Los Angeles @ Oakland preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 11, 2014 ) Oakland 7, LA Angels 1

The Los Angeles Angels may still be reeling from the loss of their ace but enter the weekend with the best record in baseball. The previous owners of that title, the Oakland Athletics, trail the Angels by two games in the American League West and will look to make up some of that ground when they host Los Angeles in the opener of a three-game series on Friday. The Angels learned on Thursday that pitching ace Garrett Richards would miss the rest of the season with a torn patellar tendon.

The Athletics are enduing their first real rough patch of the season with losses in eight of the last 10 games due in part to an offense that is struggling to score. Oakland, which leads the majors in scoring, is averaging 2.4 runs in the last eight losses. The Athletics, who will play the Angels 10 more times over the final five-plus weeks of the regular season, scored 26 runs in a three-game home sweep of Los Angeles from May 30-June 1 and have taken six of the nine meetings from the division rivals in 2014.

TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), CSN California (Oakland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels LH Hector Santiago (3-7, 3.46 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Sonny Gray (12-7, 2.99)

Santiago allowed a total of one earned run in his last two starts but did not factor in the decision in either turn. The 26-year-old struggles to last deep into games and has only gone more than six innings once in 2014 - a seven-inning stint against Oakland on Apr. 14 in which he allowed one run. Santiago faced the Athletics again on June 10 but again did not factor in the decision despite scattering three hits and striking out eight in six scoreless frames.

Gray went 5-0 in July but is 0-4 in four starts this month and has had a rough time in two of his last three outings. The Vanderbilt product was knocked around for four runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings at Atlanta on Saturday - the second time in three starts that he failed to complete six frames. Gray picked up a win over Los Angeles on June 1, yielding three runs on seven hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Athletics C Derek Norris (back stiffness) got the start off Wednesday but is not expected to miss much time.

2. Los Angeles LF Josh Hamilton recorded four RBIs in the last two games, one more than his total from the previous 17 games.

3. Oakland RHP Jason Hammel was originally scheduled for Friday but will be skipped in the rotation due to two off days this week.

PREDICTION: Athletics 5, Angels 4