Bob Harvey - 06/15/2009
San Francisco has one of the top home records in the majors, and the Giants know they will be tested in this three-game interleague set against the Los Angeles Angels.
When Mike Scioscia speaks, the Angels listen.
Since Scioscia delivered a fiery, clubhouse address following a lopsided loss at Tampa Bay on Thursday, the Angels have turned things around. They finished off a sweep of the San Diego Padres Sunday with a 6-0 win as Jered Weaver tossed a shutout.
"We're playing better," Scioscia said. "I don't know if it coincides with any message that we talked about the other day. But we're seeing good at-bats. We're seeing guys produce."
Since Scioscia addressed the team after Thursday's 11-1 loss to the Rays, the Angels have scored 26 runs, hit nine home runs, accounted for 20 extra-base hits and received three quality starts by their starting pitchers.
The victory came at just the right time for the Angels who learned before the game that veteran reliever Scott Shields will undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee.
The Angels “shake-up” started in earnest when 2B Howie Kendrick was sent down the Triple-A Salt Lake City. Kendrick, who proclaimed prior to the season that he was “finally healthy,” was hitting just .231 and had gotten into Scoscia’s doghouse with his half-hearted effort and mindless mistakes in the field and on the basepaths.
Macier Iztirus will get the bulk of playing time at 2B while Triple-A phenom Sean Rodriguez will get an occasional spot start. Rodriguez hit 21 home runs and drove in 60 runs in just 57 games for the Bees.
Tonight in San Francisco, in one of just two games on the MLB slate, the Angels will send John Lackey to the mound against Barry Zito. Lackey has yet to find his game after starting the year on the disabled list. He is 1-2 with a 6.61 ERA and has yet to hit his stride. The righthander out Abilene, TX, has given up 15 earned runs and 28 hits in his last three starts.
Zito, who has struggled for the most part with the Giants since arriving as a free-agent, has a long history against the Angels. Zito is 12-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 28 starts against the Angels.
San Francisco is coming off a sweep of the Oakland A’s. During the three-game series, Oakland scored a combined three runs against Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson and Matt Cain, with Cain sporting a 9-1 record now.
The Giants enter tonight’s game with a 34-28 record and are seven games behind the first-place Dodgers. San Francisco is red hot at home where they’ve won nine of their last 10 to improve to 21-9 at home. The Angels are 32-29 and 2½ games behind first-place Texas, but are just 15-16 on the road.
The Giants are 9-3 against the Angels in their last 12 meetings by the bay. The Under is 8-3-1 over that stretch. The Angels have to hope Lackey can give them some innings tonight because the bullpen has been a bust. With a 5.84 ERA the Halos are dead last in the majors.
On the flip side, the Giants are eighth in the majors with a bullpen ERA of 3.56. Both teams will carry three-game winning streaks into tonight’s encounter.