TRUMPING THE ACE SANTANA TOPS SOX'S GARLAND IN ANGELS' WIN ANGELS 4, CHICAGO 0.Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer ANAHEIM - Five years ago, the Angels rolled the dice on a pencil-thin 17-year-old kid from the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic (dəmĭn`ĭkən), republic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. , wagering $700,000 of signing-bonus money on the hope that young 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 eventually would be something special in the major leagues. On Monday night, in his first start at Angel Stadium, the 22-year-old with an overpowering fastball that belies his 160-pound frame was beyond special. He shut out the winningest team in the major leagues and bested the previously unbeatable Jon Garland Jon Steven Garland (born September 27, 1979 in Valencia, California) is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox. Garland was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the 10th pick of the 1997 amateur draft. . Bouncing back from a dubious major-league debut six days earlier in Cleveland, Santana struck out seven Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the White Sox have played in U.S. , threw a five-hitter and dealt Garland his first loss since last September as the Angels prevailed 4-0 for their seventh win in 10 games. The night began with Garland (8-1) bidding to become the first White Sox pitcher to win his first nine starts since Ed Cicotte in 1919. By the time it ended, the spotlight was all Santana's. After Santana retired Scott Podsednik Scott Eric Podsednik (born March 18, 1976 in West, Texas), is a Major League Baseball outfielder who currently plays for the Chicago White Sox. He previously played for the Seattle Mariners (2001-02) and Milwaukee Brewers (2003-04), and led the major leagues in stolen bases in on a grounder to first to end the eighth inning, most of the 40,991 fans on hand rose and gave him an extended ovation as he shuffled slowly back to the Angels dugout, assuming his night was over. But when catcher 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 homered in the bottom of the inning Noun 1. bottom of the inning - the second half of an inning; while the home team is at bat bottom inning, frame - (baseball) one of nine divisions of play during which each team has a turn at bat , giving the Angels a 4-0 lead, temporary closer Scot Shields Scot Shields (b. July 22, 1975, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, with whom he has spent his entire career, serving as their setup man since 2005. sat down in the bullpen, and Santana came out for the ninth. He finished what he started, shrugging off an infield single by Paul Konerko Paul Henry Konerko (born March 5, 1976 in Providence, Rhode Island) is a first baseman in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox. He previously played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1997-98) and Cincinnati Reds (1998). to retire A.J. Pierzynski on a grounder to first. He became the youngest Angel to throw a shutout since Jim Abbott, at 21, pulled off the feat in 1989. Santana has a long way to go to reach the cult-hero status Abbott attained. But Monday's performance, in which he featured his 96 mph fastball, his devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. slider A block of material that holds the read/write head of a magnetic disk. See flying head. and a developing changeup, confirmed what Angels brass quietly hoped for since Santana shot through the Angels' farm system, needing just 21 Double-A starts to reach the majors. He is their potential ace of the future. On Monday, the future was now. ``He pitched like a 10-year veteran, with incredible stuff,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ``He pitched to what we'd seen him do at the minor-league level. To do it at the major-league level, against a high-caliber lineup, is incredible.'' If nothing else, Santana gave the Angels something to think about. His start Monday was supposed to be his second and final start, assuming starter Kelvim Escobar returns from an elbow injury to start Saturday. Scioscia said they will ``wait and see where Kelvim is'' before making a decision. Santana's outing was a contrast to his major-league debut, when the first four Cleveland Indians combined to hit for the cycle as he admittedly relied far too much on his fastball and gave up six runs in four innings. It was different almost immediately against the White Sox. He struck out leadoff hitter Podsednik on four pitches, the last a slider. When Santana fell behind No. 3 hitter Carl Everett 2-and-1, he was confident enough to throw the slider for a called strike. Everett grounded out on a 96 mph fastball and Santana was on his way. He retired the first 10 batters he faced, threw first-pitch strikes to 23 of 32 batters and threw 83 strikes among his 115 pitches. ``By the seventh inning,'' Molina said, ``I realized we had something special going on. It's all him, his composure. I can't put it into words.'' Neither could Santana. He was soft-spoken in the postgame interview session, but the grin he could not suppress was far more expressive. Monday's game felt like the start of something big, and Santana seemed to know it as he discussed his plans for his game ball. ``Take it home,'' he said. ``Keep it. It's my first win.'' Gabe Lacques, (626) 962-8811 gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com CAPTION(S): photo, 4 boxes Photo: (color) Rookie Ervin Santana is congratulated on his first major-league win by manager Mike Scioscia. Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press Box: (1) ANGELS vs. CHICAGO WHITE SOX - Gabe Lacques (2) ANGELS 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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