Angels at Blue Jays
The Los Angeles Angels have found a safe haven on the road with wins in 14 of 18 such contests this season. Los Angeles (26-21) aims to continue its stellar play away from Angel Stadium on Tuesday as it begins a 10-game road trip with the opener of a three-game series versus the Toronto Blue Jays (22-25), who have dropped four in a row and seven of eight overall.
Los Angeles concluded a disappointing 11-game homestand with just four wins, including Sunday's 5-2 triumph over Tampa Bay that ended a streak of five straight losses. Mike Trout answered an uncharacteristic 0-for-15 skid with three hits - including two homers - three RBIs and four runs scored in his last three games and is 5-for-14 with six RBIs against Tuesday starter J.A. Happ. While the Angels are drawing rave reviews on the road, the Blue Jays didn't give their fans much to cheer as they committed four errors on Sunday and were outscored 27-12 en route to dropping all four contests to Oakland to begin their seven-game homestand. "It was ugly," manager John Gibbons told reporters following Sunday's 9-2 shellacking. "We're on a bad stretch right now. We're not playing real good baseball in a bunch of different areas."
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), Sportsnet (Toronto)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Garrett Richards (4-2, 3.47 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH J.A. Happ (5-3, 4.15)
Richards was outdueled by Justin Verlander on Wednesday to fall to 1-2 in his last four outings despite allowing just two unearned runs on four hits over seven innings of a 2-0 setback to Houston. The 29-year-old was taken deep for the second straight contest after keeping the ball in the park in four of his previous five. Curtis Granderson has shredded Richards to the tune of going 4-for-6 with three homers in a small sample size, although the right-hander has flustered Justin Smoak (2-for-19, six strikeouts) and former Angel Kendrys Morales (2-for-18, five strikeouts).
Happ answered a horrific outing with a stellar one, as he bounced back from a seven-run effort in a 9-3 rout by Seattle on May 10 with a two-hit, 10-strikeout gem six days later in a 12-1 romp at the New York Mets. "It was just a fun game. ... Have to feel good about that one," said the 35-year-old, who also had a pair of singles to record his first multi-hit performance since 2011. Justin Upton is 4-for-8 with a pair of homers and Ian Kinsler is 6-for-19 with two blasts against Happ, who is languishing with a 1-6 mark and 6.17 ERA in seven career appearances against the Angels.
WALK-OFFS
1. Toronto INF Yangervis Solarte is 7-for-18 with three extra-base hits during his last four contests.
2. Los Angeles OF Kole Calhoun is 2-for-21 in his last eight games to drop his batting average to a career-worst .161.
3. Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson is 0-for-13 to begin the homestand.