Oakland @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 13, 2015 ) Oakland 0, LA Angels 1

Los Angeles first baseman Albert Pujols seems to accomplish a feat of historical significance on a daily basis lately, and he'll try to record another Sunday when the Angels go for a three-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics. Pujols, who passed Mickey Mantle and moved into 16th on the all-time home run list Thursday, connected for No. 538 in the Angels' 1-0 victory Saturday and is hitting .365 with 10 home runs and 16 RBIs his last 16 contests.

Saturday's home run was career RBI No. 1,636, tying him with Hall of Famer Ernie Banks for 29th on the career list and helping Los Angeles win for the 13th time in the last 17 meetings with Oakland and improve to 11-4 in its last 15 home games. While the Angels are within 2 1/2 games of first-place Houston in the American League West, the last-place Athletics — owners of the worst record in the AL at 25-39 — have lost six of their last eight games and are 10 1/2 games behind. Three of Oakland's top hitters are struggling as Billy Butler is 2-for-26 in his last seven games and 6-for-39 in June; Stephen Vogt, who leads MLB catchers with 11 home runs, is 3-for-34 this month; and Ben Zobrist is 4-for-35 over his last 10 games and 10-for-59 since returning from the DL on May 26. Oakland's Sonny Gray had a three-game winning streak snapped in his last turn despite recording a quality start and opposes Matt Shoemaker, who is 1-0 with a 1.45 ERA in his last three outings.

TV: 3:35 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), FSN West (Los Angeles)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Sonny Gray (7-3, 1.74 ERA) vs. Angels RH Matt Shoemaker (4-4, 4.86)

Gray permitted two runs and eight hits while striking out six in six innings of a 2-1 loss to Texas on Tuesday after yielding two runs over 21 innings in his previous three starts. The 25-year-old Tennessee native is 2-1 with a 0.69 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 26 innings over four day starts this season. Mike Trout (4-for-19, nine strikeouts), Pujols (2-for-19) and Kole Calhoun (2-for-21, eight strikeouts) have struggled against Gray, who is 4-1 with a 2.42 ERA in eight games (seven starts) versus Los Angeles after defeating the Angels twice in April — yielding three runs and striking out 13 in 15 innings.

Shoemaker allowed two runs and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings of an 8-2 victory at Tampa Bay on Tuesday to snap a three-start winless streak. The 28-year-old Michigan native is 0-3 with a 5.26 ERA in five home starts, but earned no-decisions in his last two outings at Angel Stadium. Shoemaker is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four games (three starts) against Oakland after allowing eight runs and 13 hits in 8 2/3 innings over two starts versus the Athletics in April, earning a loss and no-decision.

WALK-OFFS

1. Trout, who is 12-for-29 with four home runs, seven runs and six RBIs during his seven-game hitting streak, is a .359 career hitter in June, trailing only Lou Gehrig (.378), Ty Cobb (.370) and Joe Jackson (.364), according to STATS LLC since 1914 (minimum 300 plate appearances).

2. Oakland, which has a run differential of plus-8, is 4-18 in one-run games and 7-27 in games decided by two runs or fewer — both worst in the majors.

3. Angels 2B Johnny Giavotella is batting .333 with runners on base and .244 with the bases empty.

PREDICTION: Athletics 3, Angels 2