Preview: Red Sox (42-49) at Angels (50-40)
Game: 3
Venue: Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Date: July 19, 2015 8:05 PM EDT
Hector Santiago didn't have the opportunity to pitch in this week's All-Star Game, but he gets another chance to show why he was worthy of being part of the festivities.
The left-hander tries to win a third straight start and help the Los Angeles Angels extend their pitching dominance over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Among baseball's biggest surprises, Santiago (6-4, 2.33 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last four starts. The Angels (50-40) have scored 20 runs while he's allowed one in 14 innings of his two outings this month.
Santiago, who joined stars Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in Cincinnati this week, didn't play Tuesday but seems more concerned with continuing his success and helping Los Angeles maintain its lead atop the AL West.
"Now I know what I can do," Santiago, who went 10-16 with a 3.63 ERA in 51 starts over his previous three seasons, told MLB's official website. "Before, I was kind of like an average pitcher. I think I had the stuff to be a good pitcher; I just never put it together. I never put the actual pitcher and thrower together and made it one. And now, I've kind of evolved to a pitcher."
Santiago allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 6-1 loss to the Red Sox on May 24 to fall to 0-3 with a 3.63 ERA in four starts against Boston (42-49).
The Red Sox, however, have been limited to seven hits while being shut out in the first two of this four-game set.
'Hitting is something that's a continuation of what you do the day before," Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said. "The four days off affected pretty much everybody around here, so hopefully we'll bounce back.'
Pablo Sandoval had both Boston hits off Garrett Richards in Saturday's 3-0 loss.
Xander Bogaerts is 3 for 5 with a double against Santiago. He batted .404 with 10 RBIs during an 11-game hitting streak that ended Saturday.
Dustin Pedroia went 0 for 8 in the first two games after missing almost a month with hamstring tightness, but is 4 for 9 with three doubles versus Santiago.
Making his first appearance against the Angels, rookie Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2, 3.59) is 3-0 with an 0.69 ERA in his first four career road starts. The left-hander also entered the break 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last three overall.
"We continue to learn a lot about him," manager John Farrell said after Rodriguez allowed a pair of solo homers in 6 1-3 innings of a 5-3 win over the New York Yankees on July 11. "He continues to grow each time he walks to the mound."
Rodriguez will try to contain pesky leadoff hitter Kole Calhoun, who homered twice Saturday and is batting .340 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 13 career games against the Red Sox.
'We definitely have some superstars on this team, but we're not going to have them do it every night,' said Calhoun, who is five homers shy of his career-high 17 set last year. 'It's been a good month for us so far, and we've just got to keep it going.'
Game: 3
Venue: Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Date: July 19, 2015 8:05 PM EDT
Hector Santiago didn't have the opportunity to pitch in this week's All-Star Game, but he gets another chance to show why he was worthy of being part of the festivities.
The left-hander tries to win a third straight start and help the Los Angeles Angels extend their pitching dominance over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Among baseball's biggest surprises, Santiago (6-4, 2.33 ERA) is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last four starts. The Angels (50-40) have scored 20 runs while he's allowed one in 14 innings of his two outings this month.
Santiago, who joined stars Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in Cincinnati this week, didn't play Tuesday but seems more concerned with continuing his success and helping Los Angeles maintain its lead atop the AL West.
"Now I know what I can do," Santiago, who went 10-16 with a 3.63 ERA in 51 starts over his previous three seasons, told MLB's official website. "Before, I was kind of like an average pitcher. I think I had the stuff to be a good pitcher; I just never put it together. I never put the actual pitcher and thrower together and made it one. And now, I've kind of evolved to a pitcher."
Santiago allowed three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 6-1 loss to the Red Sox on May 24 to fall to 0-3 with a 3.63 ERA in four starts against Boston (42-49).
The Red Sox, however, have been limited to seven hits while being shut out in the first two of this four-game set.
'Hitting is something that's a continuation of what you do the day before," Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said. "The four days off affected pretty much everybody around here, so hopefully we'll bounce back.'
Pablo Sandoval had both Boston hits off Garrett Richards in Saturday's 3-0 loss.
Xander Bogaerts is 3 for 5 with a double against Santiago. He batted .404 with 10 RBIs during an 11-game hitting streak that ended Saturday.
Dustin Pedroia went 0 for 8 in the first two games after missing almost a month with hamstring tightness, but is 4 for 9 with three doubles versus Santiago.
Making his first appearance against the Angels, rookie Eduardo Rodriguez (5-2, 3.59) is 3-0 with an 0.69 ERA in his first four career road starts. The left-hander also entered the break 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his last three overall.
"We continue to learn a lot about him," manager John Farrell said after Rodriguez allowed a pair of solo homers in 6 1-3 innings of a 5-3 win over the New York Yankees on July 11. "He continues to grow each time he walks to the mound."
Rodriguez will try to contain pesky leadoff hitter Kole Calhoun, who homered twice Saturday and is batting .340 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 13 career games against the Red Sox.
'We definitely have some superstars on this team, but we're not going to have them do it every night,' said Calhoun, who is five homers shy of his career-high 17 set last year. 'It's been a good month for us so far, and we've just got to keep it going.'
