Sign up or login to track your favorite teams on Bleacher Report
Well… at least the regular season was something to remember. The Angels were once again terrorized by horribly un-clutch hitting and defensive miscues on Monday night, and even with a ...

Post-Game Report: Angels vs. Red Sox - ALDS Game Four

by Joey Kaufman (Contributor)

1

434 reads

Game Recap

October 07, 2008

MLB, AL East, AL West, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Sports, Game Recap

Well… at least the regular season was something to remember.

The Angels were once again terrorized by horribly un-clutch hitting and defensive miscues on Monday night, and even with a late-inning comeback, it wasn’t enough to topple the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Angels lost Game Four of the ALDS 3-2.

John Lackey looked like a true ace on Monday, keeping his team in the game all night by going seven innings and giving up just two runs to Boston.

The Halos once again could not produce a run to save their lives, leaving a total of 10 men on base. Garret Anderson, who struggled out of the two-hole all series, left the most men on base (three) in the game. If one thing is clear out of this series, it’s this: it’s time for the Angels to change their offensive mindset.

As previously stated, John Lackey pitched well enough to get the win, and was hurt by defensive miscues by Chone Figgins, Erick Aybar and Howie Kendrick. Though John wasn’t overpowering tonight, he hit the corners and made the big pitches when he needed them.

  • B/R Ticket Guide

Scot Shields pitched the 8th and 9th innings, and gave up a walk-off single to Jed Lowrie, after giving up a lead-off double to newly crowned Angel-killer Jason Bay.

The most glaring error of the night for the Angels came in the top of the 9th inning. After a lead-off double by Kendry Morales and a sacrifice bunt to get pinch-runner Reggie Willits over to third, Erick Aybar came to the plate and missed the bunt on an attempted squeeze play. Reggie Willits was eventually run down by catcher Jason Varitek, essentially sealing the victory for the Red Sox.

Here are tonight’s best…

Top Three Angels Performers:

1) Torii Hunter went 1-4 on the night, but came through with two outs in the 8th, singling and tying up the score at 2.

2) John Lackey did not deserve the no-decision tonight after the way he pitched. Lackey went seven strong innings, giving up just two runs to a very powerful Red Sox offense, keeping his team in the game.

3) Lead-off man Chone Figgins did his best to get the offense going tonight, going 2-4 with two singles.

Jeff Weaver of the Game:

Mike Scioscia gets the Jeff Weaver tonight. Calling a squeeze play with one out in the top of the 9th inning was overmanaging, and it cost the Angels the win.

Play of the Game:

With two outs and runners on second and third in the 8th inning, Torii Hunter fought off pitch after pitch before singling to right field and driving in the game-tying runs.

What to look for next:

The Los Angeles Angels’ season is now over, and they have a lot of personnel decisions to make. This should make for one very interesting offseason.

Share This Article
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

comments (1) write a comment »

  1. Nice article bro..Tough way to end the season..The Angels gift wrapped that series

write a new comment


Edit this Article Article History

About the Author Joey Kaufman (contributor)

  • 28 articles written
  • 2 comments posted
  • 3 fans

FREE SPORTS TEXT ALERTS

  • Get team scores and news sent to your cell phone during and after each game.
  • We do not charge for these services, but standard messaging rates or other charges apply.
  • Cancel anytime by replying STOP to any message.

Step 1: Choose a team

League:

Step 2: Enter your phone number

( ) -
Standard Messaging Rates or other charges apply. To Opt-out text STOP to 4INFO (44636). For more information text HELP to 4INFO (44636). Contact your carrier for more details.

Want to write for Bleacher Report

We are a community of fans who write about sports. And we're growing.

Learn More and Sign Up »