ANA - The Angels (76-46) have firsthand experience playing in TB, getting swept in St. Petersburg May 9-11. They were shut out 2-0 in each of the first two games before losing 8-5 in the finale. On Monday, they'll try to ride Jon Garland (11-7, 4.26 ERA). The right-hander has won three of his last four starts despite a 4.97 ERA over that span. He was outstanding at Tropicana Field on May 9, pitching eight shutout innings before reliever Justin Speier gave up a walk-off home run to Evan Longoria in Tampa Bay's 2-0 win. Garland has never lost in St. Petersburg, going 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in six career starts. The Angels took two of three from the Rays in Anaheim from June 9-11, but would still need to sweep this set to avoid losing the season series for only the second time. They are 65-36 all-time against the Rays.
TB - Tropicana Field has presented a different kind of problem all season for opponents, as the Rays (75-48) have won six of their last seven there to move to 45-17 at home -- tied for the best home record in baseball. The Rays have been playing well everywhere, as they return to Florida after going 7-3 on a 10-game road trip, capped with Sunday's 7-4 win over Texas. Thanks to Boston's 15-4 loss to Toronto earlier in the day, they opened a 4 1/2-game lead on the Red Sox atop the AL East. Garland will be opposed by Andy Sonnanstine (12-6, 4.35). The Rays' leader in victories has been sharp this month, going 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in three August starts. The right-hander has struggled against Los Angeles, however, going 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in two career starts. He gave up five runs in five innings but did not receive a decision in Tampa Bay's 8-5 win on May 11.
Garland is pitching well enough, and the Angels are better team here, even on the road. The Rays have played admirably since Crawford and Longoria went down, but Sonnastine comes back to earth today, let's take the Angels as an underdog -105.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment