Kansas City @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2010 ) Kansas City 1, LA Angels 3
The timing is splendid for Torii Hunter’s return from a four-game suspension, particularly with Kansas City ace Zack Greinke on the mound Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels.
Hunter has three homers and eight RBIs in 30 career at-bats against the 2009 Cy Young Award winner and should be well rested as he returns to action for the final game of the three-game series in Anaheim.
Hunter was suspended after a tirade last Friday night in Detroit. After he was ejected for arguing a called strike, he threw a bag of baseballs on the field.
The frustration was out of character for the good-natured Hunter but he certainly deserved the suspension that came down the following day.
The loss of Hunter came in the midst of an August hot streak. Hunter was 11-for-20 (.550) with two homers and six RBIs in five games this month.
The Angels hope the hot hitting returns along with Hunter, the perennial Gold Glove center fielder who was recently moved to right field.
Hunter is batting .294 with 18 homers and 70 RBIs. He has 26 career homers against Kansas City, tying for the most he has hit against any team. Hunter also has 26 homers against the Chicago White Sox.
Greinke has won six of his last nine decisions after starting the season with a 1-8 record. His ledger now sits at 7-11 with a 4.14 earned-run average.
He has traditionally struggled against the Angels. Greinke is 1-4 with a 4.20 ERA in seven outings (six starts) against Los Angeles.
Earlier this season, Greinke lost to the Angels when he gave up four runs and 10 hits over six innings.
Greinke was hit hard by the woeful Seattle Mariners in his last start, giving up six runs and 10 hits in seven innings.
Hunter isn’t the only Angel who has fared well against Greinke. Reggie Willits is batting .625 (5-for-8) and Erick Aybar is hitting .500 (7-for-14) against Greinke.
All-Star right-hander Jered Weaver starts for the Angels and is looking for his third consecutive victory.
Weaver has allowed a total of one earned run and seven hits over 14 innings while beating Texas and Detroit in his last two outings.
Weaver is 11-7 with a 2.96 ERA. He threw seven innings of four-hit shutout ball against Kansas City earlier this season.
In eight career starts against the Royals, Weaver is 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA.
The Angels won the first two games of the series behind new leadoff hitter Bobby Abreu, who is 5-for-7 with two walks. Abreu homered and drove in four runs on Monday and reached base four times (two hits, two walks) on Tuesday.
Los Angeles’ Howie Kendrick went 2-for-3 on Tuesday to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
Kansas City leadoff man Chris Getz isn’t having the same success as Abreu. Getz is 2-for-24 (.083) in the last seven games.