Angels at Cardinals
Albert Pujols broke the hearts of many St. Louis Cardinals fans when he decided to leave the only franchise he had ever known to sign a 10-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels at the end of the 2011 season. The 39-year-old, three-time MVP will set foot in his old home stadium for the first time since he left the Cardinals on Friday when his Angels visit for the opener of a three-game set in St. Louis.
Pujols built a Hall-of-Fame resume based merely on his production with the Cardinals, batting .328 with 445 home runs and 1,329 RBIs over 11 seasons while leading the club to its two most recent World Series titles in 2006 and 2011. “It’s been such a long time, but the memories are like it just happened. It’s been crazy the last couple of weeks just thinking about it, letting it sink in. I’m so pumped up right now, I can hardly believe it. … It’s going to be one of the most special moments of my career," Pujols told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. Pujols finished 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly in Thursday's 7-5, 10-inning loss at Toronto, sending the Angels to only their third defeat in 10 contests. St. Louis is coming off back-to-back 11-inning affairs, edging Miami 2-1 on Paul Goldschmidt's walk-off homer on Wednesday before coming up short in Thursday's 7-6 setback.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Griffin Canning (2-3, 3.93 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (4-3, 6.00)
Canning is winless in five tries and fell to 0-2 over that span Sunday in Tampa Bay after allowing four runs - including two homers - despite fanning seven over six innings. The 23-year-old rookie is only the third pitcher in American League history to register at least five strikeouts in each of his first nine turns. Canning is limiting left-handed hitters to a .163 average and fared well in his only career interleague start, holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to three runs over six innings in a no-decision on June 10.
Wacha tossed six scoreless frames in his return to the rotation on June 10, but he surrendered at least six runs for the third time in five appearances after giving up five earned over four innings in a loss to the New York Mets on Saturday. One year after holding right-handed hitters to a .225 average, the 2015 All-Star is allowing them to bat .333. Jonathan Lucroy (5-for-14, home run) and Justin Upton (3-for-6) both have fared well versus Wacha, who will face the Angels for the first time.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cardinals C Yadier Molina hit his 371st career double Thursday to tie Gary Carter for 10th all-time among primary catchers in major-league history.
2. Angels rookie 2B Luis Rengifo finished with career highs in hits (three) and RBIs (three) on Thursday and has recorded multiple hits in three straight contests.
3. Los Angeles is visiting St. Louis for the first time since 2010.