Matthews has 3 RBIs in 8th, Angels rally
July 29, 2009
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Mike Scioscia almost has more pitching problems than onemanager can handle. If it’s not Jered Weaver(notes) struggling through another startfor the Los Angeles Angels, it’s closer Brian Fuentes’(notes) sudden inability to getanybody out.
Yet the Angels’ lineup still has a remarkable knack for the comeback—andreliever Jason Bulger(notes) barely managed to do what Fuentes couldn’t.
Gary Matthews Jr.(notes) hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the eighth inning,and the Angels survived another meltdown by their All-Star closer for theirmajor league-leading 33rd come-from-behind victory, 7-6 over the ClevelandIndians on Tuesday night.
Juan Rivera’s(notes) RBI single tied it earlier in the eighth for the Angels, whoselatest remarkable rally made up for another poor performance by another starterand the usually formidable Fuentes. Scioscia finally found a stopper in Bulger,a 30-year-old right-hander in his first full big league season.
Entering the game with the bases loaded and nobody out after Fuentes’ secondstraight flop, Bulger induced a double-play grounder by Victor Martinez(notes), evencovering first for the relay throw. He then stranded Cleveland’s tying run onthird base with another grounder for his first career save.
Series at a Glance Cleveland 8 LA Angels 6 Mon, Jul 27 – Final Cleveland 6 LA Angels 7 Tue, Jul 28 – Final Cleveland at LA Angels Wed, Jul 29 – 3:35 pm ET
“The last thing (Scioscia) told me when he left the mound was to be sure tocover first base on a ground ball,” Bulger said. “The whole thing is a blur.I’m just ecstatic that we came back and won. We do it when it counts.”
Fuentes, the major league leader with 30 saves, fell apart for the secondstraight night, yielding two runs and failing to close out the scrappy Indians,whose five-game winning streak ended.
“We had the guy we wanted up there in that situation with the bases loaded,but they turned a hell of a double play,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said.“Then Jhonny hit the ball right on the nose, but right at the shortstop. But wehad great at-bats prior to that and made them work for it. We just came upshort.”
After giving up two homers and four runs while blowing a save in Monday’sloss, Fuentes gave up two walks and two hits without getting an out. He washeartily booed by the home crowd.
“(Fuentes) is getting a little bit tired,” Scioscia said. “The ball’s notcoming out like it normally does. … He’ll right his ship and get it backtogether. It just didn’t look like he was comfortable out there.”
Los Angeles Angels relief pitc… AP – Jul 29, 1:21 am EDT
Matt Palmer(notes) (9-1) pitched two solid innings in relief of struggling starterJered Weaver for the Angels, who have won 13 of 16 despite losing their previoustwo—just Los Angeles’ second set of back-to-back losses in July. Texas has woneight of nine to close within 2 1/2 games of the Angels atop the AL West standings.
Jhonny Peralta(notes) homered and drove in two runs before making the final out,while Ben Francisco(notes) also homered as the Indians lost for just the second time ineight games on a remarkable road trip concluding Wednesday.
Wedge didn’t second-guess his decision to leave starter David Huff(notes) (5-5) inthe game to start the eighth. The Angels’ first two hitters reached base beforereliever Joe Smith(notes) gave up Rivera’s RBI single, and Matthews Jr. capped thecomeback with a two-out drive to left-center off Tony Sipp(notes).
“Some games you’ve got to bear down a little more, and tonight was one ofthose situations,” Sipp said. “I left a ball across the middle and walked twoguys and put myself in a situation for failure.”
Matthews is reveling in his first regular playing time of the season,starting 17 straight games in center field since Torii Hunter’s(notes) injury.
“We’re comfortable playing from behind,” Matthews said. “We’re able tomanufacture runs. We’re not dependent on homers. This stadium isn’t reallyconducive to home run hitters, and I think they’ve built the team accordingly.”
Weaver was the latest Angels starter to struggle, barely surviving fiveinnings while giving up eight hits. He is winless in his last three starts aftergoing 7-1 in his previous nine, and the right-hander has allowed at least threeruns in eight consecutive outings.
NOTES: 1B Andy Marte(notes) went 2 for 3 in his first game back with the Indians,who recalled him from the minors after trading Ryan Garko(notes) to San Francisco. …The home team wore the softball-style 1980 throwback California Angels uniformson ’80s Night. … Sean O’Sullivan(notes), who has bounced from the minors to theAngels’ roster this season, pitched a no-hitter for Triple-A Salt Lake.
