IT'S MUSIC TO ANGELS' EARS MOLINA'S HR HELPS OUT SANTANA ANGELS 2, MINNESOTA 1.Byline: Greg MacDonald Staff Writer ANAHEIM - Ervin Santana Ervin Ramon Santana (born December 12, 1982 in La Romana, Dominican Republic) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Career Santana was a starting pitcher for the Angels' double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers early in 2005, where he has been feast or famine on the mound since becoming a fixture in the Angels rotation. The 22-year-old has alternated sparkling performances with rough outings in his six career starts. On Tuesday, the right-handed rookie was due for a gem. Although he was not at his sharpest, Santana was able to wiggle through five innings and was helped out by Bengie Molina's solo home run, which provided the difference in the Angels' 2-1 victory over Minnesota in front of 42,335 at Angel Stadium. Santana (3-3), who scattered five hits and struck out three Tuesday, improved his record at home to 3-1 this year and increased the Angels' lead over Texas to 7 1/2 games. Closer Francisco Rodriguez Francisco Rodriguez may refer to:
Maicer Izturis Maicer Izturis (IPA pronunciation: [maɪsɛr ɪs'turɪs]) (born September 12, 1980 in Barquisimeto, Lara State, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball infielder who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. went 1 for 3 to extend his hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak refers to the consecutive number of official games in which a player gets at least one base hit. Games in which a player does not have any official at bats due to walks, or sacrifice bunts, or being hit by a pitch, are ignored (neither break the streak to 13 games, but committed an error in the top of the ninth inning - the Angels' first in 138 2/3 innings. In the top of the first inning, Santana ran into early trouble. He allowed Shannon Stewart Shannon Stewart may refer to:
He was considered by many scouts to be the best young catcher in the sport and has been said by some, including Twins Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, to have one of the best 2-0 before the Twins catcher lined a single to left field to score Stewart. Torii torii Symbolic gateway marking the entrance to Shinto shrines or other sacred spots in Japan. It has many variations, but it characteristically consists of two cylindrical posts topped by a crosswise rectangular beam extending beyond the posts on either side and a second Hunter's one-out bunt single put runners on first and second, but Santana struck out Jacque Jones Jacque Dewayne Jones (born April 25, 1975 in San Diego, California) is an American outfielder who currently plays for the Chicago Cubs in Major League Baseball. Early life on a 3-2 pitch. Lew Ford then walked to load the bases, which brought Angels pitching coach Bud Black out for a visit with Santana. The Angels pitcher, who needed 35 pitches to retire the Twins in the first, was able to induce Justin Morneau to pop up for the third out. The Angels wasted no time tying the score in the bottom of the first. Chone Figgins doubled to the right-centerfield gap, advanced to third on a Darin Erstad groundout to second and scored on a Vladimir Guerrero groundout to second. After issuing a leadoff walk to Luis Rodriguez in the top of the third, Santana finally got comfortable. He retired Juan Castro and Stewart on a pair of lazy flyballs, and then the Twins third baseman was caught stealing to end the inning. Santana then really got in a groove, retiring the next eight hitters he faced. He ran into some trouble after allowing two-out singles to Stewart and Punto to put runners on first and third in the fifth. But Mauer lined out sharply to Guerrero in right field to end the inning. Molina broke the 1-1 tie when he sent the first pitch he saw from rookie Scott Baker (0-1) in the bottom of the fifth inning over the center-field wall for his seventh home run of the season. Baker, who was making his first career major league start, went five innings and allowed five hits, two earned runs and struck out five. The Angels had a chance to increase their lead later in the fifth with two runners on, but Vladimir Guerrero broke his bat grounding into an inning-ending double play. Kevin Gregg pitched a scoreless sixth inning of relief, and Scot Shields struck out three in his two innings of work before giving way to Rodriguez. Greg McDonald, (626) 962-8811 greg.mcdonald(at)sgvn.com CAPTION(S): photo, 4 boxes Photo: Angels starting pitcher Ervin Santana went five innings, gave up five hits and struck out three Tuesday against Minnesota. Chris Carlson/Associated Press Box: (1) MINNESOTA at ANGELS - Greg MacDonald (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. |
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