Angels at Indians
All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor has picked up where he left off at the end of July and hopes to stay hot when his Cleveland Indians go after a three-game sweep of the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon. Lindor belted a three-run homer in Saturday’s 7-2 victory and is 8-for-16 during a four-game hitting streak that began on July 31 when he had three hits to end a month in which he batted .330.
Carlos Santana has team-leading totals of 24 homers and 63 RBIs after launching a solo shot Saturday while teammate Jason Kipnis added a two-run blast for the Indians, who own the top wild card spot in the American League. Cleveland ace Shane Bieber gets the ball in the finale as he tries to match last year’s win total of 11 and Los Angeles will counter with fellow right-hander Jaime Barria, who has a 10.62 ERA on the road this year as he prepares for his sixth start and 11th appearance of 2019. The Angels continue to fade after losing for the seventh time in nine contests following a promising four-game winning streak that included two victories over the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers. Two-time AL MVP Mike Trout failed to homer for a third straight game Saturday, but had a single and has hit safely in eight of his last nine games for Los Angeles.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), STO (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Jaime Barria (4-4, 6.28 ERA) vs. Indians RH Shane Bieber (10-4, 3.40)
Barria split four decisions in July while allowing two earned runs or fewer in all three of the starts, including Tuesday when he gave up three runs (two earned) over five innings in a loss to Detroit. The 23-year-old Panama native beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 24 when he yielded one run on three hits over five frames. Yasiel Puig is 1-for-2 with a homer versus Barria, who gave up three runs on six hits across five innings in a no-decision against the Indians last year.
Bieber saw his six-game unbeaten streak come to an end last Wednesday despite posting a quality start with seven innings of two-run ball to go along with eight strikeouts against Houston. The 24-year-old California native recorded his second shutout of the season in his previous start, permitting one hit and one walk with 10 strikeouts at Toronto. Shohei Ohtani is 2-for-3 with a double against Bieber, who beat the Angels last year in their only meeting with 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
WALK-OFFS
1. Los Angeles LF Justin Upton was 1-for-3 with two RBIs Saturday after going 1-for-24 (two RBIs) in his previous seven contests.
2. Cleveland placed RHP Danny Salazar (groin) and LHP Tyler Olson (shingles) on the 10-day injured list and recalled RHPs Phil Maton and Hunter Wood.
3. Angels SS Andrelton Simmons was a late scratch Saturday due to a sore foot and was scheduled for an MRI.