Angels at Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals filled up Busch Stadium to watch Albert Pujols return home Friday, and Marcell Ozuna did a fine impression of the three-time MVP to send the crowd home happy. The 28-year-old slugger attempts to power the Cardinals to a series victory Saturday when St. Louis hosts the Los Angeles Angels in the middle contest of their three-game interleague set.
Pujols received a standing ovation from the crowd of 48,423 - the second-largest crowd in Busch Stadium III history - every time he stepped to the plate Friday and finished 1-for-2 with a walk in his first game back in the city where he spent the first 11 years of his career. However, Ozuna stole the spotlight, driving in the Cardinals' first three runs with a solo homer and two singles - the last of which sparked a three-run outburst in the seventh inning to power St. Louis to a 5-1 victory. Jose Martinez and Kolten Wong each knocked in a run to account for the remainder of the offense for St. Louis (39-36), which has won eight of its last 12 contests. Justin Upton's first-inning RBI double was the only extra-base hit for the Angels, who have dropped two straight following a 7-2 stretch.
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Felix Pena (5-1, 4.70 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Dakota Hudson (5-3, 3.55)
Pena is set to make his first start since April 19 after going 5-0 despite a 4.91 ERA over his last 10 relief appearances. The 29-year-old, who has followed an opener in nine of those outings, owns a 10.32 ERA in June but moved to 2-0 this month on Monday anyway after surrendering four runs and a pair of homers over six innings in Toronto. Pena has limited right-handed batters to a .183 average entering his first career start versus the Cardinals after posting a 4.91 ERA against them in three relief appearances.
Hudson posted his seventh straight quality start despite working around 11 baserunners over six innings Sunday, eventually settling for a no-decision in New York against the Mets. Since beginning the season with a 2-3 record and 4.63 ERA, the Mississippi State product is 3-0 with a 2.68 ERA in his last seven turns. Hudson, who hasn't allowed a homer in his last seven outings spanning 43 2/3 innings, has only yielded one home run in 162 at-bats against right-handed hitters as he faces the Angels for the first time.
WALK-OFFS
1. Angels CF Mike Trout went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the opener and has five multi-hit efforts in his last six games.
2. Cardinals C Yadier Molina's next sacrifice fly will push him Pujols (69) for the most in club history.
3. St. Louis 3B Matt Carpenter needs one more leadoff homer to pass Lou Brock and Dexter Fowler (25) for the 27th place in major-league history.