, was hard to come by for the Halos tonight. They faced off mostly against Francisco Liriano, who they tagged for a couple runs off of five total hits. One was in the fourth, from an Albert Pujols single. The other Angels run, by the way...the run that ended up winning the game, basically, was off of a Yunel Escobar fielder’s choice. Yeah, that kind of night.

Although, at the same time, you can give props to Cameron Maybin for seeing that it was that kind of night, therefore taking it upon himself to manufacture a run. He got on by single, then stole a base and then moved to third thanks to Martin Maldonado sac bunt. He worked to get over to third, and even Escobar’s measly fielder’s choice was enough to go ahead.

That 2-1 score stuck from the fifth all the way til the ninth, the Blue Jays never really resting on their laurels, at least not with this touch-and-go Angels bullpen on the mound. While we go to see a great Jesse Chavez outing, we also saw Yusmeiro Petit and new guy David Hernandez hold down the fort when things were close. That’s what you want to see.

They didn’t give up any more runs, though, and we got to see a great pickoff move from the new dude, so that was cool. What wasn’t cool, though, was Bud Norris coming in the ninth, and getting two guys on base before recording even one out. This is how that whole slip slidin’ away thing happens, after all. A pebble in your shoe; a couple guys on. A minor discomfort, put to the back of the mind, until it blows up in your face.

Luckily, we didn’t have to worry about anybody being hoisted by their own petard, as Norris got his second career save, punctuated by a game-ending, gorgeous double play from the Simmons-Espinosa connection.

Angels starters continue to roll. The Angels batters continue to baffle. Sometimes this is fun, and tonight, it is fun.