Singles Party Does the Trick in Los Angeles Angels Victory


 

Erick Aybar Los Angeles Angels

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Angels got one of the many scrappy victories that they will need if they are to get back into contention before it is too late.

The Halos erupted for 16 hits, 14 of them singles, en route to a 14-8 victory at Comerica Park in Detroit. Never mind the fact that most of those 14 singles came on ground balls through the infield — the Angels will take whatever hitting they can get. They’ll also take the six errors gifted to them by the Detroit Tigersthe most committed by any team this season.

If the Angels weren’t exactly hoping Josh Hamilton (43 home runs last year) would reinvent himself as a singles hitter, his 3-for-5 performance on Tuesday was a welcome sign from the lefty, who had sat out the weekend games against the Pittsburgh Pirates

The only blemish on the Halo victory was C.J. Wilson‘s subpar performance; the lefty gave up five runs on seven hits in five innings to raise his ERA to 3.88 on the year. Even so, he picked up his most important stat, the victory, and can be forgiven for an off night when the offense was more than happy to carry the load.

The Angels hope Tommy Hanson (4-2, 5.10) can carry some more of the load when he takes the mound tonight.

If Los Angeles is going through a stretch where it can only win in ugly fashion (such as the 1-0 victory last week in Wilson’s previous start), then the Halos will take it until they can find a real groove. In the meantime, singles are nice, but power from the middle of the lineup is better and consistent starting pitching is best.

Tony Baker is a Los Angeles Angels blogger for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter at @tonloc_baker.


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