Halos Heaven

Angels 2, Tigers 0 -  FOX Sports on MSN
Joel Pineiro worked in and out of trouble most of the time, managing to hold one of baseball's most intimidating lineups scoreless until Fernando Rodney put the finishing touches on the Angels' first shutout of the season. Pineiro pitched into the eighth inning and Rodney pitched a perfect ninth against the team he did such a brilliant job closing for last season, leading Los Angeles to a 2-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday night. "It was one of those nights where I was able to throw strikes early and spread the zone from there,'' Pineiro said. ``The biggest thing for any pitcher is to get ahead of the hitters and make them hit your pitch.

It wasn't the typical Joel Pineiro game, but it'll work.  Pineiro gave up more fly balls than ground balls while recording his second win of the season, however he did continue to pound the strike zone and did not give up a base on balls for the second straight game.  I had written yesterday that I wanted to see back-to-back good outing before jumping on the Pineiro bandwagon.  Well, there it is.  Consider me on-board.

Tigers-Angels Preview -  Sporting News
Kazmir will try to help the Angels get back over .500 for the first time since opening day when they host the struggling Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night. Los Angeles (7-7) has won four straight behind outstanding performances from its rotation. The starters have combined for a 0.86 ERA while holding opponents to a .202 batting average during that span. "It's real frustrating when you have a hitter set up for even a decent slider, not even a really good one, and you just don't have it," said Kazmir, who is 2-4 with a 4.69 ERA in eight starts against the Tigers.

Now if the Angels could just get a good outing from Scott Kazmir their world will be heavenly.  The Angels haven't lost since Kazmir's last start (his first of the season) and need a win to keep their streak alive.

Hot-hitting Mathis augmenting defensive rep - angelsbaseball.com
Angels catcher Jeff Mathis has always been noted for his defense behind the plate and his ability to call games for the Angels pitching staff. But Mathis has complemented that with an impressive start to the season at the plate, sporting a .323 batting average after hitting safely in all nine of his starts.

No one's getting all giddy about this, but how frickin' cool would it be if Mathis could actually hit?  Yeah, we should just enjoy this while it lasts.

Brian Fuentes to return to closer's role with Angels - latimes.com
"Right now, Brian is going to pitch the ninth," Scioscia said. "If we have to adjust, we will. I don't know if Fernando is a four-out guy right now, unless it's an extreme situation."  Rodney declined to say that his success during Fuentes' absence — three saves, nine up, nine down — should make him the closer.

Nine up, nine down?  When was the last time an Angels closer went 3 games without allowing a base runner?  I think this is the right move having Fuentes return to the closer's role, however he'll probably be on a short leash considering how well Rodney has done in his absence.  Well, he should be on a short leash.  We all know how Scoiscia has a tendency to stick with a guy for a bit longer than he should.

Rays complete four-game sweep of bumbling Red Sox -  CBSSports.com
Playing on the morning of the Boston Marathon, the Red Sox lost their sixth straight at home, their longest losing streak at Fenway since a 12-game skid in 1994. Boston (4-9) finished 0 for 30 with runners in scoring position during the series, with Jeremy Hermida's two-run homer the only runs in the finale.

Who feels bad for the Red Sox? [crickets]  Yeah, that's what I thought.

The Baseball Analysts: Breaking News: Andy Pettitte Is Better Than Bert Blyleven
But, hey(man), "it's called the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Numbers." Silly me, I was led to believe that great numbers led to fame but, then again, Eddie Gaedel didn't have have great numbers (although a 1.000 OBP isn't bad) but is certainly famous. Maybe Heyman can take up the "Eddie Gaedel for Hall of Fame" cause.

Rich Lederer gives the ole internet groin kick to Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.

Make that four: