ALL'S NOT LOST YET ANGELS PLAYERS ADD TO THEIR NUMBERS ANGELS 9, SEATTLE 3.Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer ANAHEIM - The only magic numbers Magic numbers The number of neutrons or protons in nuclei which are required to fill major quantum shells. They occur at particle numbers 2, 8, 20, 50, and 82. the Angels are dealing with these days have to do with personal statistics, and have nothing to do with clinching a playoff berth. Having been eliminated from playoff contention, the Angels' season-ending, three-game series against the Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Mariners have played in Safeco Field. means nothing in the standings to them, even if it means everything to the Mariners. But it was the Angels who played like the team striving for the playoffs Friday night, beating the Mariners 9-3 before 33,424 at Edison Field. Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (born August 3, 1976 in Tarzana, California) is a Major League Baseball player who plays third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels (1998-2004) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2005). and Bengie Molina Benjamin José ("Bengie" or "Ben") Molina (born July 20 1974 in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico) is the starting catcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. After being initially regarded as a "good glove, no hit" catcher, Molina has developed into one of the better each hit three-run home runs, supporting starting pitcher Noun 1. starting pitcher - (baseball) a pitcher who starts in a baseball game baseball, baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; Ramon Ortiz, who gave up only one earned run earned run n. Baseball A run scored without the aid of an error, used in computing earned run averages. Noun 1. earned run - a run that was not scored as the result of an error by the other team in six innings to get the victory. With the A's leading the Rangers in Oakland on Friday night, the Mariners were on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of falling back into second place in the AL West, one-half game behind Oakland with two to play. The A's have three games left, including a makeup game at Tampa Bay Tampa Bay, inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, 25 mi (40 km) long and 7 to 12 mi (11.3–19 km) wide, W Fla., separated from the Gulf by numerous small islands; it receives the Hillsborough River. St. on Monday if necessary. For the Angels, there are a totally different set of numbers: --82: The number of Angels wins, guaranteeing them a record over .500 for the season. --46: The number of home runs by Glaus, tops in the American League American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). . --237: The number of hits by Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a first baseman/center fielder in Major League Baseball currently with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to 2007, he had played his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006). , the most by a major leaguer since Don Mattingly --100: The RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in total that four Angels have either reached or surpassed. With Glaus getting three RBI and Erstad one on Friday, both reached 100 RBI for the season. The Angels now have four players with 100-plus RBI, joining Mo Vaughn (117) and Garret Anderson (114). Tim Salmon needs three more to reach 100 and give the Angels five players at 100-plus. Only one team in major-league history has had five players with 100-plus RBI in one season - the 1936 Yankees with Lou Gehrig (152), Joe DiMaggio (125), Tony Lazzeri (109), Bill Dickey (107) and George Selkirk (107). The Angels looked bad in the top of the first inning as throwing errors by Molina and Glaus led to two unearned runs. But Glaus and Molina both made up for their errors. The Angels scored four runs in the bottom of the first, the last three in coming in on Glaus' home run. Mike Cameron's home run in the third cut the Angels' lead to 4-3, but in the bottom of the third, Molina hit a three-run homer to put the Angels up, 7-3. Anderson hit his 35th homer in the fifth for the Angels' eighth run, and Erstad's sacrifice fly in the sixth made it 9-3. Many Angels would not admit that knocking the Mariners out of the playoffs would bring any satisfaction, even though they've been eliminated themselves. Even so, they refuse to say the final three games of the season are meaningless. ``These games do mean something for us,'' Glaus said. ``We're competitive. All we want to do is win ballgames. That's what makes these games important to us. ``We pride ourselves in playing the game. And we do have a say in who gets to the postseason. Unfortunately it won't be us, but we do have a say.'' ``We don't get satisfaction playing for other teams' fate,'' Erstad said. ``We're just trying to win ballgames. We'd never disrespect the game. We're going to play the same way we played the first game of the season. We'll approach these games the same way we've approached every game.'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia was the Dodgers catcher in 1982 when Joe Morgan of the Giants knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs with a home run off Terry Forster. Even though Scioscia has a vivid memory of that, he said knocking out the Mariners isn't foremost on his mind. ``I'm not worried about the Seattle Mariners or the Oakland A's, I'm worried about the Anaheim Angels,'' he said. ``We've tried to win every game the whole season. You play every game as hard as you can and see where you are at the end of the season.'' ANGELS vs. SEATTLE Time: 1:10 p.m., at Edison Field TV/Radio: Channel 11; 570-AM, 1090-AM (Spanish), 103.9-FM Matchup: Tim Belcher (4-4, 6.39 ERA) will start for Anaheim against Seattle's John Halama (13-9, 5.14). Today's start might be Belcher's last with the Angels after two injury-plagued seasons. The Angels hold a club option for $5.1 million next season, with a $1 million buyout. Belcher is 10-12 in two seasons for the Angels. - Joe Haakenson CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Seattle pitcher Paul Abbott throws ti Darin Erstad in the bottom of the first Friday in Anaheim. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press Box: Angels vs. Seattle (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion