The Angels Carry On

This evening I watched the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play their first game since the sudden death of pitcher Nick Adenhart.

The Angels had postponed their scheduled game on Thursday against the Oakland Athletics out of respect for Adenhart's family and to deal with their own grief.

Tonight, the Angels hosted the Boston Red Sox and played a typical Angels game with bloop base hits, stolen bases and above all else good pitching.

Prior to the game there was a small ceremony honoring Adenhart along with Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson who were also killed in the collision. Torii Hunter (who told the MLB Network about the impression Adenhart made on his children) and John Lackey (the man whose injury gave him an opportunity to be in the starting rotation) held up Adenhart's jersey in tribute.

Before throwing his first pitch, Jered Weaver wrote Adenhart's initials onto the back of the pitching mound. Weaver pitched six and two thirds innings of brilliant baseball. He struck out eight batters while walking only two. Weaver only surrendered one run on four hits allowed.

The Angels won 6-3 and Weaver got his first win of the season.

In an interview with Jeannie Zelasko, Weaver revealed that he and Adenhart had become good friends and that he had arranged for Adenhart to move in with him this weekend.

Some nights will be more difficult than others for Weaver and company. But playing a typical Angels game was exactly the best medicine. In times of uncertainty being able to do what you do best is often the best thing possible.