Ginger Power Saves the Day as Angels Come Back Late Against Blue Jays

Will everyone please rise, and take a brief moment, to celebrate Kole Calhoun. He has a .444 average through his first six games, and, in case you didn’t notice tonight, bat flips for days. Move on over Yasiel Puig, the ginger is in town.

Alright, time to bang out this check list. Let’s see here. Tommy Hanson had a meh start. Check. Ernesto Frieri gave up a hit, forcing Angels fans everywhere to hide under a blanket until the conclusion of the game. Check. Mike Trout does Mike Trout things, like, getting on base three times without a hit. J.B. Shuck makes an outstanding defensive play while taking a home run away from Jose Bautista. Check Check. Angels win. Chhhhhheeeeeeccccckkkkk.

After scoring a run on an error in the second, and then getting another pushed across on an RBI single by Edwin Encarnacion in the fourth, the Blue Jays had themselves a 2-0 lead. But in the bottom of the fourth, the Angels fired back with an RBI single by Chris Nelson and a two-run double courtesy of Chris Iannetta. The same Chris Iannetta who, incidentally, remembered how to make strong throws to second base tonight. Mark Langston made a comment on the radio broadcast that Jose Reyes should have been able to steal off of Tommy Hanson while running backwards. Yet he was one of the three runners that Iannetta nabbed on the basepaths this evening.

Chris Nelson drove in another run in the fifth inning, but in the sixth inning, the Blue Jays held their own three-run party. Jose Reyes tied the game with his seventh home run of the season, and Colby Rasmus got the lead back for Toronto with an RBI groundout, making the score 5-4 in favor of the Jays.

The score remained as such until the eighth inning. And what a beautiful eighth inning it was. J.B. Shuck tied the game with an RBI triple to right field. Setting himself up perfectly to be driven in with a sacrifice fly, or a squeeze bunt, or a bloop single. But Kole Calhoun would have none of that. Calhoun turned around a first pitch fastball from Steve Delabar for his first career home run on his fourth hit of the night. Giving the Angels a two run lead, and setting the stage for Frieri.

Ernesto did give up a double to Brett Lawrie, but he struck out Colby Rasmus, Josh Thole and Emilio Bonifacio to slam the door shut on the visitors from the Great White North for his 26th save of the season.

There’s more based ball tomorrow when the Angels send their Ace, Jered Weaver, to the mound against Esmil Rogers at 6:05 PM PST. Light up the halo. Light it up bright.