Angels at Twins
The Los Angeles Angels look to reach the .500 mark for the first time in almost a month, after producing a 15-hit performance, when they visit the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night for the middle contest of a three-game set. Shohei Ohtani belted his first homer of the season while Mike Trout was among three players with three hits as the Angels (20-21) registered a 5-4 victory in Monday’s series opener.
Trout, who needs one homer to reach 250 in his career, has gone deep twice among six hits in his last four contests and teammate Andrelton Simmons had a single Monday to extend his hitting streak to seven games (12-for-27). Reliever Cam Bedrosian will open the game and Felix Pena is expected to follow him for Los Angeles on Tuesday while Minnesota counters with fellow right-hander Kyle Gibson, who goes after his fourth win in a span of five outings. The American League Central-leading Twins have dropped three of their last five after going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the series opener, but Marwin Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to six games in which he is 8-for-21 with five RBIs. Jorge Polanco has led the way for Minnesota’s offense much of the season and the shortstop added two more hits Monday to push his batting average to .327 - including 13-of-31 in the past seven contests.
TV: 7:40 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Cam Bedrosian (1-1, 2.79 ERA) vs. Twins RH Kyle Gibson (3-1, 4.19)
Bedrosian will open a game for the third time in 2019 and did not allow a run in the first two while issuing a pair of walks, striking out two and retiring six total batters. The 27-year-old has yielded one run in his last 11 trips to the mound and boasts 23 strikeouts across 19 1/3 innings this year. Pena, meanwhile, delivered his best performance of the season last Thursday while holding Detroit to three hits over seven scoreless innings of relief with seven strikeouts.
Gibson has produced three quality starts in his last four trips to the mound, including six innings of one-run ball with a season-high 11 strikeouts last Wednesday at Toronto. The 31-year-old Indiana native has surrendered six earned runs across 24 innings in his last four contests and owns 40 strikeouts over 38 2/3 innings in 2019. Trout is 5-for-14 with a homer against Gibson, who is 2-3 with a 4.76 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Angels.
WALK-OFFS
1. Minnesota DH Nelson Cruz could start swinging a bat as early as Tuesday after an MRI exam on his left wrist showed no structural damage.
2. Los Angeles placed Luis Garcia (back spasms) on the 10-day injured list and recalled fellow RHP Taylor Cole.
3. Twins 1B-DH C.J. Cron has three of his nine homers in the last six games and needs two to reach 100 in his career.