Wednesday, April 12: You Have Got To Be Kidding Me

Angels 6, Rangers 5

Another game, another ending that involved a horde of Angels jumping and hugging around home plate. And this time they won on a 10th inning walkoff...bunt single? Yes, indeed. A squeeze bunt by catcher Carlos Perez that scored left fielder Cameron Maybin. As Rangers first baseman Mike Napoli watched the bunt slowly roll up the first base line, hoping it would go into foul territory, it was the sort of moment that made you wonder: What exactly have the Rangers done to tick off the baseball gods? And, hmm, what have the Angels done to please them? Rally Monkey? Fans flapping their arms in the stands? No one seems to know. Baseball moves in mysterious ways. One thing for sure: The first-place Angels lead the league right now in giving their fans return on investment.

Halos fans are talking magic. Rangers fans are talking alternative dimensions.

Rangers manager Jeff Bannister is talking change. After watching Sam Dyson blow his second save of the season, he told the Dallas Morning News, "We'll evaluate all our options."

The box.

Astros 7, Mariners 5

Holy smokes, George Springer.  The Astros center fielder hit yet another lead off home run, his fourth of the year.  Four and we haven't even reached the tax deadline. The Astros won the duel between back-of-the-rotation starters, with Joe Musgrove getting the win and Ariel Miranda the loss. The Mariners stayed scrappy until the end, scoring two runs in the 9th off Ken Giles, who walked a couple of hitters and threw a wild pitch and was kind of all over the place. But it was Mariners reliever James Pazos who couldn't get anyone out in the 6th and gave up the double to pitch hitter Evan Gattis that scored three runs and put the Astros ahead for good (although that hit has as much to do with bad luck than anything else).

Astros fans celebrated the team finally breaking out offensively. The always-entertaining Mariners fans spoke of rage, pessimism and fatalism.

The box.




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