I’ll be live-blogging Ervin Santana’s start today, with an eye on the Mota-Hudler match-up.
Pre-Game: Today is the return of Garret Anderson, the slugger?
Top 1st, Roberts: Santana gets ahead 1-2, but Roberts dribbles one down the third base line, barely avoiding the strike out.
Top 1st, Markakis: Again ahead 1-2, then blows a FB by him. One Down.
Top 1st, Tejada: Santana jams Tejada on a 0-1 pitch and Miguel flies out to center.
Top 1st, Huff: Again 1-2 and after a high pitch inside, that according to gameday, was actually in the strike zone, Santana strikes him out on a breaking ball low and inside.
So far, Santana is looking good, getting ahead of hitters. Only his balls could be a little closer to the zone.
Bottom 1st: Three ground-outs and a 1-2-3 inning for Guthrie.
Top 2nd, Millar: Millar hits a 2-0 fastball a long way to left fielder Garret Anderson.
Top 2nd, Mora: Mora fights off a pitch 1-2 pitch to right field, but Willits runs it down as it slices foul.
Top 2nd, Payton: Payton hits the first pitch, which is right down the middle. But it’s only routine fly ball to right.
The got behind both Millar and Mora, although be came back quick against Mora. Then Payton hit the first pitch as if he knew a FB would be coming.
Bottom 2nd: Matthew Jr.* lines out to Millar and Anderson hits the first pitch he sees to the warning track. Three years ago, that would probably have been a home run. Aybar then bunts out.
Top 3rd, Gibbons: Santana starts with ball one, but comes back with three straight strikes.
Top 3rd, Bako: Bako becomes the next strike out victim on a 2-2 breaking ball.
Top 3rd, Roberts: Ervin gets ahead 0-2, but Roberts battles back to a full count and manages to hit a single the other way past Figgins.
Top 3rd, Markakis: Markakis lines the first pitch (fairly in the middle) for a double to right and Roberts scores on a poor throw from Kendrick.
Top 3rd, Tejada: Santana blows an 0-2 by Miguel for the third out.
Santana is working fast. He is doing a good job of getting ahead of hitters, which seems to be a key for him (isn’t it always?), but he’s throwing to many fastballs right down the middle.
Bottom 3rd: Hillenbrand strikes out, but he manages to draw ten pitches after falling behind 1-2. Molina singles on a full count and Kendrick hits a hard grounder that eats up Roberts. Willits hits another grounder, but he is to fast to complete the double play. 1-1
Figgins takes three pitches outside the zone, but two are called strikes by the umpire and Figgins then strikes out.
Top 4th, Huff: Huff pops a 1-1 pitch into foul territory.
Top 4th, Millar: Only breaking balls to Millar, but three are outside the zone. Millar than swing for the 3-1 fastball, but pops it in the air to Kendrick.
Top 4th, Mora: Again two breaking balls outside the zone and Molina comes out to the mound for a very short visit. Santana overthrows a fastball, then hits the zone to make it 3-1 and Mora fouls one away for a full count. Santana throws a flat slider over the plate and Mora does not miss it. 2-1 O’s
Top 4th, Payton: A 1-1 ground to first ends the inning.
Santana was not able to throw his breaking ball for strikes early in the count, but he still managed to get back into the at-bats. What cost him was just a bad pitch.
Bottom 4th: Three ground balls for another 1-2-3 inning.
Top 5th, Gibbons: Again two balls on sliders, but Santana comes back on the fastball and then gets back to the slider to strike out Gibbons.
Top 5th, Bako: Soft liner on the first pitch fastball.
Top 5th, Roberts: Roberts sees only fastballs and gets jammed on the ninth one, but managed to hit it to right for another single.
Top 5th, Markakis: Like Roberts, Markakis take the first two fastballs for balls. Molina comes to the mound shortly and Santana then throws two pitches outside, one in- and one outside the zone, but both are called strikes. Markakis then strikes out on a full count breaking ball.
Santana came out of this inning unscathed, but if he continues to fall behind on all hitters, he will be in trouble.
Bottom 5th: Aybar gets hit by a pitch and then fooled by the infielder when Hillenbrand hit the ball in the air on a hit-and-run play. Molina also flies out.
