Los Angeles @ New York preview
Yankee Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 14, 2012 ) LA Angels 3, NY Yankees 5
It's looking more and more like the road to the World Series might run through Yankee Stadium, and that's bad news for the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels have lost 15 of 20 games at the new stadium in the Bronx, including the first two contests of their three-game weekend series that wraps up Sunday. The Angels' problems haven't just come at Yankee Stadium - they've lost six of their last eight road games overall.
The finale features a marquee pitching matchup of 10-game winners in Jered Weaver of the Angels - the American League's ERA leader at 1.96 - and Ivan Nova of the Yankees. Weaver has allowed 22 home runs to current Yankees, led by five from Alex Rodriguez and four apiece from Raul Ibanez and Curtis Granderson. New York leads the majors with 138 home runs, including four in this series.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports West (Los Angeles), YES (New York), TBS (National)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Jered Weaver (10-1, 1.96 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Ivan Nova (10-3, 3.92)
Weaver closed out the first half of the season by allowing just one earned run over his final 27 2/3 innings, and he threw a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game. He has won all four of his starts since coming off the disabled list - where he landed with a lower back strain after throwing just 10 pitches against the Yankees on May 28. Weaver will try to pick up where he left off against the slugging Yankees, against whom he is 5-2 with a 4.79 ERA in 10 starts.
Nova has recorded quality starts in six of his last seven outings, dropping his ERA from 5.60 to 3.92 since the end of May. He turned in a strong outing last Sunday at Boston, allowing two runs (one earned) over six innings with 10 strikeouts, his second-highest total of the season. Nova is 3-1 with a 5.11 ERA in four starts against Los Angeles. He beat the Angels on April 15 despite allowing four runs in six innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yankees 2B Robinson Cano, whose 17-game hitting streak is the longest active streak in the majors, is 7-for-23 (.304) with a triple against Weaver.
2. Angels slugger Mark Trumbo, who had homered in five straight games against the Yankees before failing to do so Saturday, is 6-for-10 with two homers against Nova.
3. Angels rookie Mike Trout has stolen 21 consecutive bases without being thrown out. He leads the American League with 30 steals.