Baseball Journal 4-25-13 A Shot to the Nuts

So I’m watching the MLB Network’s look-in coverage of the Ranger-Angel game last night, and much like John Hirschbeck, I wasn’t expecting what happened next. Catcher Iannetta sets up outside. Pitcher pitches inside. Catcher misses pitch. Fastball plows directly into the umpire’s groin. A.J. Pierzynski at bat, immediately motions to the dugout for the trainer, as Hirshbeck rolls on the ground. A few minutes later, he sets up back behind the plate and continues to call balls and strikes. What a gamer! (His calls may have had a little pitch to them for the rest of the game.)

The Angels certainly didn’t see what was coming next, a nine-run inning directly into their nuts. The big blow was a broken bat, three-run homer by Nelson Cruz (his second in two days). My own tender loins from watching the Angels drop a 9-spot on the Tigers in the bottom of the first last weekend, felt a little better. (My World Series pick isn’t looking terribly sharp at the moment. They’ve brought Jose Valverde back in as the closer. Two years ago, his guy was perfect. Now he’s damaged goods, and he’s the Tigers’ failsafe.)

Yu Darvish had a nice night. 11 strikeouts in six shutout innings. He was mixing a 61-mph curveball with a 98-mph fastball, and a couple of other pitches of varying speed and break. As Eric Nadel would say as I picked up the rest of the game on the radio, “It’s almost like he’s toying with them.” Darvish picks up the win in an 11-3 rout.

I’ve been keeping up with this series this week. The Rangers won the set, taking two of three, just like they did at home versus the Angels earlier in the month. The night before was a bit of heartbreaker as Kendrick won it on a homer for the Halos in extra innings. Tuesday though, saw Pierzynski hit a homer to win that game (and after the Rangers had scored three runs earlier to tie it). Boy, those Angels’ fans loved A.J. Their affectionate boo’s rang out through the stadium. The Rangers seem to have a knack for picking up catchers who seem to hate the Angels and take it out on them. Meanwhile, the Angel’s pitching, particularly their relievers, seem determined to cough up whatever lead their epic bombers give them. Scioscia has every right to be worried about his job.