Ervin Santana is one of the most interesting and befuddling pitchers in the major leagues. The Los Angeles Angels starter already has a no-hitter under his belt in his young career, but has had plenty of struggles, including several shaky starts in 2012. During Saturday night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Big A, Santana flirted with perfection and eventually tossed a complete game 1-hitter in a 2-0 Angels victory.
Santana got all of his run support early, as Mark Trumbo hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. The shot was Trumbo's 15th of the year and although the Angels picked up 10 hits in the game, that constituted the entirety of the scoring.
Santana set the Diamondbacks down in order until the seventh inning, when Justin Upton hit a two-out single to break up the perfecto as well as the no-no. Santana issued his first walk of the game in the top of the ninth inning when he walked Miguel Montero. Those were his only two baserunners of the evening.
Santana picked up his fourth win with the complete game shutout, striking out five along the way and needing just 102 pitches (61 of which went for strikes).
The Angels have now evened up the three-game interleague series and will go for the series win in the rubber game on Sunday.
For all news and information regarding the Los Angeles Angels, please visit Halos Heaven. For updates and perspective on the Arizona Diamondbacks, head on over to AZ Snakepit or check out SB Nation Arizona.
