Two Angels

Addison Field of Anaheim`s, which looked gloomy, began to start shining with the appearance of a player.

It was Anaheim Angels’ reliever Francisco Rodriguez (20). In the post-season, he roused a sensation with his excellent performance. The hitter of San Francisco Giants, who recorded 11 hits and 9 points up to the 5th, held the breath as he took the mound.

Francisco struck out the first two batters with just three balls for each. Even the best batter, Berry Bonz got grounded out. With just 7 pitches, he sealed the inning. Francisco dominated Giants players with his sliders making sharp angles and fast thunder balls sprung out of his dynamic form, hovering over 150km.

He struck out 4 hitters in three innings and recorded a perfect pitching without allowing any runner to the first base.

As the mound got stabilized, Anaheim batters got boosted up. In the 6th, with the game led by Giants 8-9, Anderson`s hit allowed home the runners on the first and second, tying the game. In the 8th, it got a chance to pull the game around.

Another hero of Angels Tim Sammon (34) punched a two-run homer over the left fence.

Sammon is one of the most unfortunate players who did not play in the post-season for a long time. After his debut in 1992, he had to undergo 11 seasons and 1,388 games before he first got to play in the post-season. In this game, he recorded 2 homers, along with 4 hits and 4 RBIs.

Giants succeeded in catching up with Angels by 1 point with Bonz’ homer. But Giants failed to turn over the game.

Angels` rookie Francisco Rodriguez, who laid the foundations for the victory with his three-inning no-hit and no-run, has recorded 5 wins only in the post-season. For the 7 games and 13 innings, he recorded 19 strikeouts and 1.38 ERA. It is the first time in the ML history that a rookie took out 5 wins only in the post-season.

Rodriguez, who is from Benezuela, made his ML debut on the Sep. 19th and, through his fast balls reaching up to 160km, demonstrated his ability with a record of 13 strikeouts during 5 and 2/3 innings in five games. Thus, he could be able to join in the post-season.

ESPN titled the game, "Francisco, Angel from the Heaven to Anaheim."

Anaheim Angels, which barely pulled out a game after fierce batting war (28 hits and 21 points in total for both teams), recorded 1 win and 1 loss. On Oct. 13th, it will take on Giants in San Francisco for three consecutive away games.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com