ENDING A NATIONAL STREAK GUERRERO'S FIVE RBI SPARKS OFFENSE AND STOPS 10-GAME RUN ANGELS 11, WASHINGTON 1.Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer ANAHEIM - As the Washington Nationals This article is about the current Major League Baseball team. For other uses, see Washington Nationals (disambiguation). The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington DC. loosened up before Monday's game, the mood was light, and why not? Baseball's feel-good story hit Angel Stadium on a 10-game winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" and in first place, putting the Nationals on equal ground with their former teammate, Vladimir Guerrero Vladimir Alvino Guerrero (born February 9, 1976 in Don Gregorio, Nizao, Dominican Republic), and known in his native Dominican Republic as Miquéas (Spanish for Micah), is a Major League Baseball right fielder who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. . But after several former Montreal Expos exchanged hugs and small talk with Guerrero, the game got under way and the rebranded Nationals were reminded of a simple lesson. Life's always better with Vladdy on your side. The Angels know this better than anyone. On Monday, Guerrero notched the 16th four-hit game of his career, with a three-run home run, and drove in five runs in the Angels' 11-1 rout of Washington in front of 40,790 at Angel Stadium. As Guerrero nursed a partially dislocated dis·lo·cate tr.v. dis·lo·cat·ed, dis·lo·cat·ing, dis·lo·cates 1. To put out of usual or proper place, position, or relationship. 2. left shoulder, the Angels treaded water, going 10-8 without him. They have turned it up a degree since his return Friday, winning three of four games and posting double-digit run totals in two of them. On Monday, the hits came early and often. The Angels had a season-high 20 hits, which either was a byproduct by·prod·uct or by-prod·uct n. 1. Something produced in the making of something else. 2. A secondary result; a side effect. Noun 1. of having the reigning American League MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. in the middle of the lineup or having Angels punching bag Esteban Loaiza on the mound. Given that Guerrero has nine hits in 16 at-bats since coming off the disabled list, the Angels are leaning toward the first theory. ``He's a freak, because he sits around the clubhouse for two weeks with ice on his shoulder and comes back and doesn't miss a beat,'' said starting pitcher Paul Byrd, who gave up one run in six innings. ``Just his presence on the field, as one of the elite players in the game ... even if he goes 0 for 3, other guys see better pitches.'' They crushed many of those pitches Monday. Loaiza posted an 11.88 ERA in two starts against the Angels last season and was no match for them this time, either. Guerrero's 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 single was one of four hits in a two-run first, and when Loaiza started the fourth by giving up a home run to Dallas McPherson and singles to Orlando Cabrera and Adam Kennedy (CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge ), he was done. Reliever Sun-Woo Kim didn't stem the tide Stem The Tide An attempt to stop a prevailing trend. Sometimes referred to as "stop the bleeding." Notes: If a stock is continually falling, stemming the tide would be an attempt to halt the free fall and change its direction. See also: Reversal, Trend , either. Chone Figgins hit a two-run triple, Darin Erstad followed with an RBI double, and Guerrero added an RBI single. It was 7-0 Angels. Guerrero would pile on with a three-run sixth-inning homer off T.J. Tucker to make it 10-0. ``He's making up for lost time,'' manager Mike Scioscia said of Guerrero. ``He knows the numbers he wants to get to. He's not going to let three weeks out stop him. He's come out guns blazing.'' Guerrero once shared space in baseball's Montreal orphanage with several Nationals players. He left after the 2003 season to accept the Angels' five-year, $70 million contract, but in the second year of that deal, the Angels seldom looked like members of the high-rent district. That's starting to change. The Angels entered Monday's game having scored nearly seven runs per game in their last 15, a reversal from the 3.5 they averaged in the previous 23. Now they just might be mixing good pitching with good hitting. Byrd gave up just four hits in six innings and held the Nationals scoreless for five innings. His lone blemish blem·ish n. A small circumscribed alteration of the skin considered to be unesthetic but insignificant. blemish came when former Angel - now villain - Jose Guillen hit an RBI single in the sixth, and Byrd left with a minor case of triceps triceps, any muscle having three heads, or points of attachment, but especially the triceps brachii at the back of the upper arm. One head originates on the shoulder blade and two on the upper-arm bone, or humerus. inflammation. The run support helped dull his minor ache. ``I've got a message for this team, and this is profound,'' Byrd said. ``If you score 10 runs for me, I will win a lot of games for you.'' That won't happen every night, but now the entire lineup is perking up around Guerrero. No. 2 hitter Erstad doubled twice and singled and has a 14-game hitting streak. No. 9 hitter Kennedy is on a 19-for-39 run. ``Everybody seems to be hot right now,'' McPherson said. ``There's no doubt a player of Vladdy's caliber solidifies the lineup. It's great having him back, but a lot of guys are doing things right now.'' Gabe Lacques, (626) 962-8811 gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 5 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Angels right fielder Vladimir Guerrero singles in the fourth inning, one of his four hits in the Angels' 11-1 victory Monday. (2) Angels starting pitcher Paul Byrd surrenders just four hits in six innings. Danny Moloshok/Associated Press Box: (1) ANGELS vs. WASHINGTON - Gabe Lacques (2) GAME RECAP (3) HOW THE RUNS SCORED (4) ALMANAC almanac, originally, a calendar with notations of astronomical and other data. Almanacs have been known in simple form almost since the invention of writing, for they served to record religious feasts, seasonal changes, and the like. (5) STORY LINES |
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