The Los Angeles Angels have fired off the loudest shot in week one of the second half of the major league season and that is bad news for the Oakland A’s and the Texas Rangers. The halos have now won 11 of their past 12 games and have taken their record above .500 (46-45) for the first time since April 28th.
If they want to contend they will need the continued support of several key players such as Rob Quinlan, Howie Kendrick, Kendry Morales and tonight’s emergency starter Dustin Moseley. This team has battled through numerous injuries with Escobar, Erstad, McPherson and new sensation rookie pitcher Jered Weaver.
The White Sox have a major problem with Freddy Garcia which makes me wonder if they will go across town to Wrigley and scoop up veteran thrower Greg Maddux. Garcia has allowed a team-high 22 homers in 19 starts and his ERA is an unflattering 5.07.
Where has the Red Sox pitching gone or maybe a better question is have they returned from the All-Star break? Oakland hammered Boston taking 3 of 4 and outscoring them 28-15. Their acquisition of Kyle Snyder from the Royals has been a disaster and his ERA in 2 starts is 10.03.
The Atlanta Braves have won the NL East 14 times in a row and they are intent on making a second-half charge. Their reign is over as division champs as the Mets have an insurmountable lead, but they are only 5 back in the wild card. The Braves tore apart the Petco Park record book, Jones hit a 424-foot, and a two-run homer in the fourth to tie the record of 14 straight games with an extra-base hit set in 1927 by Pittsburgh’s Paul Waner.
Chipper Jones’ third homer of the series and 14th this year helped the Braves to a sweep of the series. He hit two in Friday night’s 15-12, 11-inning win which was the highest-scoring game in Petco’s three-year history.
Brian McCann also homered Sunday for the Braves giving them 11 in the series — a Petco record for one team. The 16 total homers were also a Petco record eclipsing the 14 hit by the Mariners and Padres June 23-25.
The Braves scored 36 runs — a ballpark mark — on 43 hits in the series including nine doubles. The teams combined for 56 runs — also a Petco record — on 82 hits.
Bob Acton
