Cleveland @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 1, 2010 ) Cleveland 6, LA Angels 7
Although extremely early in the season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are not about to let much ground slip between them and first place in the AL West.
The Angels (10-10) are two games behind the Oakland Athletics (12-8) and coming off a series victory over the New York Yankees, highlighted by a three-run home run by Kendry Morales in an 8-4 win over the Yankees on Sunday.
Morales was going to be intentionally walked by Yankees manager Joe Girardi, but he changed his mind and Morales crushed Damaso Marte’s 3-0 pitch over the wall in left-center.
The Angels wrap up a 10-game homestand with a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians starting Monday night. Los Angeles has had a knack recently for rallying. They overcame a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees on Sunday before scoring one run in the third and four runs in the fourth.
Cleveland is just 4-8 on the road and in the middle of a nine-game trip. The Indians have not had much luck on the West Coast, being shut out in three of five games and suffering an 11-0 throttling by the Athletics on Sunday.
Now the Indians, who are hitting just .223, face 6-foot-7 right-hander Jered Weaver, who is unbeaten and has not allowed more than three runs in any of four starts this season.
Weaver is 2-1 with a 4.17 ERA in eight career starts against the Indians. In his last outing against them, Weaver threw a complete-game 3-0 shutout on Aug. 19, 2009..
Jhonny Peralta is batting .353 (6-for-17) in his career against Weaver and all six hits are of the extra-base variety with five doubles and a home run. Mark Grudzielanek is 6-for-11 against Weaver (.545) with two doubles and Shin-Soo Choo is 7-for-16 with four doubles.
Cleveland counters with David Huff, who has pitched well but still shows inconsistency.
Huff walked a career-high six in a 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. His only start against the Angels came on July 28, 2009 in a 7-6 loss. In seven innings, he allowed five runs on eight hits, walked three and struck out five.
Angels catcher Bobby Wilson went on the disabled list with a sprained ankle and concussion after a hard, home-plate collision with the Yankees’ Mark Teixeira in Friday’s game. Wilson had a battery of tests, including a CT scan and MRI, but no damage was revealed.