Santana keeps Angels' turnaround going

Mamba · Apr 19, 2010

TORONTO -- For starters, it had to start there.

You could point the finger a number of places when the Angels got off to a poor start. The pitchers (starters and relievers alike) were giving up too many home runs, walking too many batters. The hitters were failing in the clutch, stranding too many baserunners. There were occasional glitches defensively and on the basepaths.

But there was only one place for the turnaround to begin – the starting rotation.

With each starter pitching better than the one before, the Angels completed their first sweep at Rogers Centre since 2004 with a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon.

Following in the footsteps of Jered Weaver Friday (seven innings, two runs) and Joe Saunders Saturday (eight innings, two unearned runs), Ervin Santana came within one strike of a shutout, holding the Blue Jays scoreless until Adam Lind's two-out, full-count home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Santana's only mistake of the day came on his 102nd pitch before he finished off the four-hitter.

"This is a tough lineup to get through. They were doing a lot of things well when we came in," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia of a Blue Jays team that had won seven of its first 10 games with 14 home runs and a major-league leading 43 extra-base hits in those games.

"All three of our guys did a good job. ... I don't think these guys (the starting rotation) have to do anything but get settled into their games and keep passing that baton."

With Scott Kazmir's shaky season debut in New York on Thursday the only clinker, the Angels' starters had a 2.57 ERA this last time through the rotation. No surprise, then, that the Angels have emerged from their poor start to win four of their past five games.

"I know guys were pretty excited when the season started," Angels catcher Jeff Mathis said. "They're starting to settle down, getting command of their pitches and filling up the strike zone. That's the reason we've been successful these last couple days.

"Guys are settling down and pitching like we know they can do."

Santana certainly filled up the strike zone. He raced through the first eight innings with just 84 pitches. Five times he needed fewer than a dozen pitches to retire the side, barely leaving a mark in the dirt on the pitcher's mound. He finished with 70 strikes in his 106 pitches, walking none and striking out six.

"Ervin had terrific command of everything," Scioscia said. "The fastball set everything up. He was ahead of every hitter at one point and made good pitches to put guys away.

"Just a great job of pitching from a guy who's pretty important for our rotation."

The Angels hadn't done much to make Santana's life easier in his first two starts. They scored just one run while he was on the mound in those games (losses to the Twins and Yankees). Matched up against Ricky Romero who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his previous start, Santana seemed doomed to more of the same.

The two matched zeroes on the scoreboard until the sixth inning. Erick Aybar led off with a double – the Angels' fourth hit of the game and only the second to leave the infield. He was still standing at second base two outs later after Howie Kendrick popped up a bunt attempt and Bobby Abreu bounced a ball back to Romero.

But Hideki Matsui broke the scoreless drama when he drilled a 1-and-0 fastball from Romero into the left-center field gap for an RBI double. In his first 13 games with the Angels, Matsui leads the team with eight RBI, five of which gave the Angels a lead. He is 4 for 8 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

"It's almost like he knows what a pitcher's going to do to him before he steps in the box," Mathis said in admiration. "I mean, that's what it looks like."

Matsui doubled again to lead off the ninth and the Angels gave Santana some breathing room when they scored one run an error by Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay and another on an RBI double by Mathis.
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http://www.ocregister.com/sports/angels-244632-santana-one.html

Mamba · Apr 19, 2010

He pitched a gem yesterday. He hasn't looked great so far this year, but not bad either. If you erase a few HR's he has given up, then his season so far is completely opposite.

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Santana keeps Angels' turnaround going

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Santana keeps Angels' turnaround going

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