Halos Heaven

Angels dominate wall to wall for 2-0 series lead -- latimes.com
Jered Weaver threw 7 1/3 brilliant innings, giving up one run and two hits. A pair of gnats, 5-foot-8, 170-pound Maicer Izturis and 5-10, 170-pound Erick Aybar, delivered a pair of humongous hits. The bullpen, a soft spot for a good chunk of the season, held firm.

Angels thump Red Sox, take huge series lead  - OCRegister.com
"Game tied, 1-1, I knew he was going to be very careful with the way he pitched to me," Guerrero said. "Those breaking balls he threw me off the plate, I knew I could not open my (strike) zone too much. "That has been his pattern against me in the past and he did it again tonight. … I wasn’t looking for a walk but I knew the situation in the game – it called for me to get on base."

Weaver throws strong as Angels down BoSox in Game 2 -  CBSSports.com
Weaver was comprehensively better than Beckett in just his second career postseason start. He allowed just four Boston baserunners and struck out seven while matching Lackey's 7 1/3 innings in Los Angeles' streak-snapping shutout victory in Game 1. "We want it," Angels outfielder Torii Hunter said. "I mean, I can't say we want it more than those guys, but we definitely want it. I'm pretty sure they want it, too. It's just not working out for them. We've just got to keep putting the pressure on them and stay hungry. You've got to kick somebody when they're down, and that's what we're doing."

Team Reports - CBSSports.com
Rather than travel immediately after Friday's game or early Saturday morning, the Angels elected to work out briefly in Anaheim on Saturday morning then travel to Boston. Manager Mike Scioscia said the adjustment was made because the Angels worked out late at night in Boston on the day before Game 3 last year. This year's travel decision was compounded by the early start time for Game 3 -- noon EDT Sunday in Boston.

Video highlights from last night's game:

MLB Tonight on Weaver's strong start -  MLB.com
MLB Tonight breaks down Jered Weaver's excellent start in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Red Sox

Aybar plates two on triple in seventh -  MLB.com
Erick Aybar skies a triple over Jacoby Ellsbury's head, plating two runs to push the Halos to a 4-1 lead in the seventh

MLB.com looks at Angels' rally -  MLB.com
Jim Duquette breaks down how the Angels used team speed to score three runs in the seventh inning to take a 2-0 ALDS lead

Izturis, Aybar discuss the Angels winning Game 2 -  MLB.com
Maicer Izturis and Erick Aybar discuss the Angels big win over the Red Sox in Game 2 of the 2009 ALDS

Weaver's gem puts Angels in control - angelsbaseball.com
Outdueling Josh Beckett in a 4-1 triumph on Friday night, Jered Weaver pitched brilliantly in his second career postseason start, and the Angels manufactured a three-run seventh inning to move one win away from the American League Championship Series -- and leave the Red Sox on the precipice.

Angels stay on a roll in role reversal -  Yahoo! Sports
So they move the whole thing to Fenway Park, for brunch on Sunday, the Angels – and not the Red Sox – running downhill, feeling like this might work, in fact almost sure of it.

Halos pushing all the right buttons - MLB.com
Every aspect of the Angels' game has been on in this American League Division Series. The starting pitching has been superb, the hitting has been timely, the defense has made the necessary plays regardless of difficulty, the baserunning has been every bit as aggressive and effective as usual. These were the Angels, from their own perspective, the way they ought to be. It was very impressive for the rest of us and very gratifying for the Angels themselves.

With 2-0 lead, Angels have Red Sox on the run - Stan McNeal -  Sporting News
Though Guerrero's hit looked like a hit-and-run, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said it was a run-and-hit. Guerrero didn't have to swing. "Sometimes a run-and-hit looks like a perfect hit-and-run," Scioscia said. "My intention was to swing the bat and it happened to go to right field," Guerrero said. He was being a bit modest, according to Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. "I was kidding him and said, 'Was that your first hit-and-run?'. He goes, 'What are you talking about?'" Hatcher said. "Really, I've seen him probably 50 times that when he's hitting and he sees a runner go, he hits a ground ball that way. He just does it. He knows how to get that direction."

Angels strike the right chord with precision -- latimes.com
It seems fairly clear now that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who have been off-key so often in recent postseason play, are now producing sweet music.

Bobby Abreu: 'I don't want to go nowhere else' | Angels Unplugged | Los Angeles Times
"I want to come back. I don't want to go nowhere else. I want to stay with the Angels."

The feeling's mutual.

Umpires' foul play spoiling exciting postseason - Jon Heyman - SI.com
Some of the Twins contingent were apoplectic about umpire Phil Cuzzi's blown call in left field which deprived Joe Mauer of a ground-rule double in the 11th inning. Mauer's fly ball into the corner ticked Melky Cabrera's glove while he was still in fair territory, then landed a few inches inside the line before bouncing over the wall. But Cuzzi incorrectly ruled it foul, and while Mauer singled, the Twins failed to score in that half inning before the Yankees sent them home a 4-3 loser in Game 2 on Mark Teixiera's walk-off homer.

MLB Postseason Clubs Make Extra $$$, But How Much Depends - Biz of Baseball
With the 2009 postseason getting underway, interest in the added revenues that each of the teams that advanced could garner increases. Today, two stories reference research published earlier this year that looked at the added average gate revenue clubs make when making the postseason.

October 10 - BR Bullpen
Events, births and deaths that occurred on October 10.
1982 - The Milwaukee Brewers complete their comeback from a 2-0 ALCS deficit by edging the California Angels 4 - 3 to earn their first-ever trip to the World Series. Angels outfielder Fred Lynn bats .611 for the Series and is named MVP in a losing cause.
2005 - Rookie Ervin Santana pitched 5 1/3 strong innings in his postseason debut, Garret Anderson hit a home run and drove in two runs, and Adam Kennedy hit a go-ahead two-run triple, to lead the Angels over New York, 5 - 3, in the decisive Game 5 of their AL playoff series.