Mark DeRosa did it all. Well, OK he didn’t, but don’t people always seem to say that when a player has a really great game? Mark (I can’t stand the nickname DeRoll) DeRosa went 2 for 3 with a walk, which doesn’t sound that impressive.
However, the two were a single, and a grand slam. That was DeRosa’s first grand slam of his career, which was nice to see, as it came against John Lackey, who has pretty much confounded the Rangers since he made his major league debut against us a few years back (which I was at). Mark also made a great defensive catch in the seventh. It ended up being a sac fly, but it saved a second run from scoring. Mark’s other RBI was on a based loaded walk.
I still dispute the batter getting an RBI on a bases loaded walk. The stat is runs batted in. Those aren’t batted in.
Anyway, it was a big night for DeRosa. Vicente Padilla (who seems to be getting no coverage around these parts on his recent arrest) pitched well, if not completely dominating. He had a few parts where it was a little wobbly, and a lot of other parts to this game where he did look dominating. Still, you can’t argue with the line; 7IP, 7H, 3R, 5K, 0BB. Josh Rupe followed up with two innings of scoreless relief.
Overall a nice win, one fueled by Mark DeRosa. We’re now back in second place in our rather bunched up division, only 2.5 games out. The Angels now have likely lost Bartolo Colon for the season (time to hit the drop button on a few fantasy leagues), which can only help us going down the stretch.