March 15, 2012 (Tempe, AZ) Tempe Diablo Stadium, spring training home of the Angels, is a very nice park. It's beautiful, with nearby rock outcrops and trees and such. And it was packed. Gotta give the Angels fans credit. They showed up in force, and even though it was blistering hot, they mostly stayed to the end. Usually after the 7th inning stretch, when the no-names are in, people leave. Not Angels fans.

One odd thing: there are a bunch of bicycle cabs in the area that offer to take you from the parking area to the stadium (I should have asked how much it costs - now I'm curious.) It's not a long walk, so I'm not sure why there are bike cabs there and not at other spring training parks. Maybe it's a Tempe thing.

Anyway, it promised to be a good matchup. Reds ace Johnny Cueto was taking the hill.

For the Halos, it was CJ Wilson.

Unfortunately, the lineup. This being a day game after a night game, I was pretty sure that Dusty would be resting the guys who started the night game. Sure enough, he did. I don't think any of them even made the trip to Tempe.

Zack Cozart bunted in the first.

CJ Wilson misplayed it, and Cozart reached on the error.

He stole second while Heisey was at bat.

Howie Kendrick can't get the tag down in time.

Cozart slides under his glove.

Cozart overslides the base, but gets back before Kendrick can tag him.

Safe! Alas, he was stranded there.

Cueto got off to a rough start. He gave up a triple to the first batter he faced, Erick Aybar.

Aybar slides into third.

A Torii Hunter single would score Aybar, but Cueto ended the inning by picking off Hunter.

Todd Frazier pops it up in the second.

Howard Kendrick makes the catch.

Prompting someone in stands to yell, "DOWN goes Frazieh!"

Denis Phipps doubled in the second.

But like Cozart, he was stranded.

In the second, Frazier's throw drew Miguel Cairo off the bag...

Frazier got an error on the play, and the run later scored in the inning was unearned. Cueto once again got himself out of the inning by picking off a runner at first.

Cueto walked Kendrick in the third, but got Albert Pujols to ground into an inning ending double play.

Phipps doubled again in the fourth, scoring Miguel Cairo, who got on via a single.

Ryan Hanigan hit a lead off single in the fifth.

Brandon Phillips grounded into a force out, and replaced Hanigan on first. He was almost doubled off when Cozart flied out.

But he knocked the ball loose from Pujols.

Heisey flied out to end the inning. Peter Bourjos makes the catch.

Sean Marshall pitched the fifth. He gave up no hits, no runs, and one walk, while striking out two.

Justin's new favorite player, Jeff Francis, pitched the last three innings.

Dusty began swapping out the starters after the fifth. Donald Lutz took over first (that's Howie Kendrick running out the groundout).

Willie Harris tried for a bunt single in the ninth.

Jorge can't field? I guess he Cantu. He threw to first baseman Efren Navarro in time to get Harris.

He's out.

It's all up to Ryan LaMarre.

He flies out to Kole Calhoun, ending the game.

Final score: Angels 3, Reds 1.