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News » Los Angeles Angels Roster Report 2008-09-30


Los Angeles Angels Roster Report 2008-09-30


Los Angeles Angels Roster Report 2008-09-30

Scot Shields finished the ninth to pick up his fourth save.

Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki single to left in the first, his 1,800th hit in his eight-year major league career. He is the quickest to that level for any player starting his career after 1954. He reached it in 1,277 games. Wade Boggs is second best at 1,352 games.

Betancourt walked then Raul Ibanez had an RBI single to center. With two outs, Wladimir Balentien doubled down the left-field line to make it 2-0.

Down 2-1 entering the sixth, Guerrero led off with a homer off Randy Messenger. The ball appeared to bounce off the glove of right fielder Balentien and into the stands then back onto the field. Mariners manager Jim Riggleman came out to protest but was satisfied by umpire Chuck Meriwether's explanation without going to a replay for the second straight night.

The inning continued with Torii Hunter singling to left. He stole second and advanced to third on Howie Kendrick's flyout. With the infield in, Gary Matthews Jr. hit a hard grounder to second baseman Luis Valbuena, who quickly threw home. But Hunter eluded Kenji Johjima's sweep tag for a 3-2 lead.

The Angels added a run in the seventh on a two-out single by Hunter.

Notes: Suzuki is seeking other milestones over the final weekend. He's after his fifth hit title in his eight seasons. He has 209 hits, two less than Boston's Dustin Pedroia. He needs seven hits to tie Isao Harimoto for the most hits by a Japanese player. Harimoto, who played from 1959 to 1981, had 3,085. ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who has two quality catchers in Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis, is leaning toward certain tandems for the postseason. "I feel good interchanging those guys with anybody but the matchups on the pitcher-catcher end just really points to Ervin (Santana) and Jeff, who do a great job together, and Mike and John (Lackey)." Lackey and Santana will likely start the first two games.

John Lackey appears to have put a rough stretch behind him. With the playoffs approaching, the Los Angeles Angels don't want those struggles to return.

Coming off one of his best starts of the season, Lackey looks to help the Angels clinch home-field advantage in the playoffs and set a team record for wins in a season as they open of a three-game set with the Texas Rangers on Thursday night.

A start in the opener of the final series of the regular season puts Lackey (12-4, 3.25 ERA) on pace to open the playoffs for Los Angeles (99-60).

That will come at home, and the Angels are a win or a Tampa Bay loss away from making sure the majority of their playoff games are played there. Los Angeles beat Seattle 6-4 on Thursday to match the franchise record for wins in a season, set by the 2002 team that won the World Series.

"That's what we been fighting for, getting 100 wins," Angels center fielder Torii Hunter said. "For this organization, it's going to mean a lot. ... We still have a lot of things to fight for, 100 games, home-field advantage. We have stuff to push for."


Author:Fox Sports
Author's Website:http://www.foxsports.com
Added: September 30, 2008

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