This just in: Angels beat the Orioles 3-1, putting the Angels in a winning spot in the series at 6-5 over Baltimore. And we were there to see it. On May 3rd, my boss gave me some tickets to see the Angels play the Orioles. Little did I realize that when he said the tickets were behind home plate, that they were literally 14 rows directly behind home plate!
So we arrived at our seats before the game. And to our great surprise, we were practically on the field. The section is the Diamond Club, with only 24 rows of seats and a restaurant with tables at the top of the section.
Before the game started we had lunch at one of the many hot dog stand areas. Of course we all got ourselves hot dogs!
(who by the way seemed to be having the time of their lives with their daughters)
aka: Betty and Veronica
The game finally started and the action was soon to come.
a quick photo from inside the Diamond Club Restaurant
Of course about half way through the game we hadn't had enough with the hot dog, lemonade, peanuts and Stella, so we had to get nachos of course!
The real action of the game was after the 5th inning. That's when we finally got the last 2 runs that put us over the edge for the win!
And for a little more reading....and a full synopsis of the goings on in the game, here is an article courtesy of the MLB::
Angels rally to defeat Orioles
ANAHEIM -- The Angels were looking for a hitting explosion on Saturday afternoon. Instead, the explosion came from the Angel Stadium mound, where Jon Garland throttled the Orioles on three hits over eight innings.
The Angels defeated the Orioles, 3-1, after having labored without a hit off Orioles right-hander Daniel Cabrera for three innings and waiting until the sixth for the two-run rally that gave them the lead for good.
"It was one of those games where, either way it goes, you can't be too upset," said Garland (4-3), who gave up a run on three hits while striking out one and walking one.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 12th save.
"Even when I'm getting my brains beat in, I still want to go out and do my best," Garland said when asked whether he would have preferred to finish the game.
He spoke from recent experience, having surrendered 10 hits, two of them home runs, in six-plus innings of a 14-2 loss to Oakland on Monday night.
Garland said he and pitching coach Mike Butcher went into remedy mode after that one, viewing not just the DVD of the Oakland debacle but a disc from Game 3 of the 2005 American League Championship Series, in which he pitched a complete game as he and the White Sox defeated the Angels.
Garland said he took the 2005 DVD home, watched it, and "let it sink in."
In both of those performances, Garland said, "I was opening up early, pretty much showing every hitter exactly what was coming. The adjustment Butch and I worked on was turning my left shoulder in, and you could see the results."
Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Garland, "He looked much more confident in his delivery. His load was much better, he had better control of his offspeed pitches, and the ball was coming out of his hand crisper."
The Angels' decisive rally began with one out when Cabrera (2-1) hit Brandon Wood with a pitch and Chone Figgins followed with a walk. Designated hitter Reggie Willits, who had broken up Cabrera's no-hitter with an infield single in the fourth, slashed a single to right to score Wood. Figgins went to third and scored on a Gary Matthews Jr. sacrifice fly.
Willits said he was OK with the DH role. "I'll take any way they can get me in there," he said. "It gets some guys some rest."
On Saturday, the person resting was Vladimir Guerrero, as Matthews started in right field, Torii Hunter in center and Garret Anderson in left.
Willits spoke about the pitch he drove into right to tie the score. "I was looking to be aggressive early in the count. [Cabrera] was getting a lot of first-pitch strikes. The catcher was setting up on the outside of the plate, and it came right down the middle."
Garland yielded the Orioles' run in the second on Luke Scott's two-out RBI single. The Angels' starter also retired 18 of the last 19 batters he faced, the only break coming on Melvin Mora's one-out double in the seventh.
"Through the middle innings he was in the zone early and often," Scioscia said of his starter.
Figgins left the game after scoring the Angels' third run, sliding home safely, but awkwardly, on a fielder's choice when he beat third baseman Mora's throw following a soft ground ball by Matthews.
The slide resulted in an injury to Figgins' right hamstring muscle, which tightened up on him when he returned to the dugout.
"He said it cramped up, like there was a knot or something in there," Scioscia said.
Figgins was unavailable following the game.
"We'll have to get [the injury] evaluated by the doctors," Scioscia said. "With the hamstring, you're always concerned."
In the seventh inning, the Angels' recent hitting woes centered on a frustrating snapshot of Anderson being ejected by plate umpire Paul Emmel for flipping his bat 20 feet after being called out on strikes.
"Garret is trying, searching," Scioscia said. "He's going to find it, but right now he's searching for his game."
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