Angels 2007 - Series 2 - Oakland Athletics
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by user Angels Fan
The Angels start their season series against the 2006 AL West Champs at home on Thursday night. While the Athletics will have to wait until April 9th to raise their pennant, they look to correct their early season troubles with a trip to Anaheim.
Two games into the 2007 campaign and the teams find themselves on opposite ends of the standings - Oakland at 0-2 and Los Angeles at 2-0, and they both got there with their strengths - pitching. The Angels got solid outings by Lackey and Escobar and rode Vlad Guerrero's typical good hitting against the Rangers to victories of 4-1 and 8-3. The A's on the other hand, saw solid starts by Haren and Blanton fall apart due to poor defense and the sloppy bullpen work.
Will Oakland have what it takes to give the Angels their first loss or will the AL West Champs continue to struggle? Here's how I see the series breaking down.
Games
| Game | Athletics Starter | 2007 Data | 2006 Data | Angels Starter | 2007 Data | 2006 Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chad Gaudin | 0-0, 0.00 ERA | 4-2, 3.09 ERA | Joe Saunders | 0-0, 0.00 ERA | 7-3, 4.71 ERA |
| 2 | Joe Kennedy | 0-0, 0.00 ERA | 4-1, 2.31 ERA | Dustin Moseley | 0-0, 0.00 ERA | 1-0, 0.00 ERA |
| 3 | Dan Haren | 0-1, 0.00 ERA | 14-13, 4.12 ERA | John Lackey | 1-0, 0.00 ERA | 13-11, 3.56 ERA |
| 4 | Joe Blanton | 0-0, 6.00 ERA | 16-12, 4.82 ERA | Kelvim Escobar | 1-0, 3.38 ERA | 11-14, 3.61 ERA |
What each team needs to do
Pitching, pitching, and more pitching. These two teams are all about pitching. Neither has the offense to blow away opponents, so I expect to see a number of close games as usual (over the past 2 seasons, these two have fought in 18 one run contests).
The A's have lost Zito, but they hope Harden and Haren can make up the difference. Huston Street anchors a solid bullpen that will make it easy to pull starters if they get in trouble. Look for Eric Chavez to show some power (he hit 4 HR against LAA in 2006) and Milton Bradley to continue his hot start (.429/.500/1.000, 1 HR) if the A's are going to score many runs.
The Angels need to keep focused, particularly with youngsters Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley going in the first 2 games. Saunders needs to set the tone of the series right off the bat - he pitched well in the Spring, but he needs to step up for the real thing. As usual for the Angels, Vlad will be the centerpiece of the lineup - if he can hit A's pitching as well as he does Ranger tossers, they'll have no offensive problems. If the starters can get to the 6th, the improved (not that it was bad in 2006) bullpen will easily carry the final 3 innings.
Key Personnel
===Athletics=== Dan Haren - The Athletics handed the opening day start to Haren, and he did not disappoint. Although he ended up taking the loss, he retired the first 11 batters he faced and if it weren't for some bad luck and unearned runs, could have held out longer (and gotten a ND) against King Felix and the Mariners. The A's need him to step up and become the ace of their staff, filling in the hole left by the departure of Barry Zito. Word has it (ContraCostaTimes) that Haren "tweaked" his hip on Monday but will make his next start.
Mike Piazza - While the pitching is the main story of the A's, they still need to score at least a few runs. This year, they turn to Piazza to get his fair share. Taking over for Frank Thomas, Piazza has some big shoes to fill. Frank had a huge comeback year in 2006 with 39 HR and 114 RBI. The A's hope Piazza, who hit .277/.338/.495 with 22 HR and 70 RBI for the Padres last year, can defy his age as he hangs up his catching gear. With a solid year from Piazza, the A's feel they can score enough to give their pitchers a chance to win the AL West.
===Angels=== Joe Saunders - For the Angels to get through the injuries to Colon and Weaver, they will need a strong showing from Saunders. The 25 year old southpaw pitched well in 70 innings last year posting a 7-3 record with a modest 4.71 ERA. This spring he went 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 23 1/3 innings.
Casey Kotchman - Another youngster the Angels are counting on, Kotchman threw away last season by fighting mono rather than opposing pitchers. He is determined to proove that the Angels' faith is not misplaced. This Spring he batted .349 with 3 HR and 10 RBI and through 2 games he's hitting .600/ .750/1.200 with a run, 2 RBIs, 2 walks and a HR. While not likely that he will stay this hot, the Angels need his production at 1B to make a run this season.
Injuries
Athletics
- Mark Kotsay - Back surgery - on DL effective 3/23 - est. return Late June
- Dan Johnson - Torn labrum - on DL effective 3/27 - est. return June
- Esteban Loaiza - Right trapezius spasms - on DL effective 3/23 - est. Return Late April
Angels
- Bartolo Colon - Strained muscle - on DL effective 3/23 - est. return 4/20
- Chone Figgins - 2 broken fingers - on DL effective 3/23 - est. return May
- Dallas McPherson - Back surgery - on DL effective 3/23 - est. return September
- Juan Rivera - Broken leg - on DL effective 3/23 - est. return All Star Break
- Jered Weaver - Biceps tendonitis - on DL effective 3/23 - est. return 4/16
== Prediction == Angels win 3 nail-biters out of 4 as each game will be decided by 2 or fewer runs.
Results
| April 5, 2007 | R | H | E | LOB |
| Oakland Athletics (2-2) | 4 | 13 | 0 | 11 |
| Los Angeles Angels (3-1) | 3 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| WP: Justin Duchscherer(1-0) LP: Francisco Rodriguez(0-1) SV: Huston Street(1) | ||||
| HR: Oak - Piazza(1) LAA - Guerrero(2), Anderson(1) RBI: Oak - Piazza(1), Chavez(1), Kielty(1), Ellis(8) LAA - Matthews(2), Guerrero(6), Anderson(2) SB: none | ||||
| April 6, 2007 | R | H | E | LOB |
| Oakland Athletics (2-3) | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Los Angeles Angels (4-1) | 5 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| WP: Dustin Moseley (1-0) LP: Joe Kennedy (0-1) SV: Francisco Rodriguez (3) | ||||
| HR: Oak - none; LAA - Guerrero (3), Kendrick (1) RBI: Oak - Swisher (2); LAA - Kendrick (3), Guerrero 3(9) SB: Oak - none; LAA - Matthews (1) | ||||
| April 7, 2007 | R | H | E | LOB |
| Oakland Athletics (2-4) | 1 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Los Angeles Angels (5-1) | 2 | 8 | 1 | 6 |
| WP: John Lackey (2-0) LP: Dan Haren (0-2) SV: Scot Shields (1) | ||||
| HR: Oak - none; LAA - none RBI: Oak - Jason Kendall (2); LAA - Guerrero (10) SB: Oak - Mark Ellis (1); LAA - none | ||||
Date
Mon 04/04/07, 4:34pm PST
