Los Angeles @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 14, 2014 ) LA Angels 11, Atlanta 6

Los Angeles' Albert Pujols has a fan in manager Mike Scioscia, and that faith is paying off as the Angels visit the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night for the rubber match of their three-game series. Pujols went 3-for-6 with a homer and four RBIs in Saturday's wild 11-6 victory in 13 innings, and despite entering the contest 14 for his previous 74, Scioscia said he will not move the future Hall of Famer out of the No. 3 spot in the lineup. "I think his recent track record, even if you look at a couple of years ago when he started to struggle or last year when he got going, this guy's going to hit,'' Scioscia told reporters. "He's going to hit, and he's going to hit big."

Mike Trout, batting second in the order, matched Pujols' numbers Saturday and is hitting .333 with two homers and 11 RBIs during his nine-game hitting streak. Atlanta's Evan Gattis has hit in 14 straight and is batting .411 with seven homers and 17 RBIs during that stretch while going deep in his last two contests. Los Angeles' Hector Santiago searches for his first victory of the season after pitching well enough to win in his last outing as he opposes Mike Minor, who was roughed up in his last turn.

TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ESPN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Hector Santiago (0-6, 4.15 ERA) vs. Braves LH Mike Minor (2-4, 4.31)

Santiago was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake City to replace Tyler Skaggs (hamstring) and struck out eight while allowing three hits in six scoreless innings of Los Angeles' 2-1 victory over Oakland on Tuesday. The 26-year-old New Jersey native was demoted May 21 to clear a roster spot for outfielder Kole Calhoun and made the most of his second chance at making an impact in the rotation. Santiago has a respectable 1.36 WHIP and .244 batting average against.

Minor matched a career high by allowing eight runs and a season high by yielding 11 hits, but he didn't receive a decision as his teammates bailed him out in a 13-10 victory in Colorado on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Tennessee native hopes his typically exceptional curveball returns to his repertoire as it seemed ineffective in the thin air at Coors Field. Minor is 2-6 with a 3.24 ERA in 11 interleague starts, including 1-1, 1.29 in outings at Boston (no-decision) and Seattle (2-0 loss) this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Each team used eight pitchers during Saturday's 4-hour, 57-minute marathon.

2. Scioscia missed Saturday's game while attending the funeral of former teammate Bob Welch, who died of a heart attack Monday at age 57. Bench coach Dino Ebel ran the team and improved to 3-0 as acting manager after winning two games earlier this season when Scioscia was attending his daughter's college graduation.

3. Atlanta is 1-7 in interleague games this season.

PREDICTION: Braves 3, Angels 2