It seems like the All-Star break served as a key turning point for the Angels. Not only has their offense been providing the neccessary run support but thet’ve also begun to rely pick each other up. With Vladimir Guerrero having his lowest BA of his career, the Angels had to find other guys to pitch in, and that’s exactly what’s been happening. 

Friday night was certainly no different. In the first two innings, the Angels scored five runs and knocked the Orioles’ starting pitcher out of the game early.  ”Right now, it’s good to see the offense take a little pressure off our pitcher when maybe they’re not as crisp,” Manager Mike Scioscia said after the game. It’s true that Angels pitching has taken a small turn in the opposite direction since the break. Although the Angels have been getting a lot of runs, they’ve also been giving up their share of runs as the last few have been high-scoring close games. This time they managed to win by only one run, despite finishing with a six-run total; something that they may not have been able to accomplish a month ago.

The Angels are going to face the Orioles’ Radhames Liz, who despite having a decent last outing, has been known to struggle in the past. His start against the Red Sox comes to mind in which he allowed eight runs in two innings.