Los Angeles @ Toronto preview
Rogers Centre
Last Meeting ( Aug 14, 2011 ) LA Angels 4, Toronto 5
THE STORY: The Los Angeles Angels will continue a seven-game road trip when they visit the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series. The Angels put a serious dent in their playoff hopes by dropping two of three to American League East cellar dweller Baltimore over the weekend. Los Angeles trails the first-place Texas Rangers by 4 ½ games in the AL West with only 10 games to play. No American League team has ever made up that large a deficit in such a short span to win a division. Ace Ricky Romero starts Toronto’s final home series of the year.
TV: 7:07 p.m. ET, FSW, RSN
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Jerome Williams (3-0, 3.90 ERA) vs. Blue Jays LH Ricky Romero (15-10, 3.02 ERA).
Williams is making his fifth start and eighth appearance this season. He battled control issues last time out, walking five in 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision at Oakland. Williams was masterful in his previous start, allowing only a solo homer to Seattle in a career-high eight innings. He has yielded just two runs in four home appearances, but has been reached for 11 runs in 13 innings on the road.
Romero has won his last two starts and eight of his last nine decisions to set a career high for victories. Opponents are batting only .217 this season against Romero, who has four complete games and a pair of shutouts. He beat Boston in each of his last two starts, allowing four runs - three earned - in eight innings of a 5-4 victory Wednesday. He limited the Angels to one run on two hits in seven innings on Aug. 13.
ABOUT THE ANGELS (83-69): Los Angeles had a nice run of success going at the Rogers Centre before dropping its the last two games in August. Erick Aybar triggered Sunday’s 11-2 rout that helped avert a sweep in Baltimore. Aybar belted two homers and tied career highs with four hits and four RBIs. He also tied a franchise record by scoring five runs. Howie Kendrick had three hits and three RBIs, including one of Los Angeles’ seven doubles. Bobby Abreu and rookie Mark Trumbo each collected their 30th double. It’s the 12th time Abreu has hit that many in a season.
ABOUT THE BLUE JAYS (77-75): Adam Lind belted two home runs to help Toronto take two of three from the Yankees. Lind had a big series, going 4-for-12 with six RBIs to extend his hitting streak to five games. Slugger Jose Bautista has walked nine times in the last five games and leads the majors by a wide margin with 122. Frank Francisco notched his 16th save Sunday and has converted all six chances this month. Rookie Brett Lawrie had a hit in all three games against New York but saw his average dip below .300 (.299) for the first time in the majors.
FINAL PITCH: Former Blue Jay Vernon Wells hit a two-run homer for the Angels on Sunday – his 22nd of the year. He is batting .083 (2-for-24) against Toronto this year.