Angels at Cardinals
The Cardinals have made Albert Pujols' return to St. Louis a tough one with back-to-back wins to open a three-game interleague series with his Los Angeles Angels. They'll aim for the sweep against Pujols and the Angels when the three-game set concludes Sunday night.
The Cardinals' best offensive player since Stan Musial, Pujols has been showered with ovations in his first games in St. Louis since signing with Los Angeles prior to the 2012 season, but his Angels have dropped a pair at Busch Stadium and their losing streak sits at three. Pujols slugged his 646th home run -- 445 of which came with the Cardinals -- in Saturday's 4-2 loss, one of just six hits for Los Angeles. Marcell Ozuna went deep for the hosts for his 20th blast of the season, a two-run shot that made it 4-0 in the sixth. St. Louis aims for the sweep behind right-hander Miles Mikolas on Sunday while the Angels counter with southpaw Tyler Skaggs.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Tyler Skaggs (6-6, 4.61 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (5-7, 4.48)
Skaggs put forth a gem at Toronto his last time out, limiting the Blue Jays to a run and just three hits in a season-high 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter for the second time in 13 starts. The 27-year-old was rocked for five runs in 5 2/3 innings in his only prior start against the Cardinals but he owns a 3.72 ERA in five career interleague starts.
Mikolas blanked Miami over six frames on Monday to pick up his first win since May 6, snapping a string of five straight losses. He is 4-3 with a 2.55 ERA at home after going 8-4 with a 2.17 mark in Busch Stadium a year ago. The Florida native has a 3.72 ERA in three career games (one start) against the Angels.
WALK-OFFS
1. Ozuna is 4-for-7 with a pair of home runs in the series.
2. Angels LF Justin Upton has three homers in six games since returning from a toe injury.
3. St. Louis has won five straight meetings.