Los Angeles @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 11, 2010 ) LA Angels 10, LA Dodgers 1
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim sure welcomed the month of June. That’s when they get hotter than a summer afternoon in southern California.
The Angels look to add another win to their impressive June resume when they continue a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
The Angels have won the AL West three straight years, mainly based on their ability to switch into high gear when the weather gets warmer.
Since 2007, the Angels have won a major league-best 58 games in June.
And after a dismal May, the Angels are hitting on all cylinders in June, as usual. Joel Pineiro tossed his third complete game of the season and four players drove in two runs in a 10-1 rout Friday.
Mike Scioscia's club has crept back into the AL West race by winning 10 of its last 13 games – eight of them this month.
That the Angels are winning in June is no surprise. That they are doing it without their best hitter - Kendry Morales - does raise an eyebrow or two.
Morales had surgery on his broken left leg Thursday and is expected to be out for the season. The team is 10-3 in his absence.
Oddly enough, the offense has improved without Morales. The Angels are averaging 6.2 runs in 13 games since the injury - compared to 4.4 runs with Morales in the lineup.
Los Angeles, which is looking improve to 10-3 on its season long 14-game road trip, has won 14 of the last 21 meetings with the Dodgers.
Rookie John Ely (3-2, 3.00) has the unenviable task of trying to slow the Angels, who don’t seem to have an easy out in the lineup lately.
Ely’s first priority should be keeping Erick Aybar in check. The Angels’ leadoff hitter, is batting .448 (22-for-49) with six RBIs and eight runs scored in his last 12 games.
The young hurler also has to beware of Howie Kendrick, who is hitting .310 (9-for-29) with a homer and five RBIs in eight games vs. the Dodgers. Then there’s 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, who is hitting a robust .414 with 10 RBIs this month.
The 24-year-old Ely may be up to the task, though. The right-hander had been 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his last six starts before a hiccup Sunday, when he was touched for four runs and five hits in five innings of a 5-4 loss to Atlanta.
Ely will look to help the Dodgers rebound after their four-game winning streak was snapped Friday.
He will be opposed by Scott Kazmir (5-5, 5.40), who is in search of a third straight win. The left-hander has a 1.50 ERA in his past two outings.
On Monday, he allowed one run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-2 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Kazmir’s lone start against the Dodgers came three years ago while he was with the Tampa Bay Rays. He allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings, but did not receive a decision in a 4-3 win.