The Angels played their first game on Friday night in Anaheim after trying to deal with the tragic death of one of their starting pitchers – Nick Adenhart – in a deadly car crash on Wednesday night.  Adenhart and 2 friends were killed when another car, driven by a suspected drunk driver, broadsided them late Wednesday night.  The driver has been charged with 3 counts of felony murder.  The Angels canceled their game Thursday night against the A’s, and honored Adenhart with a moment of silence before Friday night’s game.  The Angels placed a black-and-white photo of Adenhart on the centerfield wall next to where his name and number appeared in a black circle.  The Angels also painted his number 34 in red-lettering on the back slope of the pitching mound.  Torii Hunter and John Lackey held Adenhart’s #34 jersey on the mound during the moment of silence.  Fans also contributed to the tribute by piling candles, flowers, baseballs and hand-written messages on the replica pitcher’s mound outside the gates to Angel Stadium.  Adenhart had made his 1st start of the 2009 season on the night of his death – pitching 6 strong innings – 0 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts.

As for the Angels – Red Sox game, Jered Weaver made the start for the Angels and traced Nick Adenhart’s initials into the pitching mound dirt right before his start – he usually traces his grandparent’s initials into the dirt.  “It was one of the toughest I’ve had to get through.  It still really hasn’t hit home yet.  I shed a couple of tears before I went over there.”  Weaver responded with a great tribute to his rookie teammate – 6 2/3 innings, 1 unearned run, 4 hits, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts.  He picked up his 1st win of the 2009 MLB season as the Angels defeated the Red Sox 6-3.

Manager Mike Scosia summed up the night perfectly:  “We’re happy to get a win.  It doesn’t do much for what happened the last couple of days, but we’re playing baseball.  When the game’s over and you start to think about it, it doesn’t ease the pain.”