Chicago @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 8, 2010 ) LA Angels 0, Chi. White Sox 1

Two former teammates who have had a lot of success at Angel Stadium square off Friday night when the Los Angeles Angels host the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a three-game series.

Freddy Garcia of the White Sox and Joel Pineiro of the Angels were teammates with the Seattle Mariners in the early 2000s before moving on to other teams. Both achieved career-high victory totals (Garcia with 18 in 2001; Pineiro with 16 in 2003) when they were part of the same Mariners’ starting rotation.

Both hurlers are also coming off recent injuries as they step on a mound that has been good to them.

Garcia is 15-3 lifetime against the Angels and is 8-1 at Angel Stadium. Pineiro is 7-2 at home this season compared to just 3-5 on the road.

Garcia missed his last two starts with back soreness and is pitching for the first time since Sept. 7, when pain forced him out of the game after two innings.

This will be Garcia’s first appearance in Anaheim this season. His lone start against the Angels in 2010 was in Chicago in early July, when he allowed one unearned run and five hits in six innings while recording the victory.

His career ERA against the Angels is 2.45 in 25 career starts.

The right-handed Garcia is 11-6 overall with a 4.88 earned-run average for the White Sox this season.

Pineiro is making his second start since suffering an oblique injury in late July.

The right-hander went six innings against Tampa Bay on Sept. 18 and gave up two runs and six hits while getting a no-decision.

Pineiro had a stretch when he went 7-0 over eight starts prior to his injury. His last victory was on July 15.

Pineiro (10-7, 4.13 ERA) has been much more effective at home than on the road – Pineiro’s ERA at Angel Stadium is 2.37; his road ERA is 6.31.

Both teams are playing out the string of disappointing seasons. The White Sox are a distant second in the American League Central behind the Minnesota Twins while the Angels are in third place in the AL West.

Angels outfielder Torii Hunter is a career .419 hitter against Garcia and has four homers in 43 at-bats. Hunter has hit 26 career home runs against Chicago.

White Sox designated hitter Manny Ramirez was scratched from Chicago’s Wednesday game with flu-like symptoms. Chicago was off Thursday and it is not yet known if Ramirez will be in the lineup on Friday night.

Ramirez has four career homers in 40 at-bats against Pineiro but has just one homer and one RBI in 19 games since the White Sox acquired him from the Los Angeles Dodgers.