Friday, June 6th
Jared Weaver went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs, 1 in the top of the 3rd inning on a solo Home Run to Alejandro De Aza. Adam Dunn got the other RBI in the top of the 5th inning, singling home Gordon Beckham, who reached base after he had been hit by a pitch. But Weaver struck out 9, with Adam Dunn and Nieto being repeat offenders. Adam Dunn was able to redeem himself a little bit more, getting a 2 run Home Run in the top of the 9th, but the game was already over long before that.
The Angels had taken a 7-1 lead in the bottom of the 4th, chasing starting pitcher Andre Rienzo from the game. They started with a solo Home Run to leadoff the game, by Kole Calhoun. Josh Hamilton brought home Mike Trout in the same inning with a double. The Angels scored all 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th with 2 outs. It was all done with doubles and singles, slowly manufacturing runs the Mike Scioscia way, normall seen in the National League.
The Angels gained no ground in the AL West on Friday night despite the win, with the Oakland Athletics beating the Baltimore Orioles on the road 4-3 in the 11th inning. So they were 5.5 games back in the division at this point. The White Sox lost a game on the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers, who beat the Boston Red Sox 6-2, putting them 3.5 games back in the division.
Saturday, June 7th
Chris Sale was on the mound for the White Sox, and they had built up a 5 run lead late in the game. Everything was looking great, Alejandro De Aza had 2 RBI's and 2 doubles, Adam Dunn had a solo Home Run, Adam Eaton and Gordon Beckham had each added an RBI as well. But everything was about to change.
In the bottom of the 8th, the first 4 runners in the inning had made it on base, mostly with singles and one made it on an error. Then, as it is pictured above, Mike Trout hit a game changing Grand Slam against Chris Sale, causing him to lose the opportunity for the win. Sale was replaced by Jake Petricka, who gave up 3 singles of his own in allowing Josh Hamilton to score the winning run. Also, young superstar Jose Abreu put up a Golden Sombrero, striking out 4 times in the game.
The Angels were able to gain a game on the Athletics tonight as the lost to the Orioles 6-3. The Tigers won again against the Boston Red Sox 8-6 putting the White Sox 4.5 games back, and the White Sox fell to third in the division as the Cleveland Indians move a half game ahead of them with a win over the Texas Rangers 8-3.
Sunday, June 8th
The Angels completed the sweep by taking the early lead against the White Sox, with Josh Hamilton hitting a double to score Mike Trout in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Jose Quintana was on the mound and struggled greatly, going 4.1 innings and giving up 7 hits and 4 walks while allowing 4 runs. The Angels loaded the bases against him in the bottom of the 5th inning, when Josh Hamilton hit a 2 RBI single, scoring Trout again and Howie Kendrick. Next batter C.J. Cron hit a RBI single scoring David Freese.
C.J. Wilson earned the win on the mound for the Angels, going 7.1 innings and allowing only 1 run. Ernesto Frieri earned his 10th save of the season, and made sure that Adam Dunn didn't ruin the game, by giving him an intentional walk as a pinch hitter. He ended the game by striking out Adrian Nieto.
The Angels didn't gain any ground today, as the Athletics won 11-1, and they remain 4.5 game back in the AL West division chase, but they host them in the next series with a major opportunity to capitalize. The White Sox currently sit 5 games behind the Tigers, as they were playing in the Sunday Night game. But they fell to 4th in the division, with Cleveland winning again 3-2 over Texas, putting them 1.5 behind Cleveland, and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees 2-1, putting them a half game ahead of the White Sox as well. The White Sox have a 4 game home stand coming up next against those Detroit Tigers for the next four days. They will have to turn things around in order to have a chance in the AL Central this season. The Royals play the Yankees and the Indians play the Rangers again to continue their current series for one more game.