Angels at Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles would have been wise to rest up during a brief break in their schedule, since it will be their last opportunity to do so for quite some time. The Orioles begin a stretch of playing 20 consecutive days when they open a three-game series versus the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Friday.
Baltimore worked overtime in its last encounter on Wednesday before falling for the eighth time in 11 outings with a 2-1 setback in 12 innings to Boston. Trey Mancini had an RBI double in the sixth inning and nearly won the contest in the 11th with a deep drive to center that was reeled in with a game-saving catch by Jackie Bradley Jr. Albert Pujols wasn't denied of his bid for a solo blast the following day, becoming the third player with 2,000 career RBIs as the Angels recorded their sixth win in nine outings with a 13-0 romp over Detroit. The three-time Most Valuable Player is a blistering 10-for-21 with two homers and fellow slugger Mike Trout is 9-for-20 with a homer against Friday starter Dan Straily.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Trevor Cahill (1-3, 6.95 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Dan Straily (1-2, 7.43)
Cahill has struggled mightily since recording his lone win of the season on April 8, surrendering nine homers en route to posting an 0-2 mark in his last four starts (15 2/3 innings). The 31-year-old also walked 10 batters to drive up his pitch counts as he failed to escape the fifth inning in each of those four outings. Chris Davis (3-for-19, eight strikeouts) and Mark Trumbo (2-for-12) have struggled mightily versus Cahill, who owns a 3-1 record with a 1.97 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in five career starts against the Orioles.
Straily fell to 0-2 in his last three outings after allowing five runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 7-0 setback against Tampa Bay last Friday. The 30-year-old surrendered a homer versus the Rays, marking the eighth time that he had been take deep in six trips to the mound (23 innings). Straily sports a 2-4 mark and a 7.49 ERA and 1.66 WHIP in nine career starts against the Angels while permitting the club to bat .333 versus him.
WALK-OFFS
1. Los Angeles DH Shohei Ohtani answered an 0-for-7 start by going 2-for-4 with an RBI single on Thursday.
2. Baltimore 2B Jonathan Villar is 0-for-9 with five strikeouts on the heels of a five-game hitting streak.
3. Angels 3B Tommy La Stella homered twice on Thursday to improve 8-for-24 and 11 RBIs in his last nine contests.