Baltimore @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 19, 2011 ) Baltimore 3, LA Angels 8

THE STORY: Torii Hunter’s season was going nowhere when he was batting .232 at the end of July. August has been a completely different story for the Los Angeles Angels outfielder. Hunter hit two homers and had a season-best five RBIs on Friday and takes a 17-game hitting streak into Saturday’s contest against the Baltimore Orioles. Hunter’s big game in Los Angeles’ 8-3 victory helped keep the Angels six games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West. Hunter is batting .429 during August to raise his season average to .259. Baltimore has lost three straight games.

TV: 9:05 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), FSW (Los Angeles).

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Tommy Hunter (2-2, 4.28 ERA) vs. Angels RH Joel Pineiro (5-6, 5.34 ERA)

Hunter is making his fourth start for Baltimore and is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA since being acquired from the Texas Rangers. He defeated Oakland in his last outing when he gave up two runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings. Hunter is 1-4 with a 8.87 ERA in six career appearances (five starts) against the Angels. Torii Hunter has two homers in 13 career at-bats against Hunter.

Pineiro is making his first start since August 3 and drew the assignment due to Garrett Richards being placed on the disabled list. He made three appearances out of the bullpen after losing his starting spot, and has an 11.39 ERA in 21 1/3 innings since the All-Star break. He has given up 38 hits and eight walks and been touched up for six homers during that span. Pineiro lost to Baltimore earlier this season when he gave up three runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He is 3-5 with a 5.25 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Orioles. Vladimir Guerrero is batting .333 with two homers in 18 career at-bats against Pineiro.

ABOUT THE ANGELS (67-59): Los Angeles has won back-to-back games after losing seven of its previous eight contests. Peter Bourjos had a homer among three hits and is 11-for-23 during a six-game hitting streak. Top prospect Mike Trout was recalled Friday for his second stint with the team and homered in the eighth inning. It was Trout’s second major-league homer. Angels manager Mike Scioscia indicated that he plans to play Trout frequently, which means slumping Vernon Wells (.145 in August) and Bobby Abreu (.176 since the All-Star break) will both see less playing time. Alberto Callaspo had two hits after being hitless in 15 at-bats over his previous five games.

ABOUT THE ORIOLES (47-75): Baltimore has allowed 22 runs during its three-game skid. The Orioles are just 18-40 on the road and have lost 21 of their last 26 away games. Vladimir Guerrero had two hits on Friday to extend his hitting streak to seven games. He’s batting .379 during the stretch. J.J. Hardy had two hits for the second consecutive game. Mark Reynolds struck out three times and has fanned 28 times in 63 August at-bats. Reynolds is batting just .175 this month. Reliever Jason Berken (elbow) could be headed to the disabled list. Rookie Zach Britton (shoulder) is scheduled to be activated to start Monday against Minnesota.

FINAL PITCH: Baltimore is a season-worst 28 games below .500. The Orioles haven’t lost 100 games in a season since the 1988 squad went 54-107.