Top 6th, Tejada: Tejada, whom Rex Hudler apparently lip reads when he talks to himself, falls behind 0-2, but gets a single off a 2-2 slider.
Top 6th, Huff: Huff hits a 0-1 fly ball nearly to the track in center. Tejeda goes to second.
Top 6th, Millar: Millar hits another fly ball to the track in left, missing the home run by a couple of yards or so. It came on a first pitch FB down the middle. Molina and Butcher then come out and talk to Ervin.
Top 6th, Mora: The visit results in three straight balls, but Ervin comes back to make it a full count. Mora then does not chase a high FB and walks.
Top 6th, Payton: First pitch line drive to left brings home Tejada. The ball was down but still right over the plate.
Top 6th, Gibbons: The inning ends on a 1-0 middle of the plate FB that is hit to Erick Aybar at short.
It looks like Santana is tiring a bit, giving up his first walk and getting hit relatively hard now. Still, it’s a solid outing and a quality start. But too many balls are in the middle part of the plate.
Bottom 6th: Guthrie is still crusing and on the way to a complete game. When he does fall behind 2-0 to Figgins, Figgy helps him out by hitting a pitch that might have been a bit low to Roberts to end the inning.
Top 7th, Bako: Santana comes back although he already has more than 100 pitches. Bako flies out on the first pitch.
Top 7th, Roberts: Roberts also goes after the first pitch he sees and lines out to Hillenbrand at first.
Top 7th, Markakis: Ervin gets the call on two FB at the outside part of the plate and then puts the Orioles’ left fielder away with a slider low and inside.
Very short inning for Santana, who wasn’t dominant, but pitched well enough to deserve the win. Time for the Rally Monkey.
Bottom 7th: Still no life signs from the Angels bats.
Top 8th: Darren Oliver relieves Santana. Why? It Guthrie so unhittable that Scioscia has already given up? Ok, I guess there’s nobody else available. I never thought I would miss Romero.
Top 8th, Tejada: Tejada grounds deep into the hole and Aybar makes a really strong through to get him. Wow!
Top 8th, Huff, Millar: Huff flies out and Millar strikes out. Mota and Hudler are saying that Oliver changes the speed of his curveball better. The first time I heard that, but whatever is helping is ok with me.
Bottom 8th: Very weak at-bat by Aybar, who shows bunt and then slaps it to the pitcher. But Hillenbrand gets the second Angels hit on a line drive. Kotchman pinch hits for Molina and slices a two strike pitch down the left field line for a double. Napoli runs for him (How slow is Casey?). Kendrick grounds out, but a run scores. 3-2 O’s
Willits also grounds out to end the inning. Will Oliver come out again?
Top 9th: Chris Bootcheck gets the ball.
Top 9th, Mora: Mora a bunts in the air and Bootcheck makes a diving play. Nice!
Top 9th, Payton: Payton grounds out on a 2-2 pitch to Kendrick.
Top 9th, Patterson: Patterson pinch hits for Gibbons, but flies out to Anderson.
Good work from Bootcheck. He looks like Kevin Gregg with better control.
Bottom 9th: Closer Chris Ray relieves Guthrie. And the Rally Monkey is jumping.
Figgins takes a 2-0 strike. I’m stunned. Then he singles to left. What’s happening?
Vladdie is pissed when the first pitch is called a strike. After taking a ball, he then transfers his anger into his swing and ends the game. YES!
—
Wow, that was fun! Best game I watched live for quite a while. Boy it feels good to have them come back late in the game. 
Another word on Santana: I was so concerned about his pitches in the zone that I overlooked the fact that he struck out eight Orioles today. Combined with seven hits and only one walk, that was a really strong outing by Magic. I still think that the key for him long-term will be throwing his slider for strikes early in the count. If he does not, opponents will sit on his fastball early and either take it or hit it if it’s in the zone. The Orioles were pretty consistent in their approach in that regard. I don’t remember them swinging for a slider with less than two strikes or many fastballs out of the zone. Still, this was a good outing for Santana, even if it did not result in a win for him.
And Congratulations on Chris Bootcheck, who won his first major league game today after only three losses so far!!!
