Jon Garland, scheduled to start against Boston on Saturday, reported to work with a stiff neck and has had his turn in the rotation pushed back to Sunday and the series’ finale.
All-Star Joe Saunders, who was slated to go Sunday, will move up a day.
Garland is 1-0 against the Red Sox this season, but has an ERA of 6.00. He is only 4-5 in his career against Boston with an ERA of 5.57 (39 earned runs in 63 innings pitched).
At least the A’s and Rangers already lost. Why does John Lackey get to start the second half when he can’t beat the Red Sox? Time for Mike Butcher to fix this problem already. That team is nothing special. Lackey is just scared.
Three horrible at-bats from Figgins. Enough already. The top of the order has to do something. Vlad isn’t getting many RBI chances. Come on Angels, fix this huge problem already. Get Nathan Haynes back as Figgins’ personal hitting coach.
An 8-3 lead now. And it’s the 6th. We better not let Lackey give that many runs back. Have someone ready if he can’t throw strikes. This lead needs to stick.
I like this GA. Just like the second half last year. Now if Vlad can start hitting for power we’ll have something. Patience at the plate. Foul pitches off. Take balls. Get to the bullpen early and pound the other team do death.
And was that Manny being Manny? I’d like his bat in the lineup but not the Manny being Manny part.
Lackey is really stepping up now. He didn’t seem to have much working but he got a lead back and went after hitters. I like seeing him make the hitter hit his pitch and ground out. A lot of good pitches. I hope he remembers this game next time he faces these guys.