Tampa Bay @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 12, 2009 ) Tampa Bay 5, LA Angels 10
The way the Tampa Bay Rays have been pitching this season, it was a bit of a surprise that it was the Oakland Athletics notching a perfect game when the teams met on Sunday and not the Rays.
But that’s exactly what happened as Dallas Braden pitched the 19th perfect game in major league history in guiding the A’s to a 4-0 victory.
The Rays will try to regroup as they travel down the road to Southern California for a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels beginning on Monday.
Tampa Bay had won 12 of its first 13 road games before dropping the last two against Oakland. The offense, which has ranked among the best in the American League, suddenly has gone by the wayside in scoring two runs on five hits in the last two losses.
Matt Garza will take the mound in the opener for the Rays, looking to extend his brilliant campaign thus far. The right-hander has allowed two or fewer runs in five of his six starts and owns an AL-best five wins with a 2.09 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Garza has been particularly impressive away from home, winning all three of his starts while posting an ERA of 1.13.
He has not been very sharp in his career when facing the Angels. The 26-year-old is 0-1 with a 6.46 ERA in three career starts, including his last outing when he was tagged for six runs in 3 1/3 innings on Aug. 10.
The Angels return home following a road trip they would rather forget after going 2-8, including Sunday’s 8-1 loss at the hands of the Seattle Mariners.
Los Angeles starter Joel Pineiro hasn’t enjoyed much success of late either, dropping his last three decisions, including Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in which he allowed two runs on eight hits over six innings.
The right-hander has made nine career starts against Tampa Bay, going 2-4 with a 5.57 ERA.
The Angels have fared well when facing the Rays at Angels Stadium, winning five straight and 23 of 26 over their AL East foes.
Outfielder Torii Hunter hopes to return to the lineup for Monday’s tilt after sitting out a game because of a sore right knee.
Rays third baseman Evan Longoria has no hits in his last three contests following his 12-game hitting streak.