Los Angeles @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 7, 2010 ) LA Angels 10, Detroit 1
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim look to rebound from a sweep with a sweep of their own on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.
The Angels had the misfortune of being the first team to face the Baltimore Orioles under new manager Buck Showalter. The Orioles played like a different team under Showalter and took three games from the Angels, who need all the wins they can get if they have any chance to make a race of it in the American League West.
Los Angeles has rebounded by winning the first two games of its series with Detroit. Scott Kazmir gave up one in five innings in his return from the disabled list and the Angels clinched their first road series victory since June 16-18 against the Chicago Cubs with a 10-1 triumph on Saturday.
The Angels will look for the sweep behind starter Trevor Bell (1-2, 5.90 ERA), who is in the rotation as a replacement for injured starter Joel Pineiro.
Bell has made 18 appearances for the Angels this season, including a pair of starts. In his last outing he allowed two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings against Baltimore. Bell struck out five and walked one but did not figure in the decision in a 6-3 Orioles victory.
The Angels are back at .500 with their last two wins and nine games out in the AL West. Detroit is a little worse off and shows no signs of getting it back together.
The Tigers have scored only three runs in the first two games of the series and have lost four straight and seven of eight. With each passing game, the Chicago White Sox and second-place Minnesota Twins pull further away from the Tigers, who are 5-19 since the All Star break and 10 games out of first in AL Central at 53-57.
Rick Porcello (4-10, 5.91 ERA) starts for the Tigers and will be looking for his first win since May 23.
Porcello has pitched well, decent and bad in his last 10 starts but it hasn't mattered because the Tigers have won just two of those outings. He was bombed in his last outing, allowing seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 12-2 loss to the White Sox on Tuesday.
Demoted to Class AAA Toledo earlier this season, Porcello is just 21 and still has loads of potential. With the Tigers falling out of the playoff chase more and more each game, it appears that Porcello will get a chance to work through his struggles at the big league level for the rest of the campaign.