Series Preview: Angels vs. Blue Jays, Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Probables:
Friday: Ervin Santana (0-0, 4.05 ERA) vs. Kyle Drabek (1-0, 1.29 ERA)
Saturday: Scott Kazmir (0-0, 27.00 ERA) vs. Brett Cecil (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Sunday: Jered Weaver (2-0, 0.69 ERA) vs. JoJo Reyes (0-1, 13.50 ERA)
The Halos hit the home field for the first time in 2011 with a three-game set against the Blue Jays.
The Angels come into the series on a two-game winning streak thanks to a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. The sweep came courtesy of strong starting pitching, a bullpen renaissance and the offense finally hitting with runners in scoring position.
The hottest Angel on the team right now is veteran outfielder/designated hitter Bobby Abreu. Back in his familiar third spot in the lineup, Abreu is 7-for-11 in his last three contests and has reached base in 11 of his last 15 plate appearances. The stretch includes a 5-for-5 outing with two walks in the Halos’ 13-inning loss to the Royals on April 3rd.
Also swinging a hot stick in the early going is infielder Alberto Callaspo.
Relegated to a utility role when manager Mike Scioscia named Maicer Izturis the third baseman and leadoff hitter, Callaspo has responded by hitting safely in all five games he has played. The one-time Angels prospect leads the club in batting average (.450) and is tied for the lead in RBI (five) with Torii Hunter.
On the mound, the Angels have gotten four dominant starts from Jered Weaver and Dan Haren and look to get one from Ervin Santana. Santana was solid in his first outing, allowing three runs and seven hits in 6-2/3 innings against the Royals on April 2nd. Santana is 5-3 with a 4.22 ERA in nine career starts against Toronto.
The bullpen enters the series having stabilized a bit in the Tampa Bay series. Scioscia named rookie Jordan Walden the closer after Fernando Rodney blew the save on Sunday with an ugly outing that included three walks and a single while only retiring one batter.
Walden responded to the promotion by tossing two perfect innings and earning the save in Tuesday’s win.
TORONTO
The Blue Jays come into the series having won two of three against both Minnesota and Oakland at Rogers Center.
Toronto has done it with a continuation of the potent offense that pounded opponents throughout 2010 as well as solid pitching.
Rookie Kyle Drabek earned his first major league win in his 2011 debut with seven innings of one-hit ball against the Twins on April 2nd. The son of former Pirates great Doug Drabek, Kyle will be making his first career start against the Angels.
Offensively, the Blue Jays have used a balanced attack, with four different players collecting at least five RBI in the early going. About the only player struggling for Toronto right now is former Angel Juan Rivera.
Rivera has started the year in a 1-for-17 skid, though he has walked five times and scored three runs despite his lack of hitting.
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