Colorado @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 26, 2010 ) Colorado 2, LA Angels 4
The Los Angeles Angels are showing a sense of urgency with a huge series looming this week.
The Angels face the Colorado Rockies in the rubber match of a three-game set at Angels Stadium on Sunday.
With the way the Texas Rangers are playing and controlling the American League West Division race (4 ½ games up), patience gave away to pennant chase Saturday when the Angels benched third baseman Brandon Wood.
Los Angeles could not wait anymore on longtime prospect Wood – not with the Rangers coming in for a three-game series Tuesday.
First, however, the Angels look to cut into the deficit in the AL West when they send right-hander Ervin Santana (7-5, 3.91 ERA) to the mound today against the Rockies with a chance to win the series.
Santana has won six of his last eight overall, but has two losses in his last three outings.
The up-and-down ways of Santana’s season is a microcosm of his career. The two-time 16-game winner has also had seasons of seven and eight wins. All indications are that Santana is riding one of those good waves.
He’ll take on the Rockies’ lineup that tends to jump on opponents early, having scored 54 first-inning runs, so Santana needs to be right from the get-go.
Colorado is in fourth place in the National League West, five games behind front-running San Diego. The Rockies have used late-season surges to make the postseason in 2007 and 2009.
And if they don’t start picking up the pace, another strong stretch run will be needed in 2010.
The Rockies will counter with right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (4-6, 3.56), who is looking to build off his last outing in which he held Boston scoreless for 6 2/3 innings. It’s what the rookie needed considering he had lost six of his previous seven starts.
Regardless of his performance against the Angels, Chacin’s days in the rotation might be numbered with Jorge De La Rosa heading out in a rehab assignment starting on Sunday in Triple-A.
Wood had to know his days as a starter were numbered.
He missed terribly on his most prolonged opportunity with the big league club and has been sent to the bench with a .173 average with two home runs and 26 RBIs in 48 games.
With Erick Aybar coming off the disabled list on Saturday to resume his duties at shortstop and Kevin Frandsen at third base – at least until Maicer Izturis returns from the DL as well - Wood will take a utility role.
It is not what anyone in the organization envisioned - when Wood, 25, was handed the everyday third base position out of spring training - from a player who once had more than 100 extra-base hits in a minor league season and was considered a top-10 prospect in baseball several for years in a row.
Manager Mike Scioscia said despite the demotion there hasn’t been any lost confidence from the organization.
Maybe not, but Wood is going to start being labeled as one of those players who cannot make the adjustment from minor league stud to everyday major leaguer.
In 374 at-bats over four seasons, Wood has managed just a .185 career average with nine home runs and 27 RBIs. It doesn’t exactly compute with the numbers Wood put up in the minor leagues, considering he hit 144 home runs with 431 RBIs over the last five seasons